Grange Calveley

Grange Calveley
Born	May 6, 1943(1943-05-06) Cheshire, England
Occupation	Scriptwriter and artist for children's television
Website
http://www.grangecalveley.com

Grange Calveley (born 6 May 1943, in Cheshire, England) is a British writer and artist who is best known as the creator of the BBC's animated television series Roobarb (1974) and SkylArk (1977).

Calveley also wrote and made character drawings for the 2005 revival series, Roobarb and Custard Too. The series was commissioned by UK's Channel FIVE and directed by Jason Tammenagi.

Early life

Grange Calveley was born 6 May 1943 in Cheshire, England. His father was with the Scots Guards and was killed at Arezzo in 1944.

After Art College, Calveley worked for a number of advertising agencies in London, including Masius. It was while at Masius that he met his wife Hanny, a copywriter. Grange and Hanny have two sons (both now married), a granddaughter named Maddie and grandson Leo Tomasz.

Roobarb

The Roobarb cartoon character is loosely based on Calveley's own dog, a Welsh Border Collie. Custard, Calveley tells us, was drawn after the huge cat who lived next door.

The Roobarb (1974) television series was commissioned by the BBC, who sold the series to more than 40 countries around the world. In his book, Roobarb: An Illuminated Biogwoofy, Calveley describes how the real dog would leap up into the fork of a tree and how the dog's antics became part of the cartoon's opening title. Roobarb was directed by Bob Godfrey, the series' music was by John Hawksworth and the stories were narrated by Richard Briers.

External links

• http://www.grangecalveley.com
• Grange Calveley at the Internet Movie Database
• Video interview of Grange Calveley at BBC Cult TV site
• Roobarb and Custard's new series