James Kemsley

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James Kemsley (born November 15 1948) is an Australian cartoonist who draws Jimmy Bancks' original creation, Ginger Meggs.

1 Early TV and Acting Career
2 Cartoonist
3 References
4 Select Bibliography of Kemsley's Books
5 External links

[edit] Early TV and Acting Career

He has a background in acting and television. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he was in the cast of "The Super Flying Fun Show" and the host of a children's television program broadcast in Sydney on the Channel Nine network "Skeeter's Cartoon Corner". Kemsley was known to the children's audience as Skeeter. The program offered a mix of US-based cartoons (like Scooby Doo and The Archies), with viewer competitions. One of his tag lines on the telephone with viewer contestants who were unsuccessful was "golly gosh". During 1973 he compered the variety program on the Nine Network titled "Junior Cabaret".

Kemsley also appeared in the ABC TV mini-series "The Cousin From Fiji" and "Seven Little Australians.

Kemsley studied acting at the Independent Theatre of Dramatic Art from 1969-1971 and attended the Playwright Forum at the National Insitute of Dramatic Art in 1973 under the directorship of David Whittaker. He went on to write three successful children's plays "The Land Of Coloured Dreams", "Once Upon A Time... And All That" and "The Magical Adventures of Puck".

Kemsley left Channel Nine and then studied in England at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in 1979.

[edit] Cartoonist

In the 1980s Kemsley was invited to take over the syndicated comic Ginger Meggs, and several comic books featuring the character have been published.

He has also contributed to The Traralgon Journal, Adelaide's Sunday Mail, Sydney's The Sun-Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph. Kemsley has served as the President of the Australian Cartoonists' Association.

Awards include the 2001 Australian Cartoonist's Association, Stanley Award for Cartoonist of the Year. In 1990 & 2004, Ginger Meggs was voted Australia's comic strip of the year.

Under Kemsley's pen and Atlantic Syndication's marketing "Ginger Meggs" appears in newspapers in over 30 countries.

[edit] References

Portrait of James Kemsley, 1996 by Gary Ede
Kemsley's T'rific Trivia (1998, ISBN 0-7323-0383-4)

[edit] Select Bibliography of Kemsley's Books

Ginger Meggs at Large (North Ryde: Angus and Robertson, 1985).
A Look Inside Ginger Meggs (Melbourne: Budget Books, 1988).
What's My Name Mean? (North Ryde: Angus and Robertson, 1987).
The Infamous Adventures of Ginger Meggs (North Ryde: Angus and Robertson, 1987).
Kemsley's T'rific Trivia (Melbourne: Budget Books, 1988).
Wake Up, Ginger Meggs (North Ryde: Angus and Robertson, 1989).
The Cartoon Book (Sydney, New York: Scholastic, 1990).
The Cartoon Book 2 (Sydney, New York: Scolastic,1994)
Some Day's You're a Legend - Some Days You Ain't (Sydney: Allen and Kemsley, 1995).
When You're Into Graffiti - The Writing's On The Wall (Sydney: Allen and Kemsley, 1998).