Richard McClure Scarry (; June 5, 1919 – April 30, 1994) was an American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million worldwide. The series spawned a media franchise.

Early life and education

Scarry was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Mary McClure and John Scarry Sr., who were of Irish-American ancestry and ran a small department store chain. Scarry had four siblings: older brother John Jr., younger sister Barbara, and younger brothers Edward and Leo. The family enjoyed a comfortable life at their 32 Melville Avenue home in the Dorchester neighborhood,<!-- Gwern Branwen's sub-blog "rotten.com" is of questionable accuracy, as discussed in "Talk" page. ACWilson9. --> He then studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Archipenko Art School in Woodstock, New York, and the Eliot O'Hara Watercolor School in Goose Rocks, Kennebunkport, Maine, before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942.

Career

After entering the Army, Scarry was assigned to the military's radio repair school. After small success at that trade, he was chosen to paint a large sign and was then made an art director after receiving a medical dispensation "from strenuous physical activity." Later he became "Editor and Writer of Publications for the Information and Morale Services Section of the Allied Force Headquarters", served in North Africa, and was discharged from the Army in 1946. After the war, Scarry worked in magazine and advertising in New York City, including a very brief stint at Vogue. In 1949, he made a career breakthrough with Little Golden Books.

thumb|right|A snapshot of Scarry's illustration style from the book Busy, Busy Town

Scarry was a disciplined worker. Risom and Walter Retan also co-wrote an illustrated biography, The Busy, Busy World of Richard Scarry. In the 1980s and 1990s, many of Scarry's Best Ever books were produced as animated videos and aired during TLC's now-defunct Ready Set Learn! block. The Busytown books were also adapted into an animated series, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, which was produced by Canada-based CINAR (now WildBrain) and Paramount Television and aired on the pay-TV channel Showtime from 1993 to 1997. It reran in the late 1990s on Nickelodeon and its sister channel Noggin (now Nick Jr.). A further animated series, Busytown Mysteries, was commissioned by CBC from the Cookie Jar Group (the successor to CINAR) in 2007, and it aired on the Kids' CBC morning programming block.

Busytown was featured at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh from June 13 to September 8, 2002, in an interactive exhibit, Richard Scarry's Busytown. His books were popular with children throughout the world, with over 100 million copies sold.

Personal life and family

While working as a freelance illustrator, Scarry met Patricia "Patsy" Murphy, a writer of children's textbooks, when they collaborated on one of her books; they married in 1948. Before moving to Europe, the family lived on a farm in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

In 1972, Scarry and his wife moved to Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1974, they bought a chalet in nearby Gstaad, where Scarry enjoyed spending time with his adult son, Richard Scarry Jr., skiing, coin collecting, and sailing.

Scarry's son is also an illustrator, who sometimes works in his father's style, using the name Huck Scarry. He moved to Vienna, Austria, and has four children.

Death

On April 30, 1994, in Gstaad, Switzerland, Scarry died of a heart attack, caused by complications from esophageal cancer, at age 74.

  • Old MacDonald's Farm and Other Animal Tales (Golden Book 1986)
  • Get Ready for School (Golden Step Ahead 1986, 1991)

Random House Videos: (These were taken out of print by 2006)

Richard Scarry's:

  • Best ABC Video Ever! (Random House 1989)
  • Best Counting Video Ever! (Random House 1989)
  • Best Busy People Video Ever! (Random House 1993)
  • Best Learning Songs Video Ever! (Random House 1993)
  • Best Silly Stories and Songs Video Ever! (Random House 1994)
  • Best Sing-Along Mother Goose Video Ever! (Random House 1994)

PolyGram Videos:

The Busy World of Richard Scarry:

  • The Best Birthday Present Ever and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993)
  • Sergeant Murphy's Day Off and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993)
  • The Busiest Firefighters Ever and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993)
  • Mr. Frumble's New Cars and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993)
  • A Trip To The Moon and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993)
  • The Snowstorm and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993)
  • The Best Babysitter Ever and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993)
  • Summer Picnic and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993)
  • Sally's First Day At School and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • New Friend On The Block and 2 Other stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)

Richard Scarry's:

  • The Best Christmas Present Ever and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • The Best Birthday Party Ever and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • Now I Know My 123's and 2 and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • The Best Spelling Bee Ever and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • The First Halloween Ever and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • The Best Christmas Surprise Ever and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • Be My Valentine and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • The First Easter Egg Ever and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • Practice Makes Perfect and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
  • Making Progress and 2 Other Stories (Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)

References

  • A Guide to the Richard Scarry Papers at the University of Connecticut Archives & Special Collections