Paul Gruwell

Paul Gruwell (November 28, 1933 – November 4, 2014) was an American multidisciplinary artist, animator, creative director, and designer, whose career spanned animation, music, publishing, and graphic arts.^[1] Best known as the director of Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces, Gruwell worked with major studios including Hanna-Barbera, Marvel Productions, Disney, Amblin, Filmation, Film Roman, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Warner Bros.^[1] He also lead creative projects for companies like Boeing, Microsoft, Softimage, Humongous Entertainment, Shanachie Records, Epic Records, A&M Records, and Ode Records, and Watermark Inc.^[2][3][4]

The Los Angeles Times referred to Gruwell as "one of the last hand-drawn animation artists" in the movie industry, highlighting his commitment to traditional animation techniques in a time of evolving technologies. With a career that spanned children's entertainment, political satire, and commercial projects.^[1]

He spent his later years in Bellingham, Washington, where he remained until his death on November 4, 2014, from complications related to type 2 diabetes.^[1]

In 1973, Cheech & Chong enlisted Paul Gruwell to direct and animate an original short film inspired by their song "Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces." The resulting eponymous short film was used to promote the single and its parent album, Los Cochinos, across the United States. The song achieved significant commercial success, reaching No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, while Los Cochinos peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Albums Chart and earned a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording at the 16th Annual Grammy Awards.

In 1998, The Simpsons parodied the film in the episode "A Midsummer's Nice Dream," emulating its distinctive animation style and incorporating analogous characters. The short also appeared briefly in notable films, including California Split and the critically acclaimed, Academy Award-winning Being There. Its inclusion in Being There indirectly brought recognition to Paul Gruwell’s work when the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Over time, Basketball Jones has been referenced extensively in popular media. The song was famously covered by Chris Rock and Barry White for the blockbuster movie Space Jam and featured on the accompanying soundtrack, which sold over 6 million copies. Additional references to Basketball Jones have appeared in television series such as DAG, The Gregory Hines Show, and 2 Broke Girls.