Keitz & Herndon Explained

Keitz and Herndon was an American television production company that made cartoons, advertisements, short educational films, and commercials founded in 1952 in Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas, Texas.^[1] Most notably they created the "Frito Kid" mascot for Fritos; and the animated television series, JOT.

History

The partnership was formed by Rod Keitz (né Roderick Keith Keitz; 1927–2016),^[2] and Larry Herndon (né Lawrence Fred Herndon; 1926–2014).^[3] The firm was established in Oak Cliff in 1952;^[4] and later worked from their 4409 Belmont Avenue office in Belmont Park, Dallas.

Keitz and Herndon represented various national and Texas-based brands.^[5] They produced advertising in 1955 for Lone Star Gas;^[6] by 1956 the company worked on car sales, bus transportation, and oil ads;^[7] and in 1957 they produced ads for various food companies.^[8] Donald E. Wills joined the firm as an animation artist.^[9]

One of the former employees filmed President John F. Kennedy's visit to Texas on November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade.^[10]

The company partnership was honored by the Dallas Producers Association in 2008.^[11]

Filmography

• "State of Alabama" (1965) a propaganda film made for the Alabama State Sovereignty Commission on the 1965 civil rights march in Alabama (ASSC project)^{[12] [13] [14]}
• Animation short for the theater snack bar Dr Pepper advertisements^[15]
• JOT, a television cartoon series sponsored by Southern Baptist Radio and Television Commission that ran from 1965 to 1974, and 1980 to 1981^[16]
• Burleson Honey advertisements^[17]
• Lone Star Brewing Company ads^[18]
• "Frito Kid", the official mascot of Fritos corn chips^[19]
• Quality Dairy Company ads^[20]
• Atmosphere for Learning (1965) for Austin College^[21]

Notes and References

1. Book: Amidi, Amid . Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation . 2006-08-17 . Chronicle Books . 978-0-8118-4731-5 . en.
2. Web site: Roderick Keitz Obituary - Dallas, TX. Dignity Memorial.
3. Web site: Lawrence Fred Herndon Obituary (1926 - 2014) The Dallas Morning News. Legacy.com.
4. Book: Oak Cliff. Alan C.. Elliott. Patricia K.. Summey. Gayla Brooks. Kokel. September 15, 2009. Arcadia Publishing. 9780738570686 . Google Books.
5. December 17, 1955 . Commercial Studios . . 26, 35 . 0006-2510 . Google Books.
6. October 29, 1955 . TV Commercials in Production . . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . Google Books . 0006-2510.
7. May 5, 1956 . TV Commercials in Production . . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . Google Books . 0006-2510.
8. June 24, 1957 . TV Commercials in Production . Billboard (magazine) . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . Google Books . 0006-2510.
9. Web site: Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Inc. March 9, 1957. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. Google Books.
10. Web site: July 3, 2020 . President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy . The Warren Commission Report: Findings of President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy . U. S. Government . Google Books.
11. Web site: Dallas Producers Assn. to Honor and Roast Area Pros' Moving Images Oct. 16 with '...It Came From Dallas!...' Fundraiser for TXMPA . https://web.archive.org/web/20081004230229/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008DallasProducers/9TXMPA/prweb1403954.htm . dead . October 4, 2008 . PRWeb.
12. Web site: Invoice from Keitz & Herndon, Inc., for work done on a film about the Selma-to-Montgomery march, which was produced by the Alabama Sovereignty Commission . Alabama Textual Materials Collection, Alabama Department of Archives and History.
13. Book: Katagiri, Yasuhiro . January 6, 2014 . Black Freedom, White Resistance, and Red Menace: Civil Rights and Anticommunism in the Jim Crow South . LSU Press . 9780807153147 . Google Books.
14. Web site: Lyman . Brian . February 10, 2019 . 'State of Alabama:' The racist anti-Selma film, and the secret state commission that funded it . Montgomery Advertiser.
15. Book: Gordon, Wallace J.. The Grant Years, 1958 -: Writing My Way Through Chicago, Detroit and New York. June 29, 2006. AuthorHouse. 9781467070515 . Google Books.
16. Web site: September 15, 1974 . Library of Congress Copyright Office . Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series . Google Books.
17. Book: Elliott, Alan C. . 2016 . Texas Ingenuity: Lone Star Inventions, Inventors & Innovators . Arcadia Publishing . 159 . 9780738503561 . books.google.com.
18. April 27, 1957 . TV Commercials in Production . . books.google.com . 0006-2510.
19. Book: Elliott . Alan C. . Summey . Patricia K. . Kokel . Gayla Brooks . 2009 . Oak Cliff . Arcadia Publishing . 87 . 9780738570686 . books.google.com.
20. December 1, 1956 . TV Commercials in Production . . 13 . books.google.com . 0006-2510.
21. Web site: Atmosphere for Learning (1965). texasarchive.org.