Talk:Richard Scarry

Rotten.com Link
I don't believe that a page hosted on rotten.com is entirely appropriate, despite the innocence of the page itself. The entire domain is blacklisted by my work proxy server and, given the content of the main site, I don't think this is a suitable external link for Wikipedia.

While there are some interesting and valuable pages on that website (and the page itself is pretty innocuous), I'm more concerned about the accuracy. I haven't seen any corroboration for claims that he was a plagiarizer, a womanizer, etc. Maybe I'm just under-informed, but if not, Wikipedia shouldn't be linking to inaccurate information. Wolfychan 03:54, 15 November 2005 (UTC)


 * I agree...I have been seeing rotten.com links to their semi-factual, semi-humorous links popping up all over wikipedia. I'm gonna go on a gnome-crusade against 'em.--Zaorish 02:22, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Smokey Bear
The article says: In 1955, he designed the character Smokey Bear for Little Golden Books.

But Smokey Bear says: Smokey Bear is a mascot of the United States Forest Service created in 1944

Doesn't sound like the same character.

Bovlb 02:19, 2005 Jun 18 (UTC)

I think what's going on (and I am editing both this article and Smokey Bear to reflect this) is that in 1955 Little Golden Books came out with a book about Smokey Bear, who was by then well known, and that their book version was drawn by Scarry. According to a couple of U.S. Forest service sites (see here and here), the official artist (i.e. for the bear on all the Firestry Service posters and whatnot) was Rudolph (Rudy) Wendelin. —Steve Summit (talk) 18:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

pronunciation
Okay, anybody know for sure how Scarry pronounced his last name? Saying, as we do here, "pronounced like 'scarry'", doesn't help so much! We should make it unambiguous and use "starry" or "scary" (or maybe even "hairy"), as the case may be. —Steve Summit (talk) 19:16, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Surely his name is not really pronounced "scary", as the article now states. I suspect very much that one would only pronounce his name the same as "scary" if one has an accent in which "Mary" and "marry" (and probably also "merry") are pronounced the same.  It's a bit like saying that the name of someone called Patty is pronounced the same as "Paddy".  The dialectal features of the article writer (or indeed the person who is the subject of the article) should have no bearing on these matters of English pronunciation.  — Chameleon 11:47, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
 * The double "rr" in "Scarry" makes it look like it's derived from SCAR, making the first vowel is the same as the vowel in SCAR, not the vowel in SCARE. I don't think the Mary-merry merger is relevant here. If in fact the name is pronounced like "scary," with the SCARE vowel, then it would help readers to specify that in the usual place right after the name in the introduction.Jtgw1981 (talk) 12:55, 19 November 2017 (UTC)

I watched his show "The Busy World of Richard Scarry" as a child, and incidentally saw the opening credits for it on YouTube today here:, in which it says his name. It is, surprisingly enough, pronounced "scary," as in frightening. Followedbytidalwaves (talk) 08:41, 2 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Was that Richard Scarry pronouncing his own name in that video, though? I'm not convinced it isn't someone else pronouncing his name in a way that may not be correct. We need a verified recording of Scarry pronouncing his own name, if we can find it.Jtgw1981 (talk) 12:55, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Richard Scarry paid a visit to my home many years ago tracing his roots. He is of Irish descent and a distant relation due to his family's origins in the locality where I'm from. Scarry is unusual as it is a Gaelic name that nearly passed into extinction over the years. It comes from O' Scura which changed to O' Scarraigh and was later anglicised Scarry. The pronunciation of the name is dependent on its origins in the Irish language and the original pronunciation of this name which is still in use is Ska Ree. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DocScarry (talk • contribs) 31 July 2009
 * That's not really how it works. When words are borrowed from one language to another, including names, they usually change pronunciation to fit the sound system of the new language. So we would not expect Scarry to be pronounced the same way as the Irish name from which it's derived. However, it is interesting to know about the origins of the name, since it isn't that common. If you are going to give the original Irish pronunciation, though, you should also give the Irish spelling of the original name, i.e. O'Scarraigh or whatever it is.Jtgw1981 (talk) 12:55, 19 November 2017 (UTC)

some of his best-known characters
Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm, Sergeant Murphy, Mr. Frumble, Mr. Fixit, Sally, and Uncle Willy are just a few of his best-known creations. I will add to the list as I remember their names! This is definitely info that people want when researching Mr. Scarry. It would be lovely to see a list of character names with a picture (or link to a picture, if copyright is an issue) next to each. —Lilly Williams (talk) 21:02, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Do you think Sergeant Murphy was named in honor of his wife? Bongomatic (talk) 16:10, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

Little Bear
The Little Bear link says that the linked series was by others, not Sacrry. Is Good Night, Little Bear actually part of that series? If so, the page on the series should be updated. If not, the link on the Sarry page should be removed. Dvd Avins 21:33, 13 May 2007 (UTC)


 * "Good Night, Little Bear" was written by Patsy and illustrated by Richard. It has been linked incorrected to 'Little Bear'.  Unusually (from what I've seen) the title of this book isn't printed on the cover as "Richard Scarry's Good Night, Little Bear" 220.245.241.190 (talk) 11:09, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Place of origin categorisation
The article states he was born in Boston, Mass., but is currently categorised under 'People from Ridgefield, Connecticut'. It should be one or the other - which was it? --Thoughtcat (talk) 20:10, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Biographical background
There is no hint of how his life might have impacted on his art. To an adult eye much of his work has a satiric edge. This would be worth adding.--Jack Upland (talk) 10:03, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Scarry
To clear the issue up, his surname is pronounced Ska Ree. It's a very old Irish name. I know because it's also my surname and I happen to be Irish. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DocScarry (talk • contribs) 7 March 2008
 * I'm sorry, but that doesn't clear it up for me. Do you really mean that the first syllable is pronounced the same as the musical genre ska, which rhymes with ma and the note fa?  That would make the name sound the same as "scarry," meaning "covered with scars", and I don't think that's what you really mean.  I have put in an IPA pronunciation and a claim about what it rhymes with.  I also took out the part about the regional origins of the name on the grounds that it's a tangent that doesn't belong in an article like this.  If the "a" really is an "ah" sound, then please clarify.  Also, if you really want the name origin stuff to be in there, just uncomment it. Mark Foskey (talk) 03:36, 2 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Its a question of the pronounciation of the letter 'A' in your mind. You are using rules based on the correct English way of saying the letter. Due to it's origins in the Irish language, Hiberno-English tends to change the 'A' sound as you know it to an AAHH sound especially in the translation of names from Irish to English. Some names were anglicised by the British for census forms but contained slight deviations between pronouncement and the way they were recorded. A common example is Walsh which many in this country pronounce Welsh. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DocScarry (talk • contribs) 31 July 2009

More Books
Please add the following books to his list:

Richard Scarry's Mother Goose. Written and Illustrated by Richard Scarry. Golden Press New York, 1972.

Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever. Written and Illustrated by Richard Scarry. Golden Press New York, 1964.

Boats. Written and Illustrated by Richard Scarry. Golden Press New York, 1967.

You may want to check http://www.worldcat.org for the ISBN numbers. This link may help. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/26356514&referer=brief_results 206.57.40.102 (talk) 15:42, 26 March 2009 (UTC) Jeff
 * Done. -- Quiddity (talk) 21:06, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

Jsaiura (talk) 13:35, 5 June 2011 (UTC)Jsaiura

First book illustrated
Inside the Little Golden Book #66 Two Little Miners By Margaret Wise Brown and Edith Thacher Hurd Pictures by Richard Scarry, 1949, the Author's and Artist description contains the following text: "″This is the first book Richard Scarry has illustrated. After graduating from the Boston Museum School, he did magazine art. During World War II he was an art director in the army.″" Pamcwill (talk) 05:46, 18 December 2014 (UTC)

Pronunciation of name; additions to actual biography section?
Samdelstorm (talk) 03:37, 19 April 2011 (UTC)I am new to Wikipedia editing, so apologies if this doesn't conform to guidelines (which I did read, promise!). I'm a long time Scarry fan that has taken a renewed interest now that my son is 2 years old, and I am attempting to create another generation of fan(s).

Regarding the pronunciation of his name, I truly respect name origins and "home country" pronunciations, but I also know from first hand experience that names from a country of origin may be pronounced differently in another country, even if spelled the same. (My maiden name is this way - pronounced even now in Sweden one way, in the US by my family as another, with the same spelling.) To this end, I will look for any interviews, references, etc. for how Richard Scarry himself pronounced his name - that might be a better way to approach this. (Perhaps I/we can contact his son?)

Under the Biography section, it would be nice to learn more about his life - where he went to school, what his other interests were, what made them decide to move to Switzerland, etc. Could the Biography group look into this?

Thanks for the opportunity to comment. Hopefully, I can assist with the research and add to this page in the near future. As a first thought, I found the following web site - which indexes the collection of Richard Scarry Papers at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at UConn - a very nice overview not only of some bio information but also a nice listing of Scarry's characters (per a previous talk post) and other details:

http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/findaids/scarry/MSS19970048.html

Also worth considering for source material would be the following biography (which I will read): The Busy, Busy World of Richard Scarry by Walter Retan and Ole Risom.

Regards. - Samdelstorm (talk) 03:37, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Busytown section
The last paragraph of this section leaves a lot of auxiliary verbs out. 98.87.132.15 (talk) 01:11, 6 June 2011 (UTC)

Bibliography needs dates
The bibliography section here is in alphabetical order and doesn't include date of first publication. A better format would be in order of publication, and with date of first publication in parentheses. This would allow the reader to see the development of his stories and ideas just by glancing at the bibliography. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.44.95.215 (talk) 08:37, 11 December 2011 (UTC)

Need Irish Gaelic speaker to check pronunciation
I have replaced the pronunciation note in the History section with one written in the IPA, as best I could figure it out using Irish orthography and Irish phonology. I couldn't find a source online and I probably got it a bit wrong, so any Irish Gaelic speakers, especially those familiar with the accent from the west coast of Ireland where his name originated, please fix it. MacMog (talk) 01:21, 15 August 2013 (UTC)

1991 "Best Year Ever" - incorrect title?
I'm not an authority on Scarry, only a huge fan, so I won't presume to touch the text...but I'm fairly certain that the 1991 "Best Year Ever" book listed in the bibliography section, the correct title of that book is "Best Busy Year Ever." I have a copy of the book in front of me now, and some Internet searching seems to confirm that the longer title is the only correct one. Someone who knows the subject better than I do might want to look into this further.

byamrcn 20:54, 22 April 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Byamrcn (talk • contribs)