Edd Gould

This article is about the animator. For the Canadian political candidate, see New Democratic Party candidates, 1997 Canadian federal election § St. Catharines: Edd Gould.

Edd Gould
Gould in 2009
Born(1988-10-28)28 October 1988
Isleworth, London, England
Died25 March 2012(2012-03-25) (aged 23)
London, England
Resting placeCremated and buried at Mortlake Crematorium, Ashes were also scattered at the Hollywood Sign
EducationUCA Maidstone (2008–2011)
Occupations
  • Animator
  • artist
  • voice actor
Years active2000–2012
Works

Edward Duncan Ernest Gould (28 October 1988 – 25 March 2012) was a British animator, artist, and voice actor. He was best known for creating Eddsworld, a media franchise consisting of flash animations and web comics featuring fictionalised versions of himself and longtime collaborators Tom Ridgewell, Matt Hargreaves, Tord Larsson and others.[1] After Gould's death in 2012, production of Eddsworld was passed on to Ridgewell who directed a run of further episodes under the title of Eddsworld: Legacy. Following Ridgewell's departure from the series in 2016, it was passed to Hargreaves and Gould's family, returning in 2020 as Eddsworld Beyond.

Early life

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Edd Gould was born on 28 October 1988 in Isleworth, Greater London to Susan Gould[2][3] and Duncan Gould. He had a sister, Victoria "Vicky" (born October 18 1985); and two brothers, George and James. He attended the Orleans Park School[4] as depicted in his first Newgrounds entry "Edd" and met Matt Hargreaves during a sports day event, who was then transferred into his class. Gould would often incorporate his friends into his comics, and Hargreaves became a prominent part of Eddsworld.[5][6]

Gould met Tom Ridgewell, a fan of his work, online shortly after he started making animations involving stick figures. He likewise met Tord Larsson, a Norwegian artist, online. Ridgewell and Larsson were included in the Eddsworld cast along with Hargreaves, appearing in the animated entry Eddsworld Christmas Special 2004.[7]

Career

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In 2000,[8] Gould began animating using a GIF program to publish his works on Stick Figure Death Theatre, an online animation community. When the website stopped accepting GIFs, he spent seven months learning how to use Macromedia Flash with help from tutorials by animator Lavalle Lee.[9] Gould published his first animation on Stick Figure Death Theatre and Stick Suicide called “Bendee 1” on 7 November 2002.[10] Gould made his first Newgrounds entry on 6 June 2003, titled "Edd."[11]

In September 2008, Gould began studying as an independent animator at the University for the Creative Arts in Maidstone, moving into student accommodation with his childhood friend Hargreaves. He joined Cake Bomb, a creative media group founded by Ridgewell.[12] He voiced the "I Like Trains" kid in TomSka's asdfmovie series on YouTube, and animated the second episode of asdfmovie.

Gould's YouTube channel saw a spike in popularity during the late 2000s and early 2010s, which led to numerous collaborations and business opportunities. He and Ridgewell were requested to produce an episode of Eddsworld promoting climate change awareness for the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.[13][14] In 2010, Gould was commissioned to animate a short voiced by British double act Mitchell and Webb titled "Almeratron" for the BBC Comedy website.[15] Gould also received a multitude of offers to work in television or adapt Eddsworld into a TV series, which he would decline in favor of internet production.[16][17]

Illness and death

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On 16 April 2011, Gould revealed he had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. It was his second diagnosis after a period of remission, having been previously diagnosed with the same illness on 30 January 2006.[18][19] He posted a video on YouTube entitled "Edd vs Cancer" featuring himself, Ridgewell, and Hargreaves discussing the diagnosis. He platformed his illness for several sketches on his friends' YouTube accounts, and continued to animate Eddsworld while he was physically able.

Gould died from a recurring infection caused by the cancer on the morning of 25 March 2012,[20] at the age of 23. Ridgewell and Hargreaves announced Gould's death in a short video two days later.[21] His funeral was held on 10 April at All Saints' Church in Isleworth, where a eulogy compiled from video clips from fans and friends was shown.

The last episode he directed for Eddsworld, "Space Face (Part 1)", was released posthumously to YouTube on 2 June 2012. Production of Eddsworld passed to Ridgewell who continued to produce episodes as part of Gould's will until his departure in 2016. Under Ridgewell's direction, profits went to CLIC Sargent (now Young Lives vs Cancer), a UK cancer charity supporting children, young people and their families.[18][22] After the release of the final Eddsworld: Legacy episode "The End (Part 2)", control of the series was handed to Hargreaves and Gould's family. Beginning in 2020, uploads continued on YouTube as Eddsworld Beyond under the direction of Hargreaves.

Gould was cremated and buried at Mortlake Crematorium. In June 2012, Hargreaves and Ridgewell attended VidCon in Los Angeles and scattered some of Gould's ashes near the Hollywood Sign.[18][23]

Filmography

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Year Title Creator Writer Animator Actor Role Further details
c. 2002-2005[24] Bendee Stick Yes Yes Yes Yes Bendee Stick
Various Characters		 Internet animation series
2003–2012 (Original); 2012–2016 (Legacy); 2020–present (Beyond) Eddsworld Yes Yes Yes Yes Himself
Various Characters		 Internet animation series and YouTube channel
2008–2011 (original); 2015–2018 (archival recording) TomSka/asdfmovie Yes Yes Ryan The I Like Trains kid
Various Characters		 YouTube channel
2009–2012 Slomozovo Yes Himself YouTube channel
2010–2012 InkyKeyboard/Matt Lobster Yes Himself YouTube channel
2011 Action Bunnies (RageNineteen) Yes Various Characters Internet animation series
2011 Skeff (Paul ter Voorde) Yes Narrator Internet animation sketch

References

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  1. ^ Frizzle, Stephen (28 March 2012). "A Tribute to Edd Gould (1988–2012)". HuffPost. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  2. ^ "gould_sue". Twitter. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. ^ "vickygould/status/741543004545122304". Twitter. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  4. ^ Teed, Paul (14 April 2012). "Tributes flood in for Eddsworld creator, who died aged 23". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  5. ^ Eddsworld (8 June 2012). "Eddsworld: Legacy (fundraiser)". Retrieved 7 September 2012 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Origins of Eddsworld – DeviantArt". 13 November 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Newgrounds.com - Everything, by Everyone". Newgrounds.com. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  8. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20040916044105/http://www10.brinkster.com/eddsworld/contact.html. Archived from the original on 16 September 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ "Interview with Edd Gould". flashcartoons.org. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  10. ^ "YouTube - eddsworld's Channel". YouTube. 26 October 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  11. ^ Eddsworld (6 June 2003). "Edd (2003)". Newgrounds. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  12. ^ "CakeBomb". CakeBomb. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  13. ^ Vaughan, Adam (5 November 2009). "Guardian: One Minute To Save The World". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  14. ^ "TV/E and WWF hook up with young filmmakers to highlight climate change one million times". WWF. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  15. ^ "BBC - Mitchell & Webb, Series 1, Almeratron". BBC. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  16. ^ HuHa 2! (9 August 2013). "EddsWorld ┃ Heroes of Animation with Bing ┃ YouTube Geek Week". YouTube. Retrieved 28 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Eddsworld (27 March 2012). "RIP Edd Gould (1988–2012)". YouTube. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  18. ^ a b c Strohman, David (10 March 2016). "Eddsworld: The End of a Legacy". The Young Folks. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  19. ^ "YouTubers That Died: 13 YouTubers Who Left Too Soon". NewMediaRockstars. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  20. ^ Lea, Martin (6 March 2022). "Eddsworld donation to Young Lives vs Cancer". Bridport News. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  21. ^ Eddsworld (27 March 2012). "RIP Edd Gould (1988–2012)". YouTube. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  22. ^ TomSka & Friends (10 April 2012). "Your Eulogy". YouTube. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  23. ^ TomSka & Friends (7 January 2013). "TomSka's Day Out 6 (2012)". YouTube. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Eulogy for: Edd & Bendee". Newgrounds.com. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
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