Robert Stainton

Robert Stainton is a German-American animator, actor, voice actor, director, prop maker, former street artist, activist, businessman, singer, musician, entrepreneur, and producer, he is well known for creating the long-running animated series Greeny Phatom.

Early Life: 1967-1983
He was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 2, 1967 at the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children to a German father and a American mother, one hour before his sister Rebecca Stainton. By birth, and like all of his other family members from the Arnold/Shelly line, he was granted dual citizenship on the basis of his parental origin. According to a 2012 interview, his father left Germany after the Nazi Party rose to power. Robert was born with the name Wolfgang and the middle name Günther, as his mother, Shelly, wanted to name him for the classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but his father, Arnold, wanted none of her involvement in naming him. A year after his birth, he was renamed Robert Wolfgang Stainton.

As a kid, Robert enjoyed watching German films and he also enjoyed drawing ants (which inspired the character designs in Greeny Phatom), he also had a Raggedy Ann & Andy obsession when he was a kid.

Robert wanted to be an animator just like his father after seeing Richard Williams' Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure at the Portage Theater in 1977.

Robert attended Alexander Graham Bell School for kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. He attended Chicago Vocational High School for his high school education, and was a quarterback on the CVS Cavaliers football team.

Robert's first paid job was being a waiter at the Pizzeria Due on 619 North Wabash Ave in Chicago, where he also sang in a Italian comedy band called Robert's Pizza Bakers who greeted customers for a while, and who released a comedy EP called "Italian Food Songs". which sold about 349,000,000 copies.

In 1981, Robert made his first animated short, which was known as James the Artist, which he made in his room during his free time, he showed the short to his father, who was impressed with the animation quality and the storytelling.

First Animation Jobs at Filmation, The Jeff Jones Show, Launch of Greetastic!: 1983-1989
In 1983, at Age 16, Robert Stainton got his first job in the animation industry at Filmation, where he worked on many of the studio's well known works, like He-Man, She-Ra, Ghostbusters and the final season of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.

In 1984, at age 17, he became a member of the cast of The Jeff Jones Show. He played piano in the Jeff Jones Band. Robert showed up at the audition held in Chicago wearing a neck brace, since he was having neck aches at the time. Jake Sanford told him to "use it" and Robert was known for wearing a neck brace nearly all the time. Robert had surgery to remove his body fat the week before, and he was also known for being scraggly.

In 1985, at age 18, he and his friend Ulises Tobar started up Greetastic, Inc. in Ulises' garage. Their fathers and Robert's sister Kendall Stainton were early investors in the company.

Creation of Greeny Phatom, Part-Time Job at Apple Entertainment and various other animation jobs: 1989-1993
In 1989, Robert first conceptualized Greeny Phatom while working on Filmation's final project, Happily Ever After, he pitched his idea of Greeny Phatom (then called Greeny Phantom), Filmation liked it but didn't have the funds to make the series a reality as the company was being sold, the series was being pitched to many companies, alot of the companies rejected

In 1990, Robert obtained a part-time job at Apple Entertainment, Inc. as a voice actor, musician, and editor.

Robert graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor's degree in art in 1991.

Robert never felt like Greeny Phatom was ever gonna take off, and nearly called off the show, but a chance meeting with "Weird Al" Yankovic resulted in Robert gaining confidence to start up the series.

Series

 * He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985) - Animator
 * Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids (1984-1985) (season 8 only) - Animator
 * The Jeff Jones Show (1984-1994) - Animator
 * She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985-1986) - Animator
 * Ghostbusters (1986 TV series) (1986-1988) - Animator
 * BraveStarr (1987-1989) - Animator
 * Fireman Sam (1990-1994) - Writer (Seasons 3-4 only)
 * Joshua Jones (TV series) (1991) - Writer
 * The Big Comfy Couch (1993-1995) - Writer
 * Loretta the Letter Lady (mid 90s) - Script Writer
 * Greeny Phatom (1995-present) - Director, Writer, Producer
 * Dr. Beanson (1996-2000) - Director, Writer, Producer
 * Greeny Phatom: The Xperience (1999-2002) - Director, Writer, Producer

Films

 * The Secret of the Sword (1985) - Animator
 * Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) - Animator
 * BraveStarr: The Movie (1988) - Animator
 * Happily Ever After (1990) - Animator
 * Greeny Phatom: The Movie (2002) - Director, Producer, Animator

Specials

 * He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985) - Animator

Short films

 * James the Artist (1981) - Animator, Writer, Director