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BIO
Randy M. Kosht is the founder of Mazama Productions, a producer and publisher of graphic art, music, and books. Mazama’s roots are in Randy’s early interest in cartooning. He began drawing at about age three, and by the time he entered junior high, he, his brother Jon, and several friends (Henry Hancock, Carol Jacobs, and Chris Hopkins) had created around 200 characters. They were featured in homemade comic strips and the self-published “Roll Call” books. Characters including Flank and Jack, Bizmarck Hound, Quackengator, Clara O’Hara, and Super Pickel* appeared in various school newspapers and self-published books. *(That spelling doesn’t look right, but it is. Trust me.) Seeking an additional outlet for his cartoon work, Randy joined the publishing staff of Fragments West, which produced Uncle Jam (at the time, a small magazine). He was later the general manager of their Cobblestone arts newspaper, wearing several hats (ad salesperson, delivery driver, editor/proofreader, and media columnist) as well as drawing several cartoons with titles like “Trials and Tribulations of the Struggling Artist.” His look behind the scenes at Cobblestone made the cover of the January 1976 issue, and he revived a character from the old days for a feature, “Beany,” that ran every three months in a revived Uncle Jam humor section. After l eaving Fragments West for a “regular job,” Randy returned to Uncle Jam some years later as a radio/records columnist (“Earwitness News”), and did several “Clara” cartoons for the paper. Several earlier Clara stories made it into a 1980 collection (“Greatest Hits”), and she was in the cast of the unsold comic strip, “Angela J.” Click here to see some of Clara’s appearances. Kosht art has also appeared in advertising for various companies in the Southern California area, and he was the managing editor/chief writer/production artist for a radio bio paper (Galaxy) and the production manager for a yachting magazine. He has also done book covers and shirt designs for high school reunions over the years (the latest shirt design appears here). Randy studied cartooning with C. Bruce Steffenhagen, who was a featured artist at Petersen Publishing’s CARtoons and Hot Rod Cartoons magazines. His artistic influences include Walt Kelly (Pogo), Charles Schulz (Peanuts), Alex Kotzky (Apartment 3-G), and numerous others. In addition to art and design activities, Mazama Productions includes book publishing, music publishing, music research, and marketing divisions, which are described on their own pages within this site. Randy was born in Los Angeles, California, and spent his youth in Medford, Oregon. He graduated from Lennox High School and El Camino College in southern California and studied art at California State University, Long Beach. He holds an A.A. Degree in art from El Camino College and a Certificate from Pacific Institute of Commercial Art. He has been honored by Lennox High and the Inglewood Art League for his art, and was also a winning panelist in a discussion on Bill Mauldin’s cartoons. He and his family reside on the west coast.
This is the latest in a series of designs for Medford Senior High’s Black Tornados, on T-shirts and sweatshirts available at their 30-year reunion. The others were the 10-year memory book cover and the 20-year T-shirt/sweatshirt. Memory book and ticket art were also done for the Lennox High Lancers 10-year reunion. Click here if you’re interested in artwork for your school or group.
Clara is one of the main characters from the cast of the Flank and Jack comics. She and her friend Molly Montgomery were first cast as secret agents, but were reconfigured as everyday neighborhood kids (complete with “Batman and Robin”-like alter egos). They are unusual in that they age in real time, like the characters in the “Gasoline Alley” strip; both are now past 45. Clara was featured in three comic magazines and several panels in Uncle Jam, and was a supporting player in the unsold “Angela J.” comic strip. She has appeared in posters and advertising art for various local companies, and would love to someday be a spokeperson for any company making cranberry products, which she loves.
A.A. Bagful is another character brought back from the Flank and Jack days. He was the stock villain in the episodes with a pair of detectives nicknamed “L and M.” In 1998, A.A. was cast in a couple of promotions for an Orange County-based marketing firm.
(picture coming soon) Beany, created by Jon Kosht, was featured in a ‘60s-era “FJ World” strip that later resurfaced in the pages of Uncle Jam, where he appeared on a quarterly basis. |
