Jim Ludtke

The Residents' 2004 Memorial to Jim, from the Loss Of Innocence Music Video

***Jim Ludtke*** was a visual artist who worked with The Residents all throughout the 90s. He retired in the late 90s, and died in 2004 at the age of 50.

## Background

Jim Ludtke was born in Sioux City, Iowa, and moved to Chicago to study art around 1976. This same time he began working as an illustrator for Playboy Magazine.

From 1977 to 1983, he lived in San Francisco, before moving to New York in 1984.

In 1991, he began fascinated in 3-D Modelling as well as Mac software, and returned to San Francisco to further his interests, where he met with *The Residents*.

They were immediately interesting in his 3-D Modelling techniques, and hired him to create a music video for '*Harry The Head*'

This same year, he worked on *John Sanborn*'s film on The Residents, '*The Eyes Scream*', working on the computer To Video Transfers.

In 1993 he appeared in Voyager's Macromedia Director 3.0 CD-ROM, as part of an interactive presentation based on The Residents' *Eskimo* album. In the same year he was hired by The Residents to Co-Direct, Animate & Design their first video game, Freak Show. It was eventually released in 1994. Immediately after this, he worked as a designer and animator on their *Gingerbread Man* game.

Following the Gingerbread Man, he worked as the Co-Director, Designer & Animator on The Residents' third video game '*Bad Day On The Midway*'.

In 1996 and 1997, Ludtke worked on a CD-ROM game based on the horror anthology TV series *Tales From The Crypt*, which The Residents were briefly contracted to score; this game was ultimately never released as the developer declared bankruptcy before it could be completed.

In 1998, Jim made his final collaboration with The Residents released before his death, artwork for the group's *I Hate Heaven* EP.

Around 2004, he began working with The Residents on an animated adaption of Freak Show. The project was unfinished, but segments featuring '*Harry The Head*', '*Jelly Jack*', '*Herman*', & '*Benny*' were animated and released on the 2006 *Freak Show DVD*.

Following his retirement, his 3-D models created for the group continued to be used in Residents music videos, the *Bad Day On The Midway* video for their *Icky Flix* Film in 2001, and The *Loss Of Innocence* video for The Commercial DVD, produced only months after his death in 2004, which features a memorial to him at the end.

## Credits With The Residents

* The Eyes Scream: A History Of The Residents (1991), Computer To Video Transfers
* Freak Show Video Press Release (1991), Director
* Twenty Twisted Questions (1992), Director on '*Harry The Head*'
* Freak Show (1994), Co-Director, Packaging Art, Animation & Design
* Freak Show Soundtrack (1994), Artwork
* Freak Show CD-ROM Video Tour (1994) Co-Director, Animation & Design
* Gingerbread Man (1994), Cover Art, Design & Animation
* Bad Day On The Midway (1995), Co-Director, Animation And Design
* Have A Bad Day (1996), Character Design
* I Hate Heaven (1998), Illustration
* Icky Flix (2001), Director & Designer

***Posthumous***

* Commercial DVD (2004), *Loss Of Innocence* Creator.
* Freak Show DVD (2006), Animation
* Twisted Cabaret (2010), *Harry The Head* Director