Animator, and vital Astrodome/Astroworld figure, Ed Henderson has passed away.
From the opening of the Dome in 1965 through 1983, Ed Henderson’s entertaining animations were featured centerfield on the “Astrolite” screen.
Edgar Baum (Ed) Henderson, Jr.
November 14, 1924 – January 25, 2020
Ed returned to Houston in the early 1960s and joined forces with Judge Roy Hofheinz to work on the creation of the Astrodome. He created the second Major League mascot, “Chester Charge” and his gang for the Houston Astros. With his studio, he created the wonderful animated cartoons that thrilled fans on the world-famous Astrodome scoreboard.
From the Animation Magazine obituary:
…After marrying, the couple moved to California, where Henderson worked at Columbia Pictures’ Screen Gems studio on the popular The Fox and the Crow cartoons. He later moved to Walt Disney Animation, working on the beloved traditional animation classic Sleeping Beauty (1959).
Ed and Shirley had a daughter, Sherry, in 1954, and moved back to Houston in the early 1960s. Here, Henderson began working with larger-than-life public figure Roy “The Judge” Hofheinz — who was a driving force in bringing Major League Baseball to Houston — lending his artistic touch to the expanding Astros brand. Over his 20-plus years working with the team, Henderson brought joy to fans with his Astrodome scoreboard animations and designed visitor maps for AstroWorld theme park.
The Houston Chronicles obituary profiles Ed:
Edgar Henderson, a Disney animator who brought the Astrodome’s scoreboard to life and designed maps and replicas of the Astroworld theme park, died Jan. 25 of natural causes.
