Pat Matthews

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Full Name:

Pat Matthews

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Biography


Pat Matthews was an American animator who got his start as an inbetweener for Walt Disney in 1938. He worked on Pinocchio and received screen credit but lost his job after the inbetweeners went on strike. Later, Matthews went to work at Walter Lantz, becoming an animator there. Matthews went to work at UPA after several years at Walter Lantz and worked on such well-known animations such as Rooty Toot Toot and Tell Tale Heart, an Edgar Allen Poe adaptation. 

Career outline


From the mid-40’s, Matthews worked at Walter Lantz studios as an animator, with his first credit on film as The Pied Piper of Basin Street. He stayed at Walter Lantz for another few years and later on went to work for UPA, with his first credited animation being Robin Hoodlum at UPA. 

In 1950, Matthews was working at UPA but had to endure a brain operation due to his past injuries as a veteran in WWII. After his operation in Van Nuys, his productivity severely declined since a metal plate was inserted into his head, and he eventually left in 1953 to find work in Mexico. His last works at UPA included such animations as The Emperor’s New Clothes in 1953, The Tell-Tale Heart, the first X rated cartoon produced in 1953, and lastly The Man on the Flying Trapeze in 1954. 

Matthews left UPA in 1954 since he wanted to become a director, and found a position in Mexico City working at the RK Tompkins Animation studio. Fluent in Spanish, Matthews stayed there until 1956 but eventually moved back to the US to work at Playhouse Pictures. Experiencing a long period of disability from his WWII injuries, Matthews freelanced despite his paralysis on the left side of his body and worked on and off for UPA, RK Tompkins and on various television program shows. He and his wife were killed in a car accident driving to the studio one morning in 1984. He was 56 year old. 

Personal style


Matthews was known for drawing wild, action images and had a great sensibility for musical timing in animated scenes. He was also well known for his drawings of cartoonish women, more realistic than the cartoon characters of the Golden Age. 

References:


“Cartoons, Comics & Model Sheets.” Cartoons Comics Model Sheets. Cartoon Research, n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2015.




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