Full Name:

John (Jack) Morin Bradbury

Occupation / Title:

, , , , ,

Date of birth:

27/12/1914

Date of death:

15/05/2004

Birthplace:

Seattle, Washington, USA.

Biography


Born John Morin Bradbury on December 27, 1914, he was raised in Seattle, Washington throughout his childhood. Bradbury graduated in the midst of the Great Depression in 1932, taking odd jobs such as apple thinning to make ends meet. In 1933, he saw Walt Disney’s “Three Little Pigs” after his friends suggested that he watch it.

Bradbury became interested in working for Disney when his friend told him that the company was looking for new artists. With no other job prospects, he then sent a few samples of his work to Disney, and within weeks he received a letter back stating that he travel to Los Angeles for an unpaid two-week tryout to determine whether his skills were sufficient for a position at the studio. However, the company warned that they would not cover his travel expenses. He borrowed money from his grandfather to fund his travel costs and at the age of 19, left Seattle for Los Angeles with only $50 in his pocket.

Bradbury managed to pass the trial period and began his career at Disney as an in-betweener for $15 per week. In 6 months he was offered a seven-year contract. A few years later, he was promoted to assistant animator on Snow White and later to animator.

His career at Disney came to an end when he joined the Disney animators’ strike in 1941. Bradbury was fired from his position after the strike ended, and for the subsequent year spent his time painting ships. After turning down an animation job at MGM, he was later offered a job at Schlessinger, which produced cartoons for Warner Brothers under Friz Freleng. He animated for Warner for two years from 1942 to 1944.

Near the end of his time at Warner, he began illustrating and writing comic books for American Comics Group (ACG) and Standard Comics after hours working as an animator. The “funny animal” characters in these stories were entirely his own creation, including Fremont the Frog, Footsy Hare, Bagshaw Bear, and Hucky Duck among several others. Bradbury eventually began illustrating comics full time after leaving Waner Bros., and continued to draw comics for ACG and Standard until 1951-1952. He also began drawing colouring books, activity books, and comics for Western Publishing in 1947. He drew almost every Disney character at Western, although he never wrote stories for any of these characters. Bradbury continued to illustrate comics for Western until 1969 due to his failing eyesight. Much of his animation work went uncredited during his time at Disney and Warner Bros, and most of his work is unknown to fans of animation and comic books.

At 89 years old, Bradbury died of kidney failure in a nursing home in Sylmar, Los Angeles on May 15, 2004.

Family and early life


Bradbury was married to Mary Jim, and had three sons: Jack, Michael, and Joel.

Personal style


Bradbury drew the Disney and Warner Bros. characters on model, but his rendition of the characters appeared slightly taller and thinner compared to other artists.

Filmography


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References:





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