Mary Ellen Bute
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Animator, Artist, Director, Filmmaker, Painter, Special Effects Animator
"Mary Ellen Bute was an American animator, director, and producer known as one of the first female experimental filmmakers and the creator of some of the first electronically generated film images. Bute was a pioneer of visual music and electronic art..."
Masahiko Satoh
Filed under: people, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Japan, Composer
"Born in Tokyo in 1941, Masahiko Satoh is a pianist whose career has spanned six decades and over a hundred albums. His style is known for blending influences from American jazz with traditional Japanese music. Satoh's interest in music began at the ..."
Max Fleischer
Filed under: people, Aesop's Fables, Betty Boop, Early Sound, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Koko the Clown, Max Fleischer, Popeye, Rotoscope, Silent, Superman, U.S.A., Cartoonist, Director, Photographer, Producer, Writer
"Max Fleischer was an American inventor born in Hungary, who moved to the United States with his family at the age of 4 and later became a filmmaker, animator, director and producer, famous for serving as the head of his own animation studio, Fleisch..."
Michael Lah
Filed under: people, Barney Bear, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, U.S.A., Animator, Director
"Michael Lah was a noted MGM animator and director, as well as being the understudy of Tex Avery. Lah helped redesign the well-known Barney Bear character, and directed many screwball cartoons, including one that garnered him an Academy Award nomina..."
Michael Maltese
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Looney Tunes, Tasmanian Devil, U.S.A., Warner Bros., Writer
"Born in New York City to Italian immigrants, Michael Maltese studied at the National Academy of Art and Design, before landing his first animation job working as a colourist for Betty Boop cartoons, in 1935. He and his wife, Florence Sass, later move..."
Milton (Milt) Kahl
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Color, Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Silly Symphonies, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Winnie the Pooh, Animation Supervisor, Animator, Director
"Milt Kahl was an renown animator and director who was a part of Disney's group of “Nine Old Men”, who created and designed many Disney characters, and whose distinctive style had a large influence within the history of the studio. "
Miyazaki Hayao (宮崎駿)
Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Anime, Color, Japan, Mayazaki Hayao, Studio Ghibli, Technicolor, Animator, Author, Cartoonist, Director, Screenwriter, Studio Head, Writer
"Miyazaki Hayao (宮崎駿) is an internationally renowned and influential Japanese animator, director, screenwriter, and comic artist. He is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli and the winner of two Best Animated Feature Academy Awards. "
Moustapha Alassane
Filed under: people, Niger, Animator, Director, Educator, Filmmaker, Inventor
"Moustapha Alassane was born in N’Dougou, Niger in 1942. Alassane is credited as the Father of African animation and he directed approximately 30 films. He introduced and spread the word of filmmaking, provided local training, and aided in the d..."
Myron (Grim) Natwick
Filed under: people, Betty Boop series, Max Fleischer, U.S.A., Animator
"Myron Natwick was born in Wisconsin Rapids in 1890 and died 100 years later in LA, California of pneumonia and heart disease. He is best known for creating the most popular character from
Nikolai Khodataev
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Propaganda, Russia, Stop Motion, Animator, Artist, Writer
"Born in the village of Konstantinovsk in 1892, the son of a wealthy tsarist official, Nikolai Khodataev took painting lessons in his youth, eventually enrolling in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, at the age of twenty. In ..."
Olga Petrovna Khodataeva
Filed under: people, Color, Educational films, Propaganda, Russia, Soyuzmultfilm, World War 2 ( WW2 ), Animation Designer, Animator, Director, Visual Artist, Writer
"Olga Khodataeva was a Soviet animator, animation director, and pioneer of the Soviet animation industry. She was amongst the first wave of Soviet women animators. From 1927 to 1960, she directed around 30 films that often involved Soviet propaganda a..."
Oliver Wallace
Filed under: people, 1940s, 1950s, Early Sound, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Composer
"Born in England, Wallace studied music widely, in London as well as in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. First relocating to Canada in 1904, Oliver eventually settled in the United States, becoming a citizen 10 years later in 1914. After compl..."
Ōten Shimokawa
Filed under: people, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, Anime, Japan, Silent, Animator, Cartoonist, Illustrator
"Ōten Shimokawa was one of the pioneers of Japanese animation, who is believed to have produced the very first “true” anime film.Shimokawa was born in Maiyakojima Prefecture in 1892, though moved to Tokyo when we was 9. He began his working life..."
Otto Messmer
Filed under: people, 1910s, 1920s, Early Sound, Felix the Cat, Noveltoons, Pat Sullivan Cartoons, Silent, U.S.A.
"Messmer was a legendary American cartoonist and animator, who was best know as the creator of Felix the Cat, who is considered the first major cartoon star."
Pat Sullivan
Filed under: people, 1910s, 1920s, Felix the Cat, Pat Sullivan Cartoons, Silent, U.K., U.S.A., Animator, Producer
"Pat Sullivan was born in 1885 as Patrick Peter O’Sullivan in a working-class suburb of Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Pat is best known for producing the Felix the Cat cartoons. There has been controversy surrounding who crea..."
Patrick Anthony (Pat) Powers
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, Early Sound, Iwerks Studio, Mickey Mouse, Silly Symphonies, Technicolor, U.S.A., Ub Iwerks, Universal Studios, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Businessman, President, Producer, Studio Head
"Pat Powers was an influential American businessman who was involved with the film and animation developments inAmericaduring the first part of the twentieth century. His most important development being the work of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, who he b..."
Pete Alvarado
Filed under: people, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Animator, Background Artist, Comic Book Pencilist, Comic Strip Artist, Layout Artist
"Pete Alvarado was born in 1920 and was raised in Glendale, California. He attended Chouinard Art Institute. Soon after graduating from art school he was hired at Disney as an animation assistant and first worked on Snow White and Dumbo. He worked mos..."
Peter Foldes
Filed under: people, Hungary, U.K., Animator, Director, Painter, Producer, Writer
"Peter Foldes was a Hungarian-British painter, film director, experimental animator, and scriptwriter. He is best known for producing and animating the 1956 painted animated short A Short Vision, an anti-war film that was infamously showed on The Ed S..."
Ram Mohan
Filed under: people, India, Animation Supervisor, Animator, Businessman, Director, Educator, Studio Head
"Ram Mohan was born on August 26, 1931, in India. His birthplace is unknown. Known as the Father of Indian Animation, he was a pioneer animator from the post-Independence era, working for the Cartoon Film Unit at Films Division and Prasad Productio..."
Raymond “Ray” Patterson
Filed under: people, Barney Bear, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Tom and Jerry, U.S.A., Animator, Cartoonist, Producer
"Ray Patterson was an Emmy nominated animator, cartoon director, producer, most noted for his work in the 40's during the “golden age” of animation on the legendary Tom and Jerry cartoon series, as well as animating with
Richard “Dick” Lundy
Filed under: people, Barney Bear, Bill Hanna, Donald Duck, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Joe Barbera, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Mickey Mouse, Silly Symphonies, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Woody Woodpecker
"Dick Lundy was an animator and director, associated with several studios, including Disney, MGM and
Robert “Bob” McKimson
Filed under: people, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester Jr., Tasmanian Devil, U.S.A., Warner Bros., Animator
"Bob McKimson was one of the most-underrated and overlooked animators who worked at Warner Bros. during the golden age of animation. He directed many Academy Award-nominated shorts as a part of Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies series, creating cha..."
Robert Fred “Freddie” Moore
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse, U.S.A., Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walter Lantz, Walter Lantz Productions, Woody Woodpecker, Animator, Artist, Character Designer
"Freddie Moore was a highly influential animator with Walt Disney Productions in a crucial era of its development during the 30s, up until the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) and the establishment of the core group of animators k..."
Roland Crandall
Filed under: people, Betty Boop series, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, U.S.A., Animator
"Roland Crandall - nicknamed "Doc" - was one of the most important animators to work for the Fleischer Bros., working on the Ko-Ko the Clown series, Betty Boop, and Popeye, as well as their feature Gulliver's Travels. In 1923 he married Julia Hoffman..."
Roy O. Disney
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Businessman, President, Producer
"Roy O. Disney was an American businessman and co-founder of Walt Disney Studios with his younger brother
Rudy Ising
Filed under: people, Bosko, Early Sound, Looney Tunes, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Animator
"Ising began his animation career first working for Walt Disney, and was the lifelong business partner of Hugh Harman, producing Oscar-win..."
Sadie Friedlander Bodin
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Color, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, U.S.A., Van Beuren Corporation, Animation Supervisor, Animator, Background Artist, Colorist, Inker, Union Activist
"Sadie Bodin was an extremely influential animator, being the first to picket an animation studio during the fight for animation workers' rights in the 1930s. Bodin was also one of the few women animators to move up into managerial positions, becoming..."
Sammy Timberg
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, Betty Boop series, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Music, Superman, U.S.A., Composer
"Sammy Timberg was the musical director for Fleischer Studios and one of the most important composers of music in the history of American cartoons. Although Timberg had a long career that began in vaudeville in the 1910s, Timberg is best known for th..."
Scott Bradley
Filed under: people, 1930s, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Tom and Jerry, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Composer
"Scott Bradley was a film composer who wrote acclaimed music for many memorable cartoons during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He is best known for his work at MGM, scoring the..."
Seymour Kneitel
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Baby Huey, Betty Boop, Betty Boop series, Bray Productions, Casper the Ghost, Color, Dave Fleischer, Herman and Katnip, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Isadore Sparber, Koko the Clown, Max Fleischer, Noveltoons, Paramount Pictures, Popeye, Sam Buchwald, Seymour Kneitel, Superman, U.S.A., Animation Supervisor, Animator, Director, Executive Producer, Studio Head
"Seymour Kneitel was an early American animator, most well known for his work with Fleischer Studios. After the studio closed, he headed its successor, Famous Studios."
Sidney (Sid) Marcus
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Animator, Director
"Marcus began his career in animation in 1916 as an animator for William Randolph Hearst's International Film Service, where he animated the Krazy Kat series. In 1925, he joined Associated Animators in order to work on Mutt and Jeff animations for Sho..."
Stephen and Timothy Quay (Brothers Quay)
Filed under: people, 1970s, 1980s, Stop Motion, U.K., Animator, Director
"Stephen and Timothy Quay are identical twin brothers and animators, working together as the Quay Brothers. They are extremely influential in the field of stop-motion animation, creating dark and esoteric works that have built on several fascinating a..."
Sterling Holloway
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Winnie the Pooh, Actor, Voice Actor
"Born in Cedartown, Georgia to a grocer, Sterling Holloway's acting career began in his teens, when he enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where his classmates included Spencer Tracy and Pat O'Brien. After graduation, h..."
Taiji Yabushita
Filed under: people, 1960s, Japan, Toei Animation Studio, Director, Educator
"Taiji Serushita graduated from Tokyo School of Fine Arts and studied photography. He is a pioneer of Japanese animation. After graduation, he joined the filming department of Matsuktake Co. Ltd. in 1925. Later, he worked in the film production equipm..."
Tom Sito
Filed under: people, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 3D Animation, Color, Hanna-Barbera Studios, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Animator
"Tom Sito is a highly influential American animator, animation historian and teacher, who has often been considered one of the key figures in the Disney Renaissance."
Vladimir William (“Bill”) Tytla
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Casper the Ghost, Color, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Little Lulu, Musical, Popeye, Terrytoons Animated Shorts, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Animator, Artist
"Vladimir Tytla worked as an animator for several studios, including his own. His happiest times, and best work, were done at Disney Studios where he felt a certain atmosphere of artistry and care for the animated product, which fed his deep interest ..."
Walter Lantz
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Animator, Cartoonist, Painter
"Walter Lantz was born on April 27, 1899, to a family of Italian immigrants in Westchester County, 16 miles from New York City. Watching Gertie the Dinosaur immediately ignited his passion for animation. While working as an auto mechanic by day, he me..."
Ward Walrath Kimball
Filed under: people, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Color, Musical, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Animator, Artist, Character Designer
"Ward Kimball was a prolific animator for Walt Disney, part of the earliest team of core animators known as "Disney's Nine Old Men." While extremely influential, his importance in the early days of Disney has meant that biographers have encountered se..."
Wilfred Jackson
Filed under: people, U.S.A., Animator, Director
"Came to Disney in the midst of the loss of Oswald the rabbit to Warner Brothers. Originally a musician, he worked on synchronization for animation shorts. Became a director on accident. Early Life/Family: Married in 1929 to Jane, last name not found...."
William C. (Bill) Nolan
Filed under: people, Early Sound, Felix the Cat, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Oswald, Popeye, U.S.A.
"Nolan was a innovative film animator and director during the early days of sound animation, working mostly with Walter Lantz and J.R. Bra..."
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Bill Hanna, Color, Droopy, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Joe Barbera, Tom and Jerry, Tom and Jerry, U.S.A., Animation Supervisor, Animator, Cartoonist, Director
"William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were two animators from MGM who began their own animated television studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions; a studio which would dominate and transform the industry from the 60s to the end of the century.William Denby “B..."
Yan Dingxian (严定宪)
Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, China, Color, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Technicolor, Animator, Character Designer, Director
"Yan Dingxian (严定宪) is the most renowned animator, character designer and director of early Chinese animation. He is the former president of Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS, 上海美术电影制片厂), China Film Association (中国影协..."
Yuri Norstein
Filed under: people, Russia, Soyuzmultfilm, Animator, Director
"Norstein was born in Andreyevka, Penza region in Russia on September 15, 1941. Norstein is credited as one of the most legendary Russian animators of all time. His most famous film, Hedgehog in the Fog, released in 1975 to critical acclaim, and w..."
Zlatko Grgíc
Filed under: people, Color, Professor Balthazar, Yugoslavia (Croatia), Zagreb Film, Animation Designer, Animator, Director
"Zlakto Grgíc was a Croatian-Canadian animator and director known for his projects with Zagreb Film, creating the Yugoslav series Professor Balthazar and Maxi Cat, as well as award-nominated shorts such as Muzikalno prase/The Musical Pig (1966) and L..."