Ann “Little” Rothschild
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Betty Boop, Betty Boop series, Dave Fleischer, Early Sound, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, U.S.A., Actor, Voice Actor
"Ann L. Rothschild, better known as Little Ann Little, started in show business in 1925 as a part of the Greenwich Village Follies. In the early 1930s, she auditioned for the part of a new cartoon character at Fleischer Studios. Impressed by her high-..."
Bea Benaderet
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, U.S.A., Warner Bros., Actor, Voice Actor
"Born in New York City to a Turkish-Sephardic tobacconist and an Irish-American woman, Bea Benaderet made a name for herself in the first half of the twentieth century displaying her vocal and comedic talents in animation, radio, television, and film...."
Ben “Bugs” Hardaway
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, U.S.A., Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Animator, Storyboard Artist, Voice Actor
"Ben Hardaway was an American storyboard artist, voice actor, animator and gagman during the Golden Age of American animation. Supplying the voice of Woody Woodpecker in many cartoon shorts, Hardaway was the man who gave "Bugs Bunny" his iconic name. "
Burt Gillett
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Rainbow Parade, Silly Symphonies, Technicolor, Ub Iwerks, Van Beuren Corporation, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walter Lantz Productions, Animation Supervisor, Animator, Director
"Burt Gillett was one of the first novice animators to come to Walt Disney Studios and work alongside Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. He took a number of important directorial positions at the studio, directing a few of Disney's most important early animat..."
Carl W. Stalling
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, Early Sound, Looney Tunes, Music, Silly Symphonies, U.S.A., Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Composer
"Carl Stalling was the composer of Warner Bros. Cartoon classic Looney Tunes, serving as composer and arranger for over 22 years and averaging the completion of a score per week. St..."
Dave Fleischer
Filed under: people, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Dave Fleischer, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, U.S.A., Director
"First generation American Jew who grew up in Manhattan. His father had emigrated from Austria in the late 1880’s. He and his brother, Max, distributed their Out of the Inkwell Series by themselves in mid-1921. Sometime in 1922 they signed with dist..."
Dick Beals
Filed under: people, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Stop Motion, U.S.A., Actor, Voice Actor
"Born in Detroit, as a child Dick Beals was too small to play sports, instead opting to be a cheerleader. He attended Michigan State University, where he began to lend his voice to radio broadcasting. In the 1940s, Beal began to do voice acting profes..."
Echo Henoche
Filed under: people, 2010s, Canada, National Film Board of Canada, Animator, Artist
"Echo Henoche is an Inuk artist and animator from Labrador. Her animation style is influenced by the Inuit art she grew up around in Labrador. She has worked with artists such as Asinnajaq and Elise Simard at the National Film Board, where she develo..."
Émile (Eugène Jean Louis) Courtet
Filed under: people, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, Early Sound, France, Pixilation, U.S.A., World War 1 ( WW1 ), Animator, Artist, Background Artist, Cartoonist, Director, Writer
"Émile Cohl was an important early independent cartoonist and animator, who was a caricaturist in the "Incoherent Movement" and has often been called "The Father of the Animated Cartoon.""
Eunice Macaulay
Filed under: people, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Canada, Color, Cultural Industries, National Film Board of Canada, U.K., Animator, Filmmaker, Producer, Writer
"Before entering animation, Eunice Macaulay worked at Pilkington Brothers as an analytical chemist, and later during the Second World War as a radio operator. After the war, in 1948, a Christmas card Macaulay illustrated caught the attention of Gaumon..."
Grant Munro
Filed under: people, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Canada, Documentary, National Film Board of Canada, Actor, Animator, Filmmaker, Producer
"Grant Munro was an animator, actor, producer and filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada, who was instrumental in many of the first developments of the film board and its associated studios. He was one of the board's earliest and longest ser..."
Jan Švankmajer
Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Czech Republic, Krátký Film, Pixilation, Stop Motion, Animator, Artist, Director
"Jan Švankmajer is a Czechoslovakian surrealist artist, filmmaker and animator. His work revolves around the exploration of imaginative meanings within objects of the everyday specifically through their tactile qualities. Filled with grotesque imager..."
Jim Simon
Filed under: people, 1970s, 1980s, Educational films, Paramount Pictures, Sesame Street, U.S.A., Animation Designer, Animator, Artist, Background Artist, Studio Head, Writer
"Jim Simon is an artist and animator who created numerous commercials, public relation films, and entertainment and educational shorts during the 1970s and 1980s. Once dubbed “the Black Walt Disney” (even though he did not embrace the title), Simo..."
John Whitney, Sr.
Filed under: people, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, U.S.A., Animator, Composer, Inventor
"John Whitney attended school at Pomona College, and in 1937, took a year in Paris to study twelve-tone composition under conductor René Leibowitz. Upon returning to America, he and his brother, James, began to make experimental films, initially work..."
Kemp Powers
Filed under: people, 2010s, 2020s, 3D Animation, Anime, Pixar Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Animation, U.S.A., Director, Screenwriter
"Kemp Powers (1973-present) is an African-American director, screenwriter and playwright working for both animation and theatrical play. Powers worked as a journalist for 17 years before entering the film industry. He began writing for real-life wor..."
Kenzō Masaoka
Filed under: people, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Anime, Early Sound, Japan, Toei Animation Studio, Actor, Animator, Director, Producer, Special Effects Animator
"Masaoka was one of the first Japanese animators, who also trained and guided artists who would move on to become the next generation of animators. Masaoka is credited with creating the earliest anime using cel animation and recorded sound. He has als..."
Laverne Harding
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Color, Daffy Duck, Early Sound, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Joe Barbera, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, Oswald, Speedy Gonzales, Technicolor, The Road Runner, U.S.A., Walter Lantz, Walter Lantz Productions, Warner Bros., Woody Woodpecker, Animator, Cartoonist, Comic Strip Artist
"Laverne Harding was the second female studio animator in history, and one of the first to receive onscreen credit for her work. She started out as an inker for the Walter Lantz Productions, moving on to do animation work for several of the Lantz Prod..."
Leo D. Sullivan
Filed under: people, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Bob Clampett, Color, Educational films, Hanna-Barbera Studios, Racial representation, U.S.A., Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Animation Designer, Animator, Art Director, Director, Educator, Producer
"Leo D. Sullivan began his career in 1959 after graduating from the Chouinard Art Institute. He first worked as an assistant to Warner Bros. producer Bob Clampett on the television show, Beany and Cecil. In 1965, Sullivan met fellow animator Floyd Nor..."
Leon Searl
Filed under: people, 1900s, 1910s, Krazy Kat, Silent, U.S.A., Animator, Cartoonist, Comic Strip Artist
"Leon Searl (whose name is alternatively spelt "Leon Searle") got his start as a newspaper cartoonist, first working for the Pulitzer Papers on the comic strip "Jimmy Johnnypants" from November of 1905 to February of 1906. He later went on to write at..."
Lillian Friedman Astor
Filed under: people, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, Early Sound, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, U.S.A., Animator
"Lilian Friedman Astor was the first American female studio animator and worked at Fleischer studios."
Lillian Friedman Astor
Filed under: people, 1930s, Betty Boop, Betty Boop series, Color, Dave Fleischer, Early Sound, Inkwell / Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, Popeye, U.S.A., Animator
"Lillian Friedman Astor was born in New York City. She developed a passion for drawing as a preteen, and went on to attend Washington Irving High School, focusing on fashion design. After a brief stint as a fashion designer upon graduation, she sought..."
Lin Wenxiao (林文肖)
Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Anime, China, Cinecolor, Painted Animation, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Technicolor, Animation Designer, Animator, Artist, Director
"Lin Wenxiao (林文肖) is one of the greatest animators and directors in Early Chinese Animation. She is a former member of Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS, 上海美术电影制片厂) as well as International Animated Film Association (ASIFA)..."
Marcell Jankovics
Filed under: people, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Anime, Color, Hungary, Pannonia Studio, Technicolor, Animator, Character Designer, Director, Screenwriter, Writer
"Marcell Jankovics is a Hungarian animator, director, graphic artist, and writer. He was the former art director and managing director of Pannonia Film Studio in 1995 and 1996, the former president of the Hungarian Cultural Society in 1998 and the St...."
Margaret Mintz nee Winkler
Filed under: people, 1910s, 1920s, Oswald, Pat Sullivan Cartoons, Universal Studios, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Animator, Producer
"A crucial figure in the history of the American animation industry, Margaret Winkler was the first woman to produce and distribute animated films, including early works of the Dave and
Mary Blair
Filed under: people, 1950s, U.S.A., Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Animator, Artist, Color Stylist and Designer, Illustrator
"Mary Blair was an American animator, best known for her work with Disney Studios."
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 ..."
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. "
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 ..."
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..."
Oskar Fischinger
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, Animator, Filmmaker, Painter
"Oskar Fischinger was a German-American painter, filmmaker and abstract animator. He invented several tools and techniques for special effects. While personally producing a vast amount of abstract fine art and film, he also collaborated with pioneer f..."
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..."
Payut Ngaokrachang
Filed under: people, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Commercials, Propaganda, Toei Animation Studio, Animator, Educator, Studio Head
"Payut Ngaokrachang was a Thai animation pioneer and creator of Thailand’s first animated feature film. He is known as “Thailand’s Walt Disney.”"
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..."
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."
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."
Tommy Bond
Filed under: people, 1930s, 1940s, Warner Bros., Actor
"Tommy Bond was an American actor who got his start in the industry as a child at the age of 5. Bond passed away in 2005 due to heart disease. "
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 ..."
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..."
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..."