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Birth/Death

Birth/Death??Birth: 4 March 1914
Death: 8 July 2002

Occupation/Title
?Animator, Director, Writer, Producer

Bio Summary

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 4, 1914, Ward’s first recognizable drawing as a child was of a steam locomotive. He once said, his mother called him a “marked” baby because of his early obsession with railroads, a theme that would resonate throughout his life.

Early Life/Family

Education/Training

Santa Barbara School of Art

Career Outline

He joined The Walt Disney Studios, in 1934, and contributed to most all of its beloved animated features up until his retirement in 1972.

Comments On Style

Fellow Disney Legend Eric Larson once wrote of Ward’s animation style: “A powerful caricaturist of mood and action, Ward often used the same approach in his scene planning and cutting, as was shown in the first meeting of Donald Duck, Jose Carioca [the parrot] and Panchito [the rooster] in “The Three Caballeros.” The action and cutting [developed by Ward] was wild, woolly and humorous.”??Although Kimball was known as one of the Nine Old Men (nine master Disney animators that were known as the “Supreme Court of Animation”), his style of drawing was completely opposite to the way the other eight men viewed animation. The eight were proponents and masters of what was known as “The Illusion of Life” (as Disney animation has been called), which called for animating a character from within based on personality. Kimball would instead draw his characters based on a satirical point of view and the exaggeration of human characteristics.

Influences

Personality

Anecdotes

Anecdotes??(About his youth and working for Walt Disney) “We thought we were always going to be 21 years old. We thought we would always be putting goldfish in the bottled drinking water, balancing cups of water on the light fixtures, changing the labels on cans of sauerkraut juice. We were 21 years old, Walt was 30, leading the pack. Working there was more fun than any job I could ever imagine.”

Miscellaneous

Ward also directed two Academy Award®-winning short subjects including, “Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom,” which was the first CinemaScope cartoon, and “It’s Tough to Be a Bird,” which featured both live-action and animation combined.
While at Disney, Ward, a trombone-player, also led several fellow Disney employees in the internationally-known Dixieland jazz band “Firehouse Five Plus Two.” He also restored and operated a full-size locomotive on his two-acre orange grove and was instrumental in sparking Walt Disney’s own interest in backyard railroads.

Filmography

Miscellaneous Crew – filmography

The Tortoise and the Hare (1934) (animator)
The Wise Little Hen (1934) (inbetween artist)
Orphan’s Benefit (1934) (inbetween artist)
The Goddess of Spring (1934) (inbetween artist)
Elmer Elephant (1936) (animator)
Toby Tortoise Returns (1936) (animator)
Woodland Café (1937) (animator)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) (animator)
Ferdinand the Bull (1938) (animator)?Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938) (animator)
Pinocchio (1940) (animation director)
Fantasia (1940) (animation supervisor) (segment “The Pastoral Symphony”)?The Little Whirlwind (1941) (animator)
The Nifty Nineties (1941) (animator)
Dumbo (1941) (animator director)
The Spirit of ’43 (1943) (animator)
Education for Death (1943) (animator) ?… aka The Story of One of Hitlers Children as Adapted from: Education for Death – The Making of the Nazi (USA: complete title)
Victory Through Air Power (1943) (animator)
Reason and Emotion (1943) (animator)
The Three Caballeros (1944) (animator)?Make Mine Music (1946) (animator)
Willie the Operatic Whale (1946) (animator) ?… aka Opera Pathetique (USA: new title) ?… aka The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met (USA: new title)
Peter and the Wolf (1946) (animator)
Fun and Fancy Free (1947) (directing animator)
Pecos Bill (1948) (animator)
Melody Time (1948) (directing animator)
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) (directing animator) ?… aka Ichabod and Mr. Toad (USA: promotional title) ?… aka The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (USA: TV title) ?… aka The Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad
Cinderella (1950) (animator)
Alice in Wonderland (1951) (directing animator)
Peter Pan (1953) (directing animator)
Melody (1953) (animator) ?… aka Adventures in Music: Melody (USA: complete title)
Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (1953) (animator) ?… aka Adventures in Music: Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (USA: complete title)
“Disneyland” (1954) TV Series (animator) ?… aka Disney’s Wonderful World (USA: new title) ?… aka The Disney Sunday Movie (USA: new title) ?… aka The Magical World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka The Wonderful World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney Presents (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (USA: new title)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958) (animator)
Mary Poppins (1964) (animator)
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967) (title designer)
The Million Dollar Duck (1971) (title designer)
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) (animation director) ?… aka Bedknobs and Broomsticks: 25th Anniversary Special Edition (USA: longer version)
Mickey Mouse Disco (1979) (animator)
The Story Behind Walt Disney’s ‘Fun and Fancy Free’ (1997) (V) (special thanks: for sharing their memories)
Walt: The Man Behind the Myth (2001) (TV) (footage courtesy of)
Pollyanna: Making of a Masterpiece (2002) (V) (special thanks)?
?Director – filmography

Melody (1953) ?… aka Adventures in Music: Melody (USA: complete title)
Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (1953) ?… aka Adventures in Music: Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (USA: complete title)?Man in Space (1955) (TV)
Man and the Moon (1955) (TV) ?… aka Tomorrow the Moon (USA: reissue title)
Cosmic Capers (1957)
Mars and Beyond (1957) (TV)
The Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show (1968)
It’s Tough to Be a Bird (1969)
Dad, Can I Borrow the Car? (1970) (TV)
“Disneyland” (episode “Dad, Can I Borrow the Car?”) (episode “Spy in the Sky”) ?… aka Disney’s Wonderful World (USA: new title) ?… aka The Disney Sunday Movie (USA: new title) ?… aka The Magical World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka The Wonderful World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney Presents (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (USA: new title) ? – It’s Tough to Be a Bird (1970) TV Episode ? – Man in Space (1955) TV Episode
“The Mouse Factory” (1971) TV Series?
?Writer – filmography

Toby Tortoise Returns (1936)
“Disneyland” (1954) TV Series (producer) (episode “Dad, Can I Borrow the Car?”) ?… aka Disney’s Wonderful World (USA: new title) ?… aka The Disney Sunday Movie (USA: new title) ?… aka The Magical World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka The Wonderful World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney Presents (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (USA: new title)
Man in Space (1955) (TV)
Cosmic Capers (1957) (written by)
Babes in Toyland (1961)
It’s Tough to Be a Bird (1969) (story)
Disneyland” ?… aka Disney’s Wonderful World (USA: new title) ?… aka The Disney Sunday Movie (USA: new title) ?… aka The Magical World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka The Wonderful World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney Presents (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (USA: new title) ? – It’s Tough to Be a Bird (1970) TV Episode (writer) ? – Babes in Toyland: Part 2 (1969) TV Episode (writer) ? – Babes in Toyland: Part 1 (1969) TV Episode (writer) ? – Man in Space (1955) TV Episode (writer)
“The Mouse Factory” (1971) TV Series (creator)??Producer – filmography?
Man in Space (1955) (TV) (producer)
Cosmic Capers (1957) (producer)
Dad, Can I Borrow the Car? (1970) (TV) (producer) ?”The Mouse Factory” (1971) TV Series (producer)
??Actor – filmography??Mickey: Reelin’ Through the Years (1995) (TV) ??The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989) …. The IRS Chief??The Nifty Nineties (1941) (voice) (uncredited) …. Ward???Himself – filmography?
The Reluctant Dragon (1941) …. Himself (Goofy animator)?… aka A Day at Disneys (USA: TV title) ?… aka Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studio ?One Hour in Wonderland (1950) (TV) …. Himself (Firehouse Five Plus Two)
“Toast of the Town” ?… aka The Ed Sullivan Show (new title) ? – Episode #6.22 (1953) TV Episode
“You Bet Your Life” ?… aka The Groucho Show (USA: last season title) ? – Episode dated 18 March 1954 (1954) TV Episode …. Contestant
Dateline: Disneyland (1955) (TV) (as Firehouse Five Plus Two) …. Himself
“Disneyland” ?… aka Disney’s Wonderful World (USA: new title) ?… aka The Disney Sunday Movie (USA: new title) ?… aka The Magical World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka The Wonderful World of Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney Presents (USA: new title) ?… aka Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (USA: new title) ? – Where Do the Stories Come From? (1956) TV Episode …. Himself? – Man and the Moon (1955) TV Episode …. Himself? – Man in Space (1955) TV Episode …. Himself? – The Disneyland Story (1954) TV Episode …. Himself
Walt Disney: A Golden Anniversary Salute (1973) (TV) …. Himself
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (1985) (uncredited) …. Himself
Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toon Town (1988) (TV) …. Himself
Celebrating Walt Disney’s ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’: The One That Started It All (1990) (TV) …. Himself
“Tracks Ahead” (1990) TV Series …. Himself (1992-1996)
The Story Behind Walt Disney’s ‘Fun and Fancy Free’ (1997) (V) …. Himself
A Wish Came True: The Making of ‘Pinocchio’ (2000) (V) …. Himself
The Fantasia Legacy: The Concert Feature (2000) …. Himself
Walt: The Man Behind the Myth (2001) (TV) …. Himself (animator)
?Archive Footage?1. The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003) (TV) …. Himself (Memorial Tribute)?Still the Fairest of Them All: The Making of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ (2001) (V) …. Himself

Honors

Annie Award: Winsor McCay Award 1976

Related Links

Bibliographic References

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This posting is a stub. You can contribute to this entry by providing information through the comments link at the bottom of this post. Please organize your information following the main category headers below….

Birth/Death

Birth: March 9, 1911, Cincinnati, Ohio
Death: February 13, 1976, Los Angeles, California

Occupation/Title

Animator, Director

Bio Summary

Best known as one of Disney’s “Nine Old Men”, John Lounsbery was born the youngest of three brothers on March 9, 1911, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Colorado. He graduated from East Denver High School and then attended the Art Institute of Denver.

After graduating from collage in 1932 he moved to Los Angeles where he worked as a freelance commercial artist while attending illustration courses at the Art Center School of Design. One of the teachers there told him to look into the Walt Disney Studios which were searching for artists at the time.

In 1935 he was hired as an assistant animator to director Norman Ferguson to draw the Mickey Mouse cartoon series. He worked on the project through 1939 including such films as Society Dog Show (1939), The Pointer (1939), The Practical Pig (1939); and he worked on Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the studio’s first full-length animated feature.

By 1940 he had been promoted to animator because of his great natural ability, skill, and talent. During the next seven years he worked mostly in the studio’s feature animation department. During the next seven years he worked on many great projects including: Honest John J. Worthington Foulfellow and Gideon in Pinocchio (1940), the “Dance of the Hours” segment in Fantasia (1940), Victory through Air Power (1943), The Three Cabelleros (1945) and the Wolf in the “Peter and the Wolf” segment of Make Mine Music (1946). Lounsbery also worked as the character animator on the 1940 development of Donald Duck and from 1941 to 1945 on the Pluto full-color theatrical cartoon series.

In 1940 Lounsbery was made a directing animator for the Disney Studio’s feature animation department; he went on to helm eighteen features. These included Timothy the mouse and Elephants in Dumbo (1941), Song of the South (1946), Willie the Giant in the “Mickey and the Beanstalk” section of Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948) and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mister Toad (1949). Throughout the 50’s and 60’s, Lounsbery was a directing animator on Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), George Darling and the Indians in Peter Pan (1942), Tony, Joe, and Bull in Lady and the Tramp (1955), Prince Phillip, Owl, and Maleficent’s Goon in Sleeping Beauty (1959), Sergeant Tibs and Horace Badun in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Wolf in The Sword in the Stone (1963), Mary Poppins (1964), and Shere Khan and Bugler in The Jungle Book (1967).

In the 70’s Lounsbery worked on The Aristocrats (1970), Edgar, Madame Bonfamille, and Georges Hautecourt in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Supervising animation of the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood (1973). Lounsbery died in 1976 while still working on The Rescuers (1977) and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977).

Early Life/Family

Lounsbery was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was raised in Colorado where he enjoyed winter sports and trips to the mountains in the summer.

Education/Training

Graduated from the Art Institute in Denver, Colorado in 1932.

Career Outline

Disney studios 1935 – 1976

Comments On Style

Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote, “Hardly subtle, John’s characters were always fun to watch,” and “His better drawings and bigger concept, not limited by old vaudeville acts, brought the bold, crude approach to new heights, using more refinement, more dramatic angles, more interest, and all without losing the main idea. His simple staging, appealing characters, good taste, strong squash and stretch, and controlled anticipations and follow through made a big bold statement, but they never lost believability. Hardly subtle, his characters were always fun to watch.”

Personality

Shy by nature but very light hearted.

Anecdotes

Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote that no matter how bad a situation might be, John could always make “some funny observation to lighten the situation.”

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous
Filmography

Filmography

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) (assistant animator) (uncredited)
Society Dog Show (1939) (animator) (uncredited)
The Practical Pig (1939) (animator) (uncredited)
The Pointer (1939) (animator) (uncredited)
Officer Duck (1939) (animator)
Pinocchio (1940) (animator)
Donald’s Dog Laundry (1940) (animator)
Bone Trouble (1940) (animator)
Fantasia (1940) (animator) (segment “Dance of the Hours”)?Pluto’s Playmate (1941) (animator) (uncredited)
Dumbo (1941) (animation director)
Out of the Frying Pan Into the Firing Line (1942) (animator) (uncredited)
Pluto at the Zoo (1942) (animator) (uncredited)?Pluto and the Armadillo (1943) (animator) (uncredited)
Victory Through Air Power (1943) (animator)
Chicken Little (1943) (animator) (uncredited)
Springtime for Pluto (1944) (animator) (uncredited)
The Three Caballeros (1944) (animator)
The Legend of Coyote Rock (1945) (animator)
Canine Patrol (1945) (animator)
Make Mine Music (1946) (animator)
Peter and the Wolf (1946) (animator)
Song of the South (1946) (directing animator)
Fun & Fancy Free (1947) (directing animator)
Mickey and the Beanstalk (1947) (animator)
Melody Time (1948) (directing animator)
So Dear to My Heart (1948) (animator)
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) (directing animator)
Cinderella (1950) (directing animator)
Alice in Wonderland (1951) (directing animator)
Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952) (animator)
Peter Pan (1953) (directing animator)
Ben and Me (1953) (animator)
Once Upon a Wintertime (1954) (animator)
Lady and the Tramp (1955) (directing animator)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958) (animator)
Sleeping Beauty (1959) (directing animator)
Goliath II (1960) (directing animator)
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) (directing animator)
Aquamania (1961) (animator)
“Disneyland” (animator) (7 episodes, 1955-1963)
The Sword in the Stone (1963) (directing animator)
Mary Poppins (1964) (animator)
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) (animator)
The Jungle Book (1967) (directing animator)
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968) (animator)
The AristoCats (1970) (directing animator)
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) (animator)
Robin Hood (1973) (directing animator)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) (animator)?
?Director:?
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (1974)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)?The Rescuers (1977)?

Honors

Annie Award: Winsor McCay Award 1986
Named a Disney Legend in 1989

Related Links

http://legends.disney.go.com/legends/detail?key=John+Lounsbery
?http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0522028/

Bibliographic References

Lenburg, Jeff. Who’s Who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film and Television’s Award-Winning and Legendary Animators. Applause Books: 2006.?Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. Walt Disney Productions. New York: 1981.

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Contributors To This Listing

Asa Enochs

To make additions or corrections to this listing, please click on COMMENTS below…

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This posting is a stub. You can contribute to this entry by providing information through the comments link at the bottom of this post. Please organize your information following the main category headers below….

Birth/Death

Birth: October 31, 1912
Death: April 14, 2008

Occupation/Title

Animator

Bio Summary

Johnston was born in Palo Alto. He attended Stanford University as a journalism major as well as becoming a contributor to the school newspaper. He enrolled in the first and only art course which was landscape painting. While waiting for a class to start, a man by the name of Frank Thomas came over to him and introduced himself. This began a relationship between the two that has lasted 70 years. It was frank who convinced Ollie to try and get a job at Disney. Ollie retired from Disney in 1978 because of Palsy which he inherited from his parents. It was also at Disney where Ollie met his wife, Marie, who was working in the Ink and Paint department. They got married in January 1943.

Early Life/Family

Ollie’s father was a teacher at Stanford University. When Ollie was three years old, his father took him to the Panama Pacific Fair in San Francisco where his life long love of trains began. It was his love of trains that got Walt Disney into trains as well.

Education/Training

After college Thomas and Johnston both came south to attend Chouinard’s Art Institute where they studied with illustrator Pruett Carter.

Career Outline

Ollie started at Disney as an assistant animator on Snow White and worked his way up to Animation supervisor.

Comments On Style

Ollie was very emotional, sensing tender in his scenes which were delicate scenes, unexpected actions and deep feelings. His way of drawing and animating was very intuitive.

Influences

Personality

Johnston loved outdoor activities and sports.

Anecdotes

Johnston always had a sign on his animation desk that said, “What is the character thinking and why does he feel that way?”

Miscellaneous

Filmography

Mickey’s Garden (1935) (inbetween artist) (uncredited)
Mickey’s Rival (1936) (inbetween artist) (uncredited)
More Kittens (1936) (assistant animator) (uncredited)
Little Hiawatha (1937) (assistant animator) (uncredited)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) (assistant animator) (uncredited)
Brave Little Tailor (1938) (animator) (uncredited)
Mickey’s Surprise Party (1939) (animator) (uncredited)
The Practical Pig (1939) (animator) (uncredited)
The Pointer (1939) (animator) (uncredited)
Pinocchio (1940) (animator) (as Oliver M. Johnston)
Fantasia (1940) (animation supervisor) (segment “The Pastoral Symphony”)
Bambi (1942) (supervising animator)
How to Play Baseball (1942) (animator)
Victory Through Air Power (1943) (animator)
Reason and Emotion (1943) (animator)
Chicken Little (1943) (animator)
The Pelican and the Snipe (1944) (animator)
The Three Caballeros (1944) (animator: “The Flying Gauchito”)
Make Mine Music (1946) (animator: “Casey at the Bat” and “Peter and the Wolf”) (as Ollie Johnston)
Peter and the Wolf (1946) (animator)
Song of the South (1946) (directing animator)
Melody Time (1948) (directing animator: “Little Toot” and “Johnny Appleseed”) (as Ollie Johnston)
Johnny Appleseed (1948) (animator)
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) (directing animator)
Cinderella (1950) (animator)
Alice in Wonderland (1951) (directing animator)
Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952) (animator)
Peter Pan (1953) (directing animator)
Ben and Me (1953) (animator)
Little Toot (1954) (animator)
Disneyland (1954) TV Series (animator)
Lady and the Tramp (1955) (directing animator)
The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) TV Series (animator) (uncredited)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958) (animator)
Sleeping Beauty (1959) (directing animator)
101 Dalmatians (1961) (directing animator)
The Sword in the Stone (1963) (directing animator)
Mary Poppins (1964) (animator)
The Jungle Book (1967) (directing animator)
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968) (animator)
The Aristocats (1970) (animator)
Robin Hood (1973) (directing animator)
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (1974) (animator)
The Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad (1975) (animator)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) (animator)
The Rescuers (1977) (key animator)
The Fox and the Hound (1981) (supervising animator)

Honors

Annie Award: Winsor McCay Award 1980
National Medal of the Arts

Related Links

FrankAndOllie.com

Bibliographic References

“Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation” by John Canemaker

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Contributors To This Listing

Tom Kidd

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