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Birth/Death

Occupation/Title

Bio Summary

Benard Wolf was an American animator that was born in New York City on July 18th, 1911. He started his animation career working for Krazy Kat cartoons as an inker and than moving onto working at Max Fleischer’s Inkwell Studios as an inker as well. He became good friends with fellow animators Shamus Culhane and Al Eugster, and often worked with one another at a variety of different studios throughout their long careers. He is well known as working on Betty Boop cartoons, one of which is “The Old Man of the Mountain” was shown in class. He than moved to California with his friends, Shamus and Al, and started to work at Ub Iwerks’ studio, and worked along side with Grim Natwick. Then, in 1938, the three animators started to work for Disney Studio. Wolf is admired by animators for his animation work done with Jiminy Cricket in “Pinocchio”, as well as the Centaurs scenes in “Fantasia” as well as his clown silhouette scene in “Dumbo”. Mark Kausler, an animator and historian, claims that Walt Disney “made it hard for “old-timers” and ex-New Yorkers at his studio” and by the time of the 1941 Disney strike, Wolf left to work and MGM cartoons, he did storyboard and layouts for Tex Avery. During the 1950’s through the 1980’s, Wolf worked for Disneyland designing attractions, at well as the walkaround character costumes. Wolf also created educational and industrial cartoons, for different companies such as Toyota. During the seventies, Wolf established a company located at Riverside Drive in Toluca Lake called Animedia. During the 1980’s, he worked for Hanna-Barbera, and shortly after he retired. Wolf was married to Muriel Wolf, who died in September on 97, and has two daughters, Lauren and Kathy. Benard Wolf died on September 7th, 2006 at the age of 95. On Mark Evanier’s blog, he said that Wolf was “a helluva talent and a true gentleman” and has described him, as being “by all accounts was a very nice man.” 

Early Life/Family

Education/Training

Career Outline

Comments On Style

Influences

Personality

Anecdotes

Miscellaneous

Filmography

Honors

Related Links

Bibliographic References

BIO-AAA-149

Contributors To This Listing

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Birth/Death

Pete Burness was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 16, 1904. He died of pancreatic cancer on July 21, 1969.

Occupation/Title

Animator, Animation Director

Bio Summary

Wilson D. “Pete” Burness was an American animator and director. He’s best known as the writer/producer of Mr. Magoo, animator on looney toons, director on Rocky and Friends, Hoppity Hooper and George of the Jungle.

Early Life/Family

Wife named Juana.

Education/Training

Career Outline

His animation career started in 1931 where he worked for Romer Grey and Ted Eshbaugh on Goofy Goat Antics. Burness was hired at Van Beuren Studios in 1933, where he animated a film adaptation of The Little King. He transferred to the Harman-Ising studio in 1936 and on to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938.

While at MGM, Burness worked on Tom and Jerry until 1945 then went to work for Warner Brothers from 1948-1949 on a number of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. He left Warner Bros. to be a director for UPA on the Mr. Magoo series. Some have given Burness credit for creating Mr. Magoo, but there were already Mr. Magoo shorts in development before Burness came to UPA. 

Burness is credited with softening Mr. Magoo into a more appealing character, better designed for mass audiences.

Two of Burness’ Mr. Magoo shorts; When Magoo Flew (1954) and Mr. Magoo’s Puddle Jumper (1956), won Academy Awards for Best Short Subject. In 1958 he co-wrote and began to direct1001 Arabian Nights, featuring Mr. Magoo but Burness had a dispute with producer Stephen Bosustow and left the project.

Comments On Style

Represents the peak of the 1950s UPA house style.

Influences

Personality

Burness was famous for having an explosive temper. The lead character in the Pete Hothead shorts were based on Burness:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151951/

Anecdotes

Martha Sigall remembers working in ink and paint and seeing Pete Burness come through the building.

Miscellaneous

Filmography

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122319/

Honors

two Academy Awards

Related Links

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122319/

Bibliographic References

UPA photos featuring Burness: http://cartoonmodern.blogsome.com/category/pete-burness/

On Burness falling asleep during a screening: http://www.awn.com/articles/annecy-iau-revoiri

http://www.toontracker.com/magoo/magoo.htm

http://www.rarebit.org/wiki/Wilson_D._(Pete)_Burness

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Burness

Died of pancreatic cancer: http://pancreaticcancerdenver.blogspot.com/2011/03/famous-and-pancreatic-cancer-pete.htm

Contributors To This Listing

Doug TenNapel

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Birth/ Death

B. March 6, 1913
D. January 13, 2003

Occupation/Title

Animator, Art Director, Production Designer

Career Outline

Worked for Disney in the early 1930’s until the Strike in 1941
Worked for Screen Gems from 1941-1943
Co founded United Productions of America (UPA) in 1944 (formerly known as Industrial Films and Poster Service)

Comments on Style

Worked mostly in limited animation (reusing common parts between frames, rather than redrawing entire frames)

Anecdotes

“Our camera is closer to being a printing press, in the way we use it, than it is to being a motion picture camera.”-Zack Schwartz

“Hell Bent For Election” was made in Zack Schwartz’s apartment because UPA did not have a studio in 1944

Miscellaneous

Wrote a book with Jim McCaulay (a colligue from Sheradon) called, And Then What Happened?
Taught at Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada in the 1980’s and 90’s
Helped develop the animation department at Sheridan along with Kaij Pindal

Filmography

1947 “Clearing The Way” (short) (animator)
1947 “Expanding World Relationships” (short) (Production Designer)
1946 “Flight Safety: After the Cut” (short) (layout artist)
1945 “A Few Quick Facts: Fear” (short) (Production Designer)
1945 “A Few Quick Facts: Fear” (short) (layout artist)
1944 “Hell-Bent for Election” (short) (Production Designer)
1944 “Lend Lease” (short) (Production Designer)
1944 “Flat Hatting” (short) (layout artist)
1943 “He Can’t Make It Stick” (short) (layout artist)
1943 “Willoughby’s Magic Hat” (short) (layout artist)
1943 “Professor Small and Mr. Tall” (short) (layout artist)
1943 “The Vitamin G-Man” (short) (layout artist)
1942 “Song of Victory” (short) (layout artist)
1942 “Old Balckout Joe” (short) (layout artist)
1942 “Wolf Chases Pigs” (short) (layout artist)
1942 “Concerto in B Flat Minor” (short) (layout artist)
1940 “Fantasia” (segment “The Sourcer’s Apprentice”) (art director)
1938 “Wynken, Blynken & Nod” (short) (layout artist)

Honors

“Robin Hoodlum” (1948) and “The Magic Fluke” (1949) were both produced by UPA and nominated for an Academy Award

“When Magoo Flew” (1953) and “Magoo’s Puddle Jumper” (1955) both won Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (cartoons)

Related Links

http://www.animationeducatorsforum.org/Mag.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0777487/filmotype
http://kajpindal.blogspot.com/2010/03/zack-zchwartz.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdy07oY7SUg

Bibliographic References

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Contributors To This Listing

Chelsea Burton 

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