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Birth/Death

B. April 28, 1903
D. February 21, 1990

Occupation/Title

Producer, Animator, Writer

Bio Summary

Norman ‘Norm’ Blackburn was born on April 28, 1903 in England, United Kingdom. He began his career with Walt Disney as an animator. Blackburn left the Disney studios to follow Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising as they began the Warner Bros. cartoon studio He later went to New York to join NBC as one of the first National Program Directors. He redesigned the Howdy Doody puppet in The Howdy Doody Show, which he asked some of his old Disney friends to refine it. He moved back to Hollywood and joined the J. Walter Thompson ad agency. Blackburn was the talent buyer for many radio shows such as The Lux Radio Playhouse and The Elgin Watch Shower of Stars. He created and produced one of the first golf shows on television, Celebrity Golf. He was a member of the Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank, California for many years and eventually was made into an honorary member. Throughout his career, he was responsible for producing four television series and animating twenty-four cartoon shorts. Blackburn was eighty-six years old when he died in North Hollywood on February 21, 1990.

Early Life/Family

He has a son named Norman A. Blackburn.

Education/Training

Career Outline

At the age of twenty-three, Norm Blackburn started his career in with Walt Disney as an assistant animator on February 5, 1927. In that same month, Blackburn was one of the three animators hired in the Disney Studios along with Les Clark and Ben Clopton. From 1929 to 1937, Blackburn worked at Hugh Harman-Rudolf Ising Production that would later be known as Warner Bros. Additionally, he worked for Ub Iwerks at his studio for a brief period during 1933 to 1935. He later became a newspaper cartoonist and a writer. By the 1940s, Blackburn was an executive at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in Hollywood. He later became a program director at NBC and created television series such as You Bet Your Life, The Dinah Shore Show, and Celebrity Golf. In 1975, Blackburn wrote the limited edition 50-year anniversary book for the Lakeside Golf Club that he was eventually made an honorary member of that club.

Comments On Style

Influences

Personality

Anecdotes

Miscellaneous

In 1957, he produced a pilot for ABC about the adventures of a boy traveling on a sailing ship entitled, “Cabin Boy,” but the series was never developed beyond the pilot stage.

Filmography

Producer:

(1960) Celebrity Golf (TV series, executive producer)
(1956-1957)Circus Boy (TV series, producer – 40 episodes)
(1947)Circus Boy (executive producer)

Animator:
The Good Scout (1934)
Rasslin’ Round (1934)
Play Ball (uncredited) (1933)
Shuffle Off to Buffalo (uncredited) (1933)
Beau Bosko (1933)
The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives (1933)
Ride Him, Bosko! (1932)
Bosko’s Dog Race (1932)
Pagan Moon (1932)
Bosko’s Fox Hunt (1931)
You Don’t Know What You’re Doin’! (1931)
Lady, Play Your Mandolin! (1931)
Yodeling Yokels (1931)
Ain’t Nature Grand!(1931)
Hold Anything (1930)
All Wet (1927)
Trolley Troubles (1927)
Alice in the Big League (1927)
Alice the Beach Nut (1927)
Alice the Whaler (1927)
Alice’s Medicine Show (1927)
Alice in the Klondike (1927)
Alice’s Channel Swim (1927)
Alice’s Picnic (1927)
Alice’s Three Bad Eggs (1927)

Writer:
Zenobia (treatment – uncredited) (1939) 

Honors

1988 Golden Award

Related Links

Bibliographic References

Cruz, Brian. “Creators: Norm Blackburn”. Toon Zone – Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies: The Early Years. 2003. Web. 28 October 2011. 

“Norm Blackburn”. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 28 October 2011. 

“Norman (Norm) Blackburn Studio Experience”. The Early Animation Wiki. Web. 28 October 2011.

Susanin, Timothy S., and Diane Disney Miller. Walt Before Mickey: Disney’s Early Years 1919-1928. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. 2011.

Contributors To This Listing

Katrina Miclat 

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Birth/Death

B. 12/26/09
D. 12/12/1998

Occupation/Title

Animator. Director

Bio Summary

Don Patterson was an animator and a director for many influential pieces throughout his career. He Animated and directed for many studios and people including Disney, Screen Gems, MGM, Walter Lance and Hanna-barbera. Some of the key works he helped with at Disney include Pinocchio, Dumbo and Fantasia. While with Walter Lance, he animated many of the most popular Woody the Woodpecker episodes. He animated and directed at Hanna-Barbera and was able to work with his brother Ray Patterson. Don Patterson became a member of the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists in 1952. He was a member of the animation union while working at Hanna-Barbera and in 1988 he took a honorable withdrawal from the union.

Early Life/Family

Brother of Ray Patterson.

Education/Training

Career Outline

1937-1945 Disney
1947-1949 MGM
1951-1960 Walter Lantz
1958-1986 Hanna-Barbera

Comments On Style

When animating characters Don Patterson had a short boxy style with jerky head and limb movements. When Don animated character dashes off-screen, they were followed by large ”smear” lines. 

Anecdotes

In 1930 he lived across the street from Walt Disney, at the he was assistant animator at Disney. His coworkers all seemed to have something good to say about Patterson and gave him credit for helping with their works. Walter Lance gives Patterson credit for his work on Woody the Woodpecker and called Don Patterson an excellent animator.

Miscellaneous

Don Patterson was responsible for the clock scene in Pinocchio. He animated six total scenes in Dumbo. Most of the first Flintstone episodes were done by one person and some were done by Patterson. 

Filmography

Pinocchio (1940)
Fantasia (1940)
Dumbo (1941)
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987)
Yogi’s great escape (1987)
Ruff & Reddy (1957-60)
The Huckleberry Hound Show (1959-62)
The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959-62)
Loopy de Loop (1959-65)
The Flintstones (1960-66)
The Yogi Bear Show (1960-62)
Top Cat (1961)
Wally Gator, Lippy the Lion & Touché Turtle (1962-63)
The Jetsons (1962-63)
The Magilla Gorilla Show (1964-67)
The Peter Potamus Show (1964-67)
Jonny Quest (1964-65)
The Atom Ant Show (1965-67)
The Secret Squirrel Show (1965-67)
The Space Kidettes (1966)
Moby Dick & The Mighty Mightor (1967)
The Cattanooga Cats (1969)
The Harlem Globetrotters (1970-72)
Help! It’s The Hair Bear Bunch (1971)
The Flintstones Comedy Hour (1972)
Speed Buggy (1973)
Jeannie (1973)
The Great Grape Ape Show (1975)
The Scooby-Doo Show (1976-79)
Dynomutt The Wonder Dog (1976)
Jabberjaw (1976)
The Mumbly Show (1976)
Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear (1964)
A Christmas Story (1972).

Honors

Golden Award at the 1985 Motion Pictures Screen Cartoonists Awards

Related Links

Bibliographic References

Barrier, M. (2007). The animated man: A life of Walt Disney. California: University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles. 
Beck, J. (2005) The animated movie guide. Chicago: Capella Books. 
IMDb.com, Inc. (1990-2010). Don Patterson. The Internet Movie Database.
Kanfer, S. (1997). Serious business: The art and commerce of animation in America from Betty Boop to Toy Story. New York: Scribner. 
Maltin, L. (1980). Of mice and magic: A history of American animated cartoons. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Peary, D. & Peary, G. (1980). The American animated cartoon: Critical anthology. New York: Dutton.
Sigall, M. (2005). Living life inside the lines: Tales from the golden age of animation. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. 
The American Animation Institute. (2010). Don Patterson. The Animation Guild.

Contributors To This Listing

Lyn Mantta (Animation Guild) 

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