
Birthday: September 15, 1910
Location: Milford, UT, U.S.
Alma mater: Brigham Young University
Occupation: Director, Animator
Years active: 1959–1992
Died: August 23, 1992
Charles August “Nick” Nichols’ first credit for Disney was as the lead animator of Pinocchio’s sinister Coachman. He animated numerous cartoon shorts, often with the character Pluto. Nichols directorial efforts included Mickey and the Seal and Morris the Midget Moose before he returned to animating duties on the 1951 Alice in Wonderland feature film.
Nichols co-directed two films with Ward Kimball in 1953: Melody and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, earning an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for the latter. He also served as director for the live action series The Mickey Mouse Club.
Nick left Disney in the early ‘60s to join the Hanna-Barbera studio as a director. He was responsible for a large volume of their output from the 1960s to the 1980s, directing many of the animated shorts and TV episodes. Along with Iwao Takamoto, Nichols also co-directed the feature-length animated film Charlotte’s Web in 1973.
Nichols worked at Ruby-Spears during the 1980s, providing animation direction for the Dragon’s Lair television series amongst other shows.
In the end, Nichols returned to Disney to work on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, and Goof Troop.
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