
Born: Eric Alfred Cleworth
Birthday: January 3, 1920
Location: Minneapolis, MN, U.S.
Occupation: Inbetweener, Animator, Director
Years active: 1938-1989
Died: December 10, 1999
Eric Cleworth started at Disney straight out of high school in 1939. He was hired as an in-betweener for Fantasia and worked his way up to full-animator for Alice in Wonderland. He specialized in character design and movement, and preferred to study live action references for his character assignments. Eric studied rattlesnake film footage for the dragon’s fight in Sleeping Beauty.
Cleworth worked in Wolfgang Reitherman’s unit for Lady and the Tramp, animating Tramp defending a muzzled Lady from other dogs. He also animated the elephant inspection sequence for John Lounsbery’s unit on The Jungle Book. Eric contributed to other Disney films like One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Aristocats, and Robin Hood.
Eric eventually tired of studio politics and inter-office conflict, and resigned from the studio in 1972. He cashed in his many Disney stock options and lived is a very comfortable lifestyle.
Cleworth came out of retirement from time to time to animate projects like the Popeye the Sailor series, a new Pink Panther show, and Richard Williams’ The Thief and the Cobbler. Shortly before he passed away, Eric animated The Wuzzles and the Adventures of the Gummi Bears television shows.
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