Traditional Animation

Born: Walter Benjamin Lantz Birthday: April 27, 1899 Location: New Rochelle, NY, U.S Alma mater:  Art Students League of New York Occupation: Animator, Writer, Director, Producer Years active: 1915–1972 Died: March 22, 1994 Walter Lantz was born in New Rochelle, New York, to Italian immigrant parents. Nearly orphaned, Walter ran

Born: Ubbe Ert Iwwerks Birthday: March 24, 1901 Location: Kansas City, MO, U.S. Occupation: Animator Years active: 1919–1971 Died: July 7, 1971 Ubbe Ert Iwerks was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He dropped out of school and began working to support his mother and siblings after his father abandoned the

Born: Charles Monroe “Sparky” Schulz Birthday: November 26, 1922 Location: Minneapolis, MN, U.S. Alma mater: Art Instruction, Inc. Occupation: Writer Years active: 1947-1999 Died: Februray 30, 1993 Charles Monroe “Sparky” Schulz peeked through the windows of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, as a child, and watched the Sunday funnies rolling

Born: Robert Porter McKimson Sr. Birthday: October 13, 1910 Location: Denver, CO, U.S. Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1929–1977 Died: September 29, 1977 Robert Porter McKimson Sr. was born in Denver, Colorado, but his family moved several times before settling in Los Angeles in 1926. Robert and his brother Tom were

Born: José Cuauhtémoc Meléndez Birthday: November 15, 1916 Location: Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico Alma mater: Chouinard Art Institute Occupation: Director, Producer, Animator Years active: 1935–2006 Died: September 2, 2008 Bill Melendez was born in Hermosillo, Mexico. His family moved first to Arizona in 1928 and then onto Los Angeles in the early

Born: Isadore Freleng Birthday: February 26, 1908 Location: Kansas City, MO, U.S. Occupation: Animator, Director, Producer Years active: 1923-1986 Died: May 26, 1995 Isadore “Friz” Freleng began his career in animation at the United Film Ad Service in Kansas City, Missouri where he met fellow animators Hugh Harman and Ub

Born: Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. Birthday: May 8, 1913 Location: San Diego, CA, U.S. Alma mater: Otis Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Writer, Director Years active: 1931-1984 Died: May 2, 1984 Robert “Bob” Clampett demonstrated artistic abilities by the age of five and began making short films in his garage when

Born: Karyl Ross Harris Birthday: July 31, 1898 Location: Tulare County, CA, U.S. Occupation: Animator, Writer, Storyboard, Director Years active: 1927-1982 Died: March 24, 1982 Karyl “Ken” Ross Harris was born July 31, 1898 in Tulare County, California. He changed the spelling of his name first to Karol, then to

Born: Franklin Rosborough Thomas Birthday: September 5, 1912 Location: Santa Monica, CA, U.S. Alma mater: Chouinard Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1934-1999 Died: September 8, 2004 Frank Thomas had an interest in drawing that began in childhood and engaged in amateur filmmaking as a teenager. Frank was president

Born: Wolfgang Reitherman Birthday: June 26, 1909 Location: Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire Alma mater: Chouinard Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Director, Producer Years active: 1933-1981 Died: May 22, 1985 Though born in Germany, Wolfgang “Woolie” Reitherman was raised in Sierra Madre, California. Driven by a love for airplanes and flying, he

Born: John Mitchell Lounsbery Birthday: March 9, 1911 Location: Cincinnati, OH, U.S. Alma mater: Art Institute of Denver, ArtCenter College of Design Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1935-1976 Died: February 13, 1976 John Lounsbery was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Colorado with a love of drawing. He graduated from

Born: Eric Cleon Larson Birthday: September 3, 1905 Location: Cleveland, UT, U.S. Alma mater: University of Utah Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1933-1986 Died: October 25, 1988 Eric Larson displayed his early artistic talent working on his high school yearbook all four years, and as its art director his senior

Born: Ward Walrath Kimball Birthday: March 4, 1914 Location: MN, U.S Alma mater:  Santa Barbara School of the Arts Occupation: Animator, Director, Producer, Writer Years active: 1934–1980 Died: July 8, 2002 Ward Kimball attended the Santa Barbara School of the Arts to become a painter and illustrator. One of his

Born: Milton Erwin Kahl Birthday: March 22, 1909 Location: San Francisco, CA, U.S. Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1936–1976 Died: April 19, 1987 Milt Kahl was born to a poor family in San Francisco, California, dropping out of high school at age 16 so he could work to support his

Born: Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. Birthday: October 31, 1912 Location: Palo Alto, CA, U.S. Alma mater: Chouinard Art Institute Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1934–1981 Died: April 14, 2008 Ollie Johnston was born in Palo Alto, California and attended Stanford University. There, he worked on the humorous campus magazine, The