Born: Phillip Bradley Bird Birthday: September 24, 1957 Location: Kalispell, MT, U.S. Alma mater: California Institute of the Arts Occupation: Animator, Writer, Director Years active: 1978-present Born Philip Bradley Bird in Kalispell, Montana, Brad grew up in Oregon. He started drawing at age three and an interest in the art

Born: William Snelgrove Finn Birthday: Novenber 1, 1958 Location: New York City, NY, U.S. Alma mater:  Art Institute of Pittsburgh Occupation: Animator, Writer, Storyboard, Director Years active: 1979–present Will Finn got his start at working as an animator for Don Bluth’s 1982 animated film “The Secret of NIMH.” His efforts

Born: Andeas Deja Birthday: April 1, 1957 Location: Gdansk, Pomorskie, Poland Alma mater: Folkwang Hochschule Occupation: Director, Animator Years active: 1980–present Andreas Deja saw Disney’s “The Jungle Book” at the age of 11 and was inspired to become an animator. He committed to becoming the best artist he could. After

Born: Glen Keane Birthday: April 13, 1954 Location: Philadelphia, PA, U.S. Alma mater: California Institute of the Arts Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1974-2012 Glen Keane is the son of The Family Circus cartoonist Bil Keane, and developed his interest in art while observing his father’s cartooning work. His father,

Born: Eric Goldberg Birthday: May 1, 1955 Location: Levittown, PA, U.S. Alma mater: Pratt Institute Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1977-present Eric Goldberg studied illustration at Pratt Institute, and began working in the animation industry on Richard Williams’ Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure in mid-1970s. This led to

Born: Richard Edmund Lane Birthday: March 19, 1933 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Alma mater: Ontario College of Art Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 2019-1946 Died: August 16, 2019 Born Richard Edmund Lane, he was adopted by his stepfather, Kenneth D. C. Williams and grew up in suburban Toronto. Richard was

Born: Otto James Messmer Birthday: August 16, 1892 Location: West Hoboken, NJ, U.S. Alma mater: Thomas School of Art Occupation: Animator, Director Years active: 1915-1983 Died: October 28, 1983 Otto Messmer drew his own comics for local papers by the age of 20, but he really wanted to explore the

Born: Zenas Winsor McKay Birthday: c. September 26, 1867 Location: Spring Lake, Michigan, U.S.? Alma mater:  Art Institute of Pittsburgh Occupation: Animator Years active: 1889-1934 Died: July 26, 1934 < Back To Animation Artist Directory

Born: Walter Elias Disney Birthday: December 5, 1901 Location: Chicago, IL, U.S. Alma mater: Chicago Academy of Fine Arts Occupation: Animator, Director, Producer Years active: 1919-1966 Died: December 15, 1966 Walter “Walt” Elias Disney was born in Chicago, but his family moved to Marceline, Missouri when he was just 5

Born: Majer Fleischer Birthday: July 19, 1883 Location: Kraków, Poland Alma mater: Art Students League of New York Occupation: Director, Producer Years active: 1918–1962 Died: September 25, 1972 Max Fleischer was born in Krakow, Austria-Hungary before his family emigrated in 1887 to the United States. They settled in New York

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