From a press release, Ollie Johnston passed away a couple of days ago. While I don't pretend to have ever known him personally, I feel that I have known him through his writing and countless interviews with him that i watched as a young animation student. He will be missed.
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Ollie Johnston, the last surviving animator of Disney's famed Nine Old
Men, passed away April 14, 2008. Johnston worked for the Mouse House
from 1935 to 1978, working as an animator on such classics as SNOW WHITE
AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, FANTASIA, BAMBI and PINOCCHIO. He last worked on
THE RESCUERS, a film for which he was caricatured as the cat Rufus.
Along with longtime friend and collaborator Frank Thomas, Johnston co-
authored the seminal animation reference book THE ILLUSION OF LIFE,
which is used as an animation textbook in schools around the globe.
Johnston's friendship and partnership with Thomas was warmly chronicled
in the 1995 documentary FRANK AND OLLIE, directed by Frank's son
Theodore.
Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. was born in Palo Alto, California, and
attended Stanford University, where he met Thomas on the staff of the
STANFORD CHAPARRAL humor magazine. Later he would attend the University
of California, Berkeley, and Chouinard Art Institute.
He first joined Disney, working on shorts such as MICKEY'S GARDEN and
THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE. In 1943, he married Disney ink & paint artist
Marie Worthey, who passed away on May 20, 2005.
His lifelong love of trains inspired him to build a scaled railroad and
locomotives in his backyard, which inspired the train at Disneyland.
He was named a Disney Legend in 1989, and in 2005 was one of the
recipients of the National Medal of Arts.
Johnston was the great animator behind many a great animated character.
Some classic moments include Thumper's riotous recitation in BAMBI about
"eating greens" or Pinocchio's nose growing as he lies to the Blue Fairy
and the musical antics of Mowgli and Baloo as they sang THE BEAR
NECESSITIES in THE JUNGLE BOOK.
Johnston had his hand in all of these and worked on such other favorites
as Brer Rabbit, Mr. Smee, the fairies in SLEEPING BEAUTY, the
centaurettes in FANTASIA, Prince John and Sir Hiss (ROBIN HOOD), Orville
the albatross (THE "RESCUERS), and more than a few of the 101
DALMATIANS.
Roy E. Disney, director emeritus and consultant for The Walt Disney
Company, said, "Ollie was part of an amazing generation of artists, one
of the real pioneers of our art, one of the major participants in the
blossoming of animation into the art form we know today. One of Ollie's
strongest beliefs was that his characters should think first, then act,
and they all did. He brought warmth and wit and sly humor and a
wonderful gentleness to every character he animated. He brought all
those same qualities to his life, and to all of our lives who knew him.
We will miss him greatly, but we were all enormously enriched by him."
John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar
Animation Studios and a longtime friend to Johnston, added, "Ollie had
such a huge heart and it came through in all of his animation, which is
why his work is some of the best ever done. Aside from being one of the
greatest animators of all time, he and Frank [Thomas] were so incredibly
giving and spent so much time creating the bible of animation -- DISNEY
ANIMATION: THE ILLUSION OF LIFE -- which has had such a huge impact on
so many animators over the years. Ollie was a great teacher and mentor
to all of us. His door at the studio was always open to young animators,
and I can't imagine what animation would be like today without him
passing on all of the knowledge and principles that the Nine Old Men and
Walt Disney developed. He taught me to always be aware of what a
character is thinking, and we continue to make sure that every character
we create at Pixar and Disney has a thought process and emotion that
makes them come alive."
Glen Keane, one of Disney's top supervising animators and director of
the upcoming feature RAPUNZEL, said, "Ollie Johnston was the kind of
teacher who made you believe in yourself through his genuine
encouragement and patient guidance. He carried the torch of Disney
animation and passed it on to another generation. May his torch continue
to be passed on for generations to come."
Andreas Deja, another of today's most acclaimed and influential
animators, paid tribute to his friend and mentor in this way: "I always
thought that Ollie Johnston so immersed himself into the characters he
animated, that whenever you watched Bambi, Pinocchio, Smee or Rufus the
cat, you saw Ollie on the screen. His kind and humorous personality came
through in every scene he animated. I will never forget my many
stimulating conversations with him over the years, his words of wisdom
and encouragement. 'Don't animate drawings, animate feelings,' he would
say. What fantastic and important advice! He was one of the most
influential artists of the 20th century, and it was an honor and joy to
have known him."
John Canemaker, Academy Award-winning animator/director, and author of
the book, WALT DISNEY'S NINE OLD MEN & THE ART OF ANIMATION, said,
"Ollie Johnston believed in the emotional power of having two pencil
drawings touch each other. His drawings had a big emotional impact on
audiences, that's for sure -- when Mowgli and Baloo hug in THE JUNGLE
BOOK; when Pongo gives his mate Perdita a comforting lick in 101
DALMATIANS; when an elderly cat rubs against an orphan girl in THE
RESCUERS -- Ollie Johnston, one of the greatest animators who ever
lived, deeply touched our hearts."
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