Ollie Johnston, the last surviving animator of Disney’s famed Nine Old Men, passed away on April 14, 2008. Johnston worked for Disney from 1935 to 1978 as an animator on such classics as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Bambi and Pinocchio.
He was named a Disney Legend in 1989, and in 2005, Johnston was one of the recipients of the National Medal of Arts.
Roy E. Disney 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. 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.”
Via AWN
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