Last of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men" dies!

[Ilikemuppets]

http://omg.yahoo.com/last-of-walt-disneys-nine-old-men-dies/news/8268

April 15, 2008, 9:19 pm PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The last of Walt Disney's original team of animators, known as the Nine Old Men, has died at the age of 95, a Walt Disney Co spokesman said on Tuesday.

Ollie Johnston worked for Disney for 43 years, drawing characters for animated Mickey Mouse short films before contributing to such classics such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Pinocchio," "Peter Pan" and "The Jungle Book."

Johnston died of natural causes in a long-term care facility in Sequim, Washington on Monday.

Born in Palo Alto, California in 1912, Johnston showed early artistic promise and attended Chouinart Art Institute in Los Angeles. During his final year of college in 1935, Disney approached Johnston to join his fledgling animation studio.

Starting with "Song of the South" in 1946, Johnston became directing animator and served in that capacity in nearly every subsequent film. He retired in 1978 after completing some work on his final film, "The Fox and the Hound."

Johnston devoted his retirement to writing, lecturing and consulting and to model trains, of which he was considered one of the world's foremost experts.

In 2005, he became the first animator awarded a National Medal of the Arts, and he and his lifelong friend and fellow Disney animator, Frank Thomas, were profiled in the 1995 documentary "Frank and Ollie."

Disney Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, who pioneered computer animated films such as "Toy Story" and "Cars," considered Johnston and Thomas as mentors.

"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," Lasseter said in a statement.

Johnston is survived by two sons.

(Reporting by Gina Keating, editing by Dan Whitcomb and Sandra Maler)

 

[BEAR]

Oh, how sad! Johnston and Thomas were not only best friends and colleagues, they were also next-door neighbors and they lived in my hometown, La Canada Flintridge, CA. I once walked into the local barbershop and there was this very familiar looking man sitting in one of the chairs getting his long whispy white eyebrows trimmed. I couldn't think of how I knew him. Then as he was leaving, I got a good look at this old man's walker. It had all kinds of Disney and Mickey Mouse stickers on it along with a mini name tag that said "Frank". I finally realized it was Frank Thomas. I think he died quite recently and now so has Ollie. Both wonderful animators and men. They helped define the style of Disney character animation. If you ever get the chance to watch the their documentary, "Frank and Ollie", it is very good. Mr. Johnston will be missed.

 

[Baby Gonzo]

I heard about that... This truly seems like the end of an era. His work, as well as the work of the other Nine Old Men, will continue to be admired by generations to come.

 

[Drtooth]

And with at, an era of animation has passed. Very sad. though, to tell the truth, I thought they already were gone.

 

[BeakerSqueedom]

They died somewhat peacfully.
I can't help but kind of grieve for their loss.
I loved them (saw the documentary)...

I guess they were sort of friends of mine as I was growing up (never seen them...but you get what I mean)...
as silly as it may sound.

Rest in peace.

 

[dwayne1115]

Um Always hard to hear about loosing a great anamatior

 

[fuzzygobo]

Disney animators left a truly endearing legacy, just like the crew at Warner Brothers. They must be creating some amazing stuff in heaven now.

I hope one of the Nine Old Men's disciples, Don Bluth, comes back with some quality work soon, pick up the mantle, and keep the standard of excellence that was par at Disney.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Aw, that's definitely a great loss to the entertainment world. I remember always seeing those guys on the behind the scenes shows, they created something very special with Disney. And I do agree, wherever they are, they are continuing the good work.