Bill Littlejohn
Bill Littlejohn | |
---|---|
Born | William Charles Littlejohn January 27, 1914 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
Died | September 17, 2010 Malibu, California, U.S. | (aged 96)
Occupation(s) | Animator, union organizer |
Years active | 1934–2001 |
Spouse |
Fini Rudiger
(m. 1943; died 2004) |
Children | 2 |
William Charles Littlejohn (January 27, 1914 – September 17, 2010) was an American animator and union organizer. Littlejohn worked on animated shorts and features in the 1930s through to the 1990s. His notable works include the Tom and Jerry shorts, the Peanuts television specials, the Oscar-winning short The Hole (1962), and the Oscar-nominated A Doonesbury Special (1977). He was inducted into the Cartoon Hall of Fame and received the Winsor McCay Award and garnered lifetime achievement awards from the Annie Awards and the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Director Michael Sporn has called Littlejohn "an animation 'God'."[1]
Littlejohn co-founded and served as the first president of the Screen Cartoonists Guild Local #852 in 1938. He led the effort to gain recognition for the union at the major Hollywood animation studios. When
Littlejohn was an active advocate for the art of animation, becoming a co-founder of ASIFA-Hollywood in 1957 and of the International Tournée of Animation in the mid-1960s. He also served on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors representing short films and animation from 1988 to 2001.
Early years
Littlejohn was born in
Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s
When Van Beuren closed its doors in 1935 (or 1936), Littlejohn moved to Los Angeles, completed a degree in
In 1937, Littlejohn returned to animation, working for Harman and Ising and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio.[4] While at MGM, he worked on the Happy Harmonies shorts and the then-new Tom and Jerry series.[3] Littlejohn was one of the few people (alongside Jack Zander) who worked on the two unrelated Tom and Jerry series at both Van Beuren and MGM.[4] In 1938, Littlejohn worked on Milt Gross' Jitterbug Follies and was responsible for animating the two dancing penguins.[2] He also worked in 1938 on The Captain and the Kids, an MGM animated series based on The Katzenjammer Kids comic strip.
He left animation work during World War II to work as a test pilot and flight instructor.[5] He also continued to do freelance animation for MGM and Walter Lantz.[2]
Union organizer and the Disney animators strike
While working at Van Beuren in 1935, Littlejohn saw the origins of the efforts to unionize the animation industry.[2] At that time, he recalled, "I kept my nose clean because many guys were getting in trouble and getting blacklisted."[2]
In 1938, Littlejohn met union organizer
Sorrell and Littlejohn began organizing animation workers, and MGM, Walter Lantz and
Walt Disney later testified before the
The Disney strike has been recognized as a watershed moment in the efforts to unionize the animation industry. According to one account of the strike, the strike resulted in substantial salary increases, a 40-hour work week and screen credits for animators.[6] Tom Sito, president emeritus of the Hollywood Animation Guild Local No.839, said, "Bill Littlejohn was the last of the dynamic Hollywood union organizers of the 1930s and '40s. His activism did much to build the standard of living studio animators have today."[3]
1950s-1960s
In the 1950s, Littlejohn worked at several commercial studios including Playhouse Pictures,
While associated with Melendez, he worked as one of the principal animators on the
Association with the Hubleys and later years
In 1962, Littlejohn was the principal animator on the Hubleys' Oscar-winning short The Hole, where two New York construction workers (one voiced by jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie) use improvised dialogue to debate the possibility of nuclear war.[3] In one scene, Littlejohn animated Gillespie's character performing dance steps. At the after-party, Gillespie told Littlejohn "Man, I'm glad you did that section yourself, because I can't dance!"[2]
Littlejohn also worked with the Hubleys in 1977 on
Littlejohn also worked with the Hubleys on The Hat (1963), Of Stars and Men (1964), Zuckerkandl (1969), Voyage to Next (1974), People, People, People (1975), Everybody Rides the Carousel (1976), Sky Dance, Enter Life (1982) and Amazonia (1990).[8]
Director Michael Sporn has called Littlejohn "an animation 'God'" and cited his work as among the best in American animation. Of his work on the 1964 film Of Stars and Men, Sporn said, "Bill's work on Of Stars and Men has completely entered my vocabulary of great animation. The walk cycles for the many animals are just so majestic and regal that I watch them over and over."[1]
Littlejohn worked with John and Faith Hubley for more than 30 years. In his later years, Littlejohn also worked on several other feature films, including
Advocacy for the art of animation
In 1957, he joined with Ward Kimball and Les Goldman in founding ASIFA-Hollywood,[5][8] a non-profit organization formed to promote and preserve the art of film animation. Since 1972, the organization has presented the annual Annie Awards for outstanding work in animation.
In 1965, Littlejohn and other ASIFA-Hollywood members organized the International Tournée of Animation,[3] a program to show quality animation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.[9] Prior to this, it had been almost impossible to see quality animation in the United States. The Tournee became affiliated with the American Film Institute in 1969 and conducted a multi-city tour for many years.
In 1984, Littlejohn and his wife, Fini, helped organize the Olympiad of Animation for the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival.[10][11]
From 1988 to 2001, Littlejohn was also a member of the
Family
Littlejohn was married for 61 years to Fini Rudiger Littlejohn, an actress and artist from
Awards and tributes
In October 1981, ASIFA presented Littlejohn with a special Annie Award, "honoring his 50 years as an animator."[15] He also received the Winsor McCay Award in 1987 and has been inducted into the Cartoon Hall of Fame.[16] In May 1999, the UCLA Film and Television Archive and UCLA Animation Workshop hosted "An Evening With Animator Bill Littlejohn" and presented him with a lifetime achievement award.[5][17]
Partial filmography
- Parrotville (1934-1935)
- The Rasslin' Match (1934)
- The Lion Tamer (1934)
- Toonerville Trolley(1936)
- The Captain and the Kids(1938)
- Jitterbug Follies (1939) (uncredited)
- A Rainy Day with the Bear Family(1940) (uncredited)
- Tom and Jerry (1941-1942, 1944) (uncredited: The Midnight Snack to The Bowling Alley Cat; additional animation: Fine Feathered Friend and Puttin' on the Dog)
- MGM Cartoons – uncredited: We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1941)
- Barney Bear – uncredited: The Flying Bear (1941)
- The Hole (1962)
- A Boy Named Charlie Brown(1963) (uncredited)
- Of Stars and Men (1964)
- The Hat (1964)
- A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
- It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
- Zuckerklandl (1968)
- He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968)
- Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz (1969) (uncredited)
- A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)
- It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown (1969)
- The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)
- Play It Again, Charlie Brown (1971)
- Snoopy Come Home (1972)
- You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972)
- There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown (1973)
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
- It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown (1974)
- Voyage to Next (1974)
- It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974)
- Everybody Rides the Carousel (1975)
- Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975)
- WOW Women of the World (1975)
- You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (1975)
- Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown (1976) (uncredited)
- It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (1976)
- People, People, People (1976)
- Simple Gifts (1977)
- Whither Weather (1977)
- Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977)
- It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977)
- A Doonesbury Special(1977)
- Step by Step (1978)
- Watership Down (1978) (opening sequence)
- Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown (1979) (uncredited)
- You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown (1979)
- She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown (1980)
- Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) (1980)
- Sky Dance (1980)
- Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown (1980)
- The Big Bang and Other Creation Myths (1981)
- Enter Life (1981)
- It's Magic, Charlie Brown (1981)
- Heavy Metal (1981) (segment "B-17")
- Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown (1981)
- No Man's Valley (1981)
- Here Comes Garfield (1982)
- A Charlie Brown Celebration (1982)
- Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? (1983)
- The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983, 1985)
- What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? (1983)
- Garfield on the Town (1983)
- The Soldier's Tale(1984)
- Hello (1984)
- It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984)
- Garfield in the Rough (1984)
- Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown (1985)
- It's Your 20th Television Anniversary, Charlie Brown (1985) (uncredited)
- Garfield's Halloween Adventure (1985)
- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985)
- Garfield in Paradise (1986)
- The Cosmic Eye (1986) (archive footage)
- Time of the Angels (1987)
- Garfield Goes Hollywood (1987)
- A Garfield Christmas Special(1987) (additional animation; uncredited)
- Madeline (1988)
- Snoopy: The Musical (1988)
- Garfield: His 9 Lives (1988) (segment "Stunt Cat"; also co-director)
- This Is America, Charlie Brown (1988)
- It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown (1988)
- The NASA Space Station (1988)
- Yes We Can (1989)
- Madeline's Christmas (1990)
- You Don't Look 40, Charlie Brown (1990) (uncredited)
- Why, Charlie Brown, Why? (1990)
- Amazonia (1990)
- Upside Down (1991)
- Snoopy's Reunion (1991)
- Tall Time Tales (1992)
- Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992)
- It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown!(1992)
- Frosty Returns (1992)
- Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
- Seers & Clowns (1994)
- Garfield and Friends (1994) (3 episodes)
- My Universe Inside Out (1996)
- Cloudland (1998)
- Rainbows of Hawai'i (1998)
- Our Spirited Earth (2000)
References
- ^ a b Michael Sporn (August 23, 2007). "Littlejohn & Tyer". Michael Sporn Animation.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Tom Sito (August 24, 2007). "Bill Littlejohn: Off We Go... Taking Our Pencils Yonder..." Animation World Network. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Charles Solomon (September 21, 2010). "Obituary: Bill Littlejohn dies at 96; animation artist; Littlejohn worked on cartoon shorts and longer animated specials. He helped animators unionize". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c d e "Bill Littlejohn (1914-2010)". Cartoon Brew. September 19, 2010.
- ^ a b c d June Foray (May 1999). "Big Bill Littlejohn". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
- ^ a b c Tom Sito (July 19, 2005). "The Disney Strike of 1941: How It Changed Animation & Comics". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011.
- ^ "The Testimony of Walter E. Disney Before the House Committee on Un-American Activities" 24 October 1947, accessed 20 October 2008
- ^ a b c d Rick DeMott (September 20, 2010). "Bill Littlejohn Passes Away". AWN News.
- ^ Art Seidenbaum (November 28, 1965). "Cartoonists Advancing Art---at 24 Frames a Second". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b Harvey Deneroff. "The Olympiad of Animation: An Interview With Fini Littlejohn". Animation World Network.
- ^ Charles Champlin (May 26, 1984). "CRITIC AT LARGE: A Festive Olympiad of Animation". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ National Student Film Institute/L.A: The Sixteenth Annual Los Angeles Student Film Festival. The Directors Guild Theatre. June 10, 1994. pp. 10–11.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Los Angeles Student Film Institute: 13th Annual Student Film Festival. The Directors Guild Theatre. June 7, 1991. p. 3.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Lauren Zima (September 21, 2010). "William 'Bill' Littlejohn dies at 96: Animator was also a union activist". Variety.
- ^ "Animation Society Award to Littlejohn". Los Angeles Times. October 31, 1981.
- ^ "Bill Littlejohn". Cartoon Hall of Fame (ASIFA-Hollywood). Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
- ^ "Programs to Honor Animators Tashlin, Iwerks and Littlejohn". Los Angeles Times. May 6, 1999.
External links
- Bill Littlejohn at IMDb