Ollie Johnston
Ollie Johnston | |
---|---|
Born | Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. October 31, 1912 Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
Died | April 14, 2008 Sequim, Washington, U.S. | (aged 95)
Nationality | American |
Other names | Oliver M. Johnston, Jr. Oliver M. Johnston Oliver Johnston |
Alma mater | |
Occupation | Animator |
Years active | 1934–1981 (at Disney) 1982–1993 (book author) |
Known for | One of Disney's Nine Old Men |
Spouse |
Marie E. Johnston
(m. 1943; died 2005) |
Children | 2 |
Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. (October 31, 1912 – April 14, 2008) was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death from natural causes.[1][2][3] He was recognized by The Walt Disney Company with its Disney Legend Award in 1989. His work was recognized with the National Medal of Arts in 2005.
Career
Johnston was an animator at Walt Disney Studios from 1934 to 1978, and became a directing animator beginning with Pinocchio, released in 1940. He contributed to most Disney animated features, including Fantasia and Bambi. His last full work for Disney came with The Rescuers, in which he was caricatured as one of the film's characters, the cat Rufus. The last film he worked on was The Fox and the Hound. His work includes Mr. Smee (in Peter Pan), the Stepsisters (in Cinderella), the District Attorney (in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad), and Prince John (in Robin Hood). According to the book The Disney Villain, written by Johnston and Frank Thomas, Johnston also partnered with Thomas on creating characters such as Ichabod Crane (in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad), Sir Hiss (in Robin Hood), and story consultant in Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.
Johnston co-authored, with Frank Thomas, the reference book
Personal life
Born in
Johnston's lifelong hobby was
In the 1960s, Johnston acquired and restored a full-size,
In the 1980s and 90s, Johnston served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute and often was a presenter at the annual film festival's award ceremonies.[16][17] Brad Bird paid a tribute to Ollie Johnston with an animated cameo of Johnston in the 2004 Pixar film The Incredibles, as well as a cameo in his 1999 film The Iron Giant, where Johnston played a train engineer.[18] Both cameos also included Frank Thomas.
On November 10, 2005, Ollie Johnston was among the recipients of the prestigious National Medal of Arts, presented by President George W. Bush in an Oval Office ceremony.
Ollie Johnston died of natural causes on April 14, 2008, at the age of 95. He was the last surviving member of Disney's Nine Old Men at the time of his death.
Filmography
Year | Title | Credits | Characters | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1934 | Two-Gun Mickey (Shot) |
inbetween artist | uncredited | |
1935 | Mickey's Garden (Shot) | inbetween artist | uncredited | |
1936 | Mickey's Rival | assistant animator | uncredited | |
More Kittens | assistant animator | uncredited | ||
1937 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | assistant animator | uncredited | |
Little Hiawatha (short) | Animator | uncredited | ||
1938 | Brave Little Tailor (short) | Animator | Townspeople | uncredited |
1939 | Mickey's Surprise Party (short) | Animator | Mickey and Minnie | uncredited |
The Practical Pig (short) | Animator | uncredited | ||
The Pointer (short) | Animator: | Mickey looking for Bear | uncredited | |
1940 | Pinocchio | Animator | Pinocchio telling a lie | Credited as Oliver M. Johnston |
Fantasia | Animation Supervisor - Segment "The Pastoral Symphony" | Credited as Oliver M. Johnston Jr. | ||
1942 | Bambi | Supervising Animator | Bambi, Thumper | Credited as Oliver M. Johnston Jr. |
All Together (short) | Animator | uncredited | ||
How to Play Baseball (short) | Animator | uncredited | ||
1943 | Victory Through Air Power (Documentary) | Animator | Credited as Oliver M. Johnston Jr. | |
Reason and Emotion (Short) | Animator | Female Reason, Female Emotion | uncredited | |
The Winged Scourge (Documentary short) | Animator | uncredited | ||
Chicken Little (short) | Animator | uncredited | ||
1945 | The Three Caballeros | Animator | Panchito Pistoles, José Carioca, Donald Duck | |
1946 | Make Mine Music | Animator | Peter | |
Song of the South | Directing Animator | Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, Br’er Bear | ||
1948 | Melody Time | Directing Animator | Johnny Appleseed, Johnny’s Angel, Little Toot | |
1949 | The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | Directing Animator | Angus Macbadger, Rat, District Attorney, Judge, Katrina Van Tassel
|
|
1950 | Cinderella | Directing Animator | Drizella Tremaine
|
|
1951 | Alice in Wonderland | Directing Animator | Alice, King Of Hearts | |
1952 | Susie the Little Blue Coupe (Short) | Animator | ||
1953 | Peter Pan | Directing Animator | Mr. Smee | |
Ben and Me (Short) | Animator | Benjamin Franklin | ||
1955 | Lady and the Tramp | Directing Animator | Jock And Trusty
|
|
1959 | Sleeping Beauty | Directing Animator | Flora, Fauna And Merryweather
|
|
1961 | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | Directing Animator | Pongo, Pertida, Nanny, Dalmatian Puppies | |
1963 | The Sword in the Stone | Directing Animator | Merlin, Archimedes, Arthur | |
1964 | Mary Poppins | Animator | The Penguin Waiters | |
1967 | The Jungle Book | Directing Animator | Baloo
|
|
1968 | Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (Short) | Animator | ||
1970 | The Aristocats | Directing Animator | Toulouse , Abigail And Amelia Gabble, Uncle Waldo
|
|
1973 | Robin Hood | Directing Animator | Sir Hiss
|
|
1974 | Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (Short) | Directing Animator | Pooh and Piglet | |
1977 | The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | Animator | ||
The Rescuers | Directing Animator | Orville
|
||
1981 | The Fox and the Hound | Supervising Animator | Young Tod, Young Copper, Chief | |
1987 | The Chipmunk Adventure | Special Thanks | ||
1992 | Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland | Story Consultant | Credited as Oliver Johnston | |
1995 | Frank and Ollie (Documentary) | Himself | ||
1999 | The Iron Giant | Additional Voices / Animator | Himself | |
2004 | The Incredibles | Additional Voices / Special Thanks | Himself |
Books by Johnston
- Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life (1981)
- Too Funny for Words: Disney's Greatest Sight Gags (ISBN 0-89659-747-4)
- Walt Disney's Bambi—the Story and the Film (ISBN 1-55670-160-8)
- The Disney Villain (ISBN 1-56282-792-8)
See also
References
- ^ Saperstein, Pat (April 15, 2008). "Animator Ollie Johnston dies at 95". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ "'Golden age' Disney animator dies". BBC. April 16, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
- ^ "Ollie Johnston, last of Disney's elite animators, died on April 14th, aged 95". The Economist. April 24, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
- ^ 1920 United States Federal Census
- ^ Palo Alto Union High School Madrono Yearbook, 1931
- ^ "Ollie Johnston". D23. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ Ziebarth, Christian (May 31, 2005). "Marie Johnston, Wife of Legendary Disney Animator Ollie Johnston, Dies at Age 87". Animated Views. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ Hiney, Harlan. "Early Years 8 - Early Member Oliver M. Johnston Jr". Southern California Live Streamers. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Mastanich, Richard (May 11, 2000). "A Visit to Ollie's Railroad". The Laughing Place.
- Orange County Register. Archived from the originalon July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
- ^ "Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association - The Last Disney Legend Passes". Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- ^ "4433 Deer Lake Park Rd". Trulia. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c Amendola (2015), p. 124.
- ^ Broggie (2014), p. 103.
- ^ a b c Amendola (2015), pp. 131–133.
- ^ 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) - ^ "Brad Bird on Ollie Johnston". Cartoon Brew. April 15, 2008.
Sources
- Amendola, Dana (2015). All Aboard: The Wonderful World of Disney Trains (1st ed.). ISBN 978-1-4231-1714-8.
- ISBN 978-1-57864-914-3.
External links
- Frank and Ollie's official site
- Ollie Johnston at IMDb
- Disney Legends
- Ollie's backyard railroad
- "Ollie Johnston: Last of the Red-Hot Animators" by John Canemaker - Wall Street Journal- April 22, 2008; Page D9
- Carolwood Pacific Historical Society Web site