American animator (1912-2008)
Ollie Johnston
|
---|
Johnston in 1989
|
Born
| Oliver Martin Johnston Jr.
(
1912-10-31
)
October 31, 1912
|
---|
Died
| April 14, 2008
(2008-04-14)
(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
[
edit
]
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
Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life
, which contained the
12 basic principles of animation
. This book helped preserve the knowledge of the techniques that were developed at the studio. The partnership of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston is fondly presented in the documentary
Frank and Ollie
, produced by Thomas' son
Theodore
, who in 2012 also produced another documentary,
Growing up with Nine Old Men
, included in the Diamond Edition of the
Peter Pan
DVD.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Born in
Palo Alto, California
, to Oliver, a
Stanford
professor, and Florence Johnston, Johnston had two older sisters, Winifred and Florence.
[4]
Johnston attended
Palo Alto High School
[5]
and
Stanford University
, where he worked on the campus humor magazine
Stanford Chaparral
with fellow future animator Frank Thomas, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. Johnston then transferred to the
Chouinard Art Institute
in his senior year.
[6]
Johnston married a fellow Disney employee,
ink and paint
artist Marie Worthey, in 1943. Marie Johnston died May 20, 2005, at the age of 87.
[7]
Johnston's lifelong hobby was
live steam
trains. Starting in 1949, he built the
4
+
3
⁄
4
in
(
121 mm
) gauge
[8]
La Canada Valley Railroad, a
miniature
backyard railroad
with three 1:12-scale locomotives at his home in
Flintridge, California
.
[9]
The locomotives are now owned by his sons. This railroad was one of the inspirations for
Walt Disney
to build his own backyard railroad, the
Carolwood Pacific Railroad
, which inspired the building of the railroad in
Disneyland
in
Anaheim, California
. Johnston was a founding Governor of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society along with his fellow Disney animator and railfan,
Ward Kimball
. The 1:4-scale Victorian depot from Johnston's backyard was restored and moved to a location near Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn within the
Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum
in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.
[10]
In the 1960s, Johnston acquired and restored a full-size,
3 ft
(
914 mm
)
narrow gauge
Porter
steam locomotive originally built in 1901, which he named the
Marie E.
He also built the Deer Lake Park & Julian Railroad (DLP&J) at his vacation estate in
Julian, California
, to run the locomotive with a small gondola and caboose pulled behind it.
[11]
[12]
The
Marie E.
first ran on the DLP&J in 1968.
[13]
the DLP&J was 0.5 miles (0.80 km) long and utilized the
railroad ties
from the defunct
Viewliner Train of Tomorrow
attraction in
Disneyland
.
[13]
[14]
Johnston sold the vacation estate and the narrow gauge train in 1993.
[13]
The engine and its consist were later sold to
John Lasseter
(of
Pixar
Studios fame) around 2002. On May 10, 2005, it ran on the
Disneyland Railroad
during a private early morning event organized by Lasseter to honor Johnston, who was able to take the throttle of the
Marie E.
one last time.
[15]
This was the first time that the Walt Disney Company permitted outside railroad equipment to run at any Disney Resort.
[15]
The engine is still fully operational and presently runs on the
Justi Creek Railway
, located within the vineyards of Lasseter Family Winery, also owned by Lasseter.
[15]
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
[
edit
]
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
,
Jose 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,
Ichabod Crane
,
Brom Bones
,
Katrina Van Tassel
|
|
1950
|
Cinderella
|
Directing Animator
|
Anastasia Tremaine
,
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
|
Lady
,
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
|
Bagheera
,
Mowgli
, Shanti,
Baloo
|
|
1968
|
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
(Short)
|
Animator
|
Rabbit
,
Kanga
,
Roo
,
Winnie the Pooh
and
Piglet
|
|
1970
|
The Aristocats
|
Directing Animator
|
Marie
,
Toulouse
, Abigail And Amelia Gabble, Uncle Waldo
|
|
1973
|
Robin Hood
|
Directing Animator
|
Robin Hood
,
Little John
,
Prince John
,
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
|
Miss Bianca
and
Bernard
, Rufus,
Penny
,
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
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
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
.
- ^
Eades, Mark (August 20, 2015).
"Memories of Walt Disney's steam train from his daughter"
.
Orange County Register
. Archived from
the original
on 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
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikinews has related news:
Awards for Ollie Johnston
|
---|
|
---|
1980
| |
---|
1981
| |
---|
1982
| |
---|
1983
| |
---|
1984
| |
---|
1985
| |
---|
1986
| |
---|
1987
| |
---|
1988
| |
---|
1989
| |
---|
|
|
---|
2000
| |
---|
2001
| |
---|
2002
| |
---|
2003
| |
---|
2004
| |
---|
2005
| |
---|
2006
| |
---|
2007
| |
---|
2008
| |
---|
2009
| |
---|
|
|
---|
1980
| |
---|
1981
| |
---|
1982
| |
---|
1983
| |
---|
1984
| |
---|
1985
| |
---|
1986
| |
---|
1987
| |
---|
1988
| |
---|
|
|
|
---|
|
---|
Released
| |
---|
Upcoming
| |
---|
Cancelled
| |
---|
Associated
productions
| |
---|
|
|
|
|
Related topics
|
---|
History
| |
---|
Methods and
technologies
| |
---|
Documentaries
| |
---|
Miscellaneous
| |
---|
|
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Academics
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|