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Ollie Johnston Dies at 95 |
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008 |
Ollie Johnston at the easel in about 1957 with, from left, Milt Kahl, Marc Davis, Frank Thomas and Walt Disney.
The animator Ollie Johnston, the last of the Disney "nine old men," as the studio's core group of senior animators was called, died on Monday in Sequim, Wash. He was 95. His death was due to natural causes.
Perhaps the two most accomplished of the nine were Mr. Johnston and his close friend Frank Thomas, who died in 2004; they were frequent collaborators and next-door neighbors. (The phrase "nine old men" came from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's description of the Supreme Court. The label stuck to the Disney group when most were in their 20's.)
Mr. Johnston worked as an assistant animator on Disney's first full-length feature, "Snow White" (1937), became an animation supervisor on "Fantasia" and "Bambi," and was an animator on "Pinocchio." He was especially proud of his work on "Bambi" and its classic scenes, including the heartbreaking death of Bambi's mother at the hands of a hunter.
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Other credits to Ollie include "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan," "Lady and the Tramp," "Sleeping Beauty," "101 Dalmatians," "Mary Poppins," "The Jungle Book," "The Aristocats," "Robin Hood" and "The Rescuers."
Mr. Johnston is survived by his two sons, Ken and Rick. His wife of 63 years, Marie, died in 2005. The studio said he was a train enthusiast, with a fine miniature railroad at his former home in Flintridge, California, and a full-size antique locomotive that he ran for many years at a vacation home near San Diego.
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