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Last of Disney’s “Nine Old Men” Passes Away
16-Apr-2008
Written by: s. Belkin
The last surviving member of the core group of Disney animators died Monday of natural causes.
Ollie Johnston, the last of the “nine old men” of Disney, died on Monday in Sequim, Washington, at 95 years old. The “nine old men” was the name of Disney Studio’s core group of senior animators since they were young and in their 20s. The name comes from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s description of the Supreme Court.
Johnston worked as an assistant animator on Disney’s first full-length cartoon feature, Snow White, according to the New York Times. He was partly responsible for the tearjerking death of Bambi’s mother at the hands of a hunter in the 1942 film, Bambi.
He is also credited on Cinderella, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, and many others. He joined Disney in 1935 and retired in 1978 to teach at schools and publish some books. His Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, is considered a bible of animation by some. He received the National Medal of Arts in 2005.
Howard E. Green, a vice president of Disney, reported that Johnston died of natural causes.
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