| Art Babbit | |
|---|---|
Art Babbitt (left) and Richard Williams (right) working on a scene from The Thief and the Cobbler. |
|
| Born | Arthur Harold Babitsky October 8, 1907 Omaha, Nebraska |
| Died | March 4, 1992 (aged 84) Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Animator |
| Years active | 1936–1992 |
| Spouse | Marge Champion, Dina Babbitt, Barbara Perry |
Arthur Harold Babitsky (October 8, 1907 – March 4, 1992), better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at The Walt Disney Company. He received over 80 awards as animation director and animator, but is most famous for creating Goofy. Art Babbitt worked as an animator or animation director on such films as The Three Little Pigs (1933), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Fantasia (1940), and The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964), among others.
Contents |
Babbitt was born in Omaha, Nebraska in the Little Bohemia section of town near the Bohemian Cafe restaurant, but moved to Sioux City, Iowa after he finished kindergarten. When his hard-working father had an accident on duty and became paralyzed as a result, Art decided to move to New York to take on the role of breadwinner.
Art Babbitt began his career in New York City working for Paul Terry's Terrytoons Studio. But in the early 1930s he moved to Los Angeles followed by his fellow Terrytoon colleague Bill Tytla, and got a job animating for the Walt Disney Studio. His first important work was a drunken mouse in the short "The Country Cousin"(1936).[1]
At the Disney Studio, He animated the Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Geppetto in Pinocchio, Zeus, Vulcan, and the dancing mushrooms in Fantasia, and the stork in Dumbo. Most notably he is credited with creating the character of Goofy.
Despite being one of the highest paid animators at Disney, Babbitt was sympathetic to the cause of lower echelon Disney artists seeking to form a union. For this he earned Walt Disney's everlasting enmity. After leaving the Disney company union and joining the "Screen Cartoonists' Guild Local 852", the regular union representing all of Hollywood animators, Babbitt was fired from Disney in 1941, an event that eventually led to the 1941 Disney animators' strike. Babbitt then served as one of the union leaders and negotiators.
After serving with the Marines in the Pacific in World War II, Babbitt returned to Disney for a time, following an unfair labor practices suit brought by Babbitt against Disney. Disney was forced to rehire him after the war, but Babbitt did not stay long, and soon went to join the United Productions of America (UPA) studio formed by other former Disney strikers. He worked on many of their famous award winning shorts, including the lead character Frankie in "Rooty Toot-Toot"(1951).
In the 1950s he was part owner of Quartet Films, where he did commercials, including the Cleo winning "John & Marsha" spot for Parkay Margarine. Later he was part of Hanna & Barbera's commercial wing.
Known in the animation world as one of the art's most accomplished teachers, in 1973 Canadian animator Richard Williams brought Art Babbitt to his London studio in Soho Square to deliver a series of lectures on animation acting and technique that subsequently became famous among animators. Some of Babbitt's final work was on the characters King Nod and Phido, the vulture, in Williams' film "The Thief and the Cobbler".
In 1991 Disney Company chief Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Walt, contacted Art Babbitt and they ended the long feud. Art's former rivals, the pro-Walt animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, gave Art a warm and moving eulogy at his funeral service.
His first wife (1937–1940) was Marge Champion, a dance model in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. His second wife was Dina Babbitt, a Holocaust survivor. His third wife, who survives him, is actress Barbara Perry. Babbitt died of kidney failure March 4, 1992, at the age of 84.
In the late 1980s a British television documentary titled "Animating Art" was broadcast, celebrating Babbitt's life and work. The documentary was produced and directed by Imogen Sutton (Richard Williams wife), and features extensive interviews with Babbitt and his then employer, Richard Williams.[2]