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1-11 of 11
- Animation Department
- Writer
- Actor
Marc Davis was an American animator from Bakersfield, California. He was a member of Disney's Nine Old Men, a group of senior animators who supervised the Walt Disney Animation Studios from c. 1945 to 1977. Davis was nicknamed as "Disney's Ladies' Man", because he was often asked to design and/or animate the primary female characters in Disney's feature films. His most significant characters were Snow White in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), Bambi, Faline, and Flower in "Bambi" (1942), Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear in "Song of the South" (1946), Bongo in "Fun and Fancy Free" (1947), Mr. Toad and the villainous weasels in "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (1949), Cinderella in "Cinderella" (1950), Alice in "Alice in Wonderland" (1951), Tinker Bell and Mrs. Darling in "Peter Pan" (1953), Aurora, Maleficent, and Diablo the Raven in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959), and Cruella De Vil and Anita in "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (1961).
Davis took up drawing as a hobby during his childhood. He noted that his drawings increased his popularity with other kids, and that even the bullies stopped bothering him. Deciding to become a professional artist, Davis received training at the Kansas City Art Institute, the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. He habitually sketched zoo animals for practice, and studied animal anatomy to improve the accuracy of his depictions.
In 1935, Davis was one of several young animators hired by Disney during the production phase of the studio's first animated feature film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937). He soon demonstrated a talent for developing "three-dimensional characters and storytelling", which set him apart from other animators. Which is why he was assigned to draw "difficult-to-draw" human characters, rather than caricatures. He always aimed "to put personality into the characters", in order to make them appealing to the film's audience. He typically used reference images for his characters, and at times emulated the gestures and expressions of the characters' voice actors. One of his most challenging assignments was animating the silent character of Tinker Bell. He had to express the character's sass and personality through pantomime and facial expression alone.
In 1956, Davis married the costume designer Alice Estes (1929-2022). They had previously been working together in developing suitable clothing for the character of Aurora, and their professional relationship preceded their romantic relationship. Soon after their wedding, Disney introduced her to the studio head Walt Disney. Walt eventually hired Alice to design costumes for Disney's live-action productions.
In the early 1960s, Davis left Disney's animation studio. He transferred to WED Enterprises (later renamed to Walt Disney Imagineering), the subsidiary company responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions. Davis helped in the design and creation of several attractions, including "The Jungle Cruise" (1955), "Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland" (1960), "The Enchanted Tiki Room" (1963), "Ford's Magic Skyway" (1964), "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" (1964), "The Carousel of Progress" (1964), "It's a Small World" (1964), "Pirates of the Caribbean" (1967), "The Haunted Mansion" (1969), "The Country Bear Jamboree" (1971), and "America Sings" (1974).
Davis worked in the early 1970s in developing an attraction called "Western River Expedition", which would serve as a historical recreation of the Western expansion of the United States. This attraction was never built, but elements of Davis' designs were later used in developing the attractions called "Tom Sawyer Island", "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad", "Splash Mountain", "Thunder Mesa", "Phantom Manor", and "Expedition Everest".
Davis retired in 1978, at the age of 65. In 1982, Davis won a Winsor McCay Award for his contributions to animation. In 1985, Davis won the Golden Award of the organization Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists. In 1989, he was inducted to the hall of fame Disney Legends. In 1993, Davis received an award by the Disneyana Fan Club. Davis died in January 2000, at the age of 86. Shortly following his death, the Marc Fraser Davis Scholarship Fund was formally established at the California Institute of the Arts.
Davis' career and artwork were the subject of the biographical book "Marc Davis: Walt Disney's Renaissance Man" (2014) by Disney Editions. The book was followed by the sequel "Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Parks" (2020), which focused on his theme park designs. Though long gone, Davis remains popular among fans of traditional animation.- Jeff Hollis was born on 10 November 1950 in Alliance, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for The Big Easy (1986), Youngblood (1978) and CPO Sharkey (1976). He died on 12 January 2000 in Seattle, Washington, USA.
- Benjamin Masselink was born on 13 November 1919 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. He was a writer, known for The Incredible Hulk (1978), Barnaby Jones (1973) and The Six Million Dollar Man (1974). He was married to Dee Humphrey. He died on 12 January 2000 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Tom Cound was born on 23 July 1916 in Staffordshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Hawaiian Eye (1959), Producers' Showcase (1954) and Fair Exchange (1962). He died on 12 January 2000 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Shirley Gruar was born on 18 January 1949 in New Zealand. She was an actress, known for Wild Horses (1983), Goodbye Pork Pie (1980) and Bridge to Nowhere (1986). She died on 12 January 2000 in New Zealand.
- Nikola Milic was born on 21 October 1924 in Jagodina, Serbia, Yugoslavia. He was an actor, known for Srecni ljudi (1993), TV teatar (1956) and Vise od igre (1976). He died on 12 January 2000 in Belgrade, Serbia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- Composer
- Music Department
Evgeniy Glebov was born on 10 September 1929 in Roslavl, Roslavlskiy uezd, Smolenskaya guberniya, RSFSR, USSR [now Roslavlskiy rayon, Smolenskaya oblast, Russia]. He was a composer, known for Savage Hunt of King Stakh (1980), Lyubimaya (1965) and Tretya raketa (1963). He died on 12 January 2000 in Minsk, Belarus.- Producer
- Soundtrack
Richard 'Dimples' Fields was born on 21 March 1941 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was a producer, known for The Sunchaser (1996), Pat Benatar: Live in New Haven (1983) and Soul Train (1971). He died on 12 January 2000 in Novato, California, USA.- Additional Crew
- Actor
Denny Bettis was born on 14 September 1927 in Poplar, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for BBC Sunday-Night Play (1960), The Roy Castle Show (1964) and Like ... Music (1962). He was married to June Laverick. He died on 12 January 2000 in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, UK.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Grzegorz Plocha was born on 27 October 1960 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. Grzegorz was an assistant director, known for Gra w slepca (1986). Grzegorz died on 12 January 2000 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Bobby Phills was born on 20 December 1969 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Eddie (1996). He was married to Kendall Watkins. He died on 12 January 2000 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.