In Passing...
In Passing...
Ken O'Connor.
Legendary Disney layout artist Kendall O'Connor died of natural causes
on May 27 at his home in Burbank, California. He would have turned 90 years
old on June 7. Born in Perth, Australia, O'Connor emigrated to the U.S.
in 1930. In 1935, he was hired as a layout artist at Disney Studio, where
he worked until his retirement in 1974. Some of his career highlights at
Disney include designs for 13 animated features including Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Cinderella, Peter Pan and nearly 100
shorts, including the 1953 Oscar winner, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom.
He also taught at California Institute of the Arts; among his students
were John Lasseter, John Musker, Henry Selick, Mark Kirkland and Tim Burton.
O'Connor has received an ASIFA-Hollywood Annie Award, a Motion Picture
Screen Cartoonists Golden Award and a Disney Legends Award. Funeral services
were private, but O'Connor will be remembered by a scholarship fund for
animation students. Donations may be sent to:
Kendall O'Connor Animation Scholarship Fund
P.O. Box 3535
1634 North San Fernando Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91508-3535, U.S.A.
Contributions and inquiries about the fund are welcome. For information,
call (213) 849-1728.
Phil Hartman, a well-known comedian who was also a voice actor for
animation, was shot to death by his wife on May 28 at his home in Encino,
California. He was a frequent guest voice on The Simpsons, playing
characters such as past B-movie star and infomercial host Troy McClure,
lawyer Lionel Hutz, fast talking salesman Lyle Lanley, political figure
Evan Conover, Bart's adoptive "bigger brother" Tom and even Moses
(episode 7F13). Walt Disney Pictures recorded Hartman as the voice of a
character in the dubbed English version of the Japanese animated feature,
Kiki's Delivery Service, which has not yet been commercially released
in the U.S., but is currently touring film festivals.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
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