Cecil Hays Surry (April 19, 1907 – September 19, 1956) was a cartoonist at various film studios in the Golden Age of Animation.

Biography

Surry was born to Bert F. and Lydia or Lida B. (Knoblock) Surry in

Chelan, Washington Chelan ( ) is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. The estimated population was 3,850 at the 2010 census with a margin of error of ±15. The population was 4,222 at 2018 Estimate from Office of Financial Management. It lies on ...

, where his father and uncle owned an orchard. He spent his youth in Washington State; the family moved by 1922 to San Diego. Surry enrolled in the

Otis Art Institute Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...

and, as a second-year student, won a poster competition sponsored by the Junior League of Los Angeles for the third annual horse show of the Flintridge Riding Club. By 1931, he got a job at

Walt Disney Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...

where he met his future wife Constance Berry. Voters lists show they married sometime between 1932 and 1934 (they also show he switched from being a registered Republican to Democrat before 1946). Surry was first credited as an animator at

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...

studio in the 1933 short ''Going to Blazes.'' When fellow Lantz animator

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American a ...

left to take a director's job at Warner Bros. Cartoons, Surry,

Virgil Ross Virgil Walter Ross (August 8, 1907 – May 15, 1996) was an American artist, cartoonist, and animator best known for his work on the Warner Bros. animated shorts including the shorts of legendary animator Friz Freleng. Biography Early yea ...

and Sid Sutherland went with him to work in the original

Termite Terrace Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was an American animation studio, serving as the in-house animation division of Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in United States, American media h ...

unit with

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer. He was best known for his work on the '' Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows '' ...

, Robert (Bobe) Cannon and assistant animator Elmer Wait. He is credited on only three Warner Bros. cartoons. Surry left to work at the reorganised

MGM cartoon studio The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsible for producing animated shorts to ac ...

where he eventually was placed in the

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

unit to work on

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

cartoons, including uncredited work on the 1941 short ''

The Night Before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...

'' and 1942 short ''Dog Trouble''. In 1950, Surry began work at UPA. For a brief period in 1952, he returned to the Lantz studio and is credited as animator on three cartoons before returning to UPA, where he remained until his death in Los Angeles at age 49. By an odd coincidence, his only brother, Paul Wilson Surry, also died at the age of 49, in 1956. Surry worked on two

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-winning cartoons, ''When Magoo Flew'' (1954) and ''Magoo's Puddle Jumper'' (1956). He was also an artist for

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

about the time he went to UPA.

Notes

References

Lambiek Comiclopedia page.
* U.S. Census Returns, 1920 * California voter registrations * California death records * Atomic Avenue, http://www.atomicavenue.com/atomic/IssueDetail.aspx?ID=79886 * Internet Movie Database, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0839727/ 1907 births 1956 deaths American animators American comics artists Walt Disney Animation Studios people Warner Bros. Cartoons people People from Chelan, Washington Walter Lantz Productions people Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people {{US-animator-stub