Don Patterson (December 26, 1909 – December 12, 1998) was an American producer,

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

, and director who worked at various studios during the Golden age of American animation, including

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...

Silver Screen Partners IV Silver Screen Partners refers to four limited partnerships organized as an alternative funding source for film production originally formed by American investor Roland W. Betts as a collaboration with cable television network HBO in 1983. The m ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 a ...

, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation, Harman-Ising Productions,

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 ...

Format Films Format Films was a television animation studio which was founded by Herbert Klynn in 1959 with Jules Engel as vice president, Bob McIntosh and Joseph Mugnaini, all of whom were animators. It was most active during the 1960s, producing episodes o ...

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...

Grantray-Lawrence Animation Grantray-Lawrence Animation was an animation studio active from 1954 to 1968 and founded by Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson (hence "Grant-Ray"), and Robert L. Lawrence. This animation company produced commercials and low-budget animated television ...

; UPA, and Hanna-Barbera. He was the older brother of animator Ray Patterson. Patterson began his career in the early 1930s as an

in-betweener The In-Betweener is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The character first appeared in ''Warlock'' #10 (Dec. 1975) and was created by Jim Starlin. Fictional character biograph ...

at the

Charles Mintz Charles Bear Mintz (November 5, 1889 – December 30, 1939)''Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American film producer and distributor who assumed control over Margaret J. Winkler's Winkler Pictu ...

Studio, and then moved to the

Walter Lantz Studio 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 ...

. He began working at the Walt Disney Studios in the 1940s, contributing to five theatrical films: ''Pinocchio'', ''Fantasia'', ''Dumbo'', ''The Three Caballeros'' and ''Make Mine Music, Toontown’s All-Stars to the Rescue''. In the early 1950s, Patterson returned to the Lantz studio and became one of Lantz's four key animators, along with Ray Abrams,

Laverne Harding Emily Laverne Harding (October 10, 1905 – September 25, 1984) was an American animator and cartoonist. Early life Harding was born on October 10th, 1905 to Christians John B. Harding and Pearle W. Harding in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her fam ...

and Paul Smith.

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

says in ''Of Mice and Magic'', Don Patterson was the first of Lantz's animation team to try directing, and he showed great aptitude for the assignment. His shorts are among the best of the early-1950s product, showing deft handling of characters and snappy timing. In 1952 he 'supervised' one of the best

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by Lan ...

cartoons of all time, '' Termites from Mars''." Patterson also directed ''

Hypnotic Hick ''Hypnotic Hick '' is the 51st animated cartoon short subject in the ''Woody Woodpecker'' series. Released theatrically on September 26, 1953, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal International. It was ...

'' (1953), ''

Socko in Morocco This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 203 cartoons (196 Woody shorts and 7 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...

'' and ''

Alley to Bali This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 203 cartoons (196 Woody shorts and 7 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...

'' (both 1954). Patterson won a Golden Award at the 1985 Motion Pictures Screen Cartoonists Awards.Don Patterson – Awards

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

. Patterson died on December 12, 1998 at

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

, just 14 days short of 89th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1909 births 1998 deaths Animators from Illinois American directors American animated film directors American animated film producers Hanna-Barbera people Walt Disney Animation Studios people Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people Walter Lantz Productions people {{US-animator-stub