Gerald Potterton (8 March 1931 – 23 August 2022) was a British–Canadian director, writer, producer and animator. He is best known for directing the

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

'' Heavy Metal'' and his animation work on '' Yellow Submarine''. Potterton was nominated three times for an

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

: as director on the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

animated shorts ''

My Financial Career ''My Financial Career'' is a 1962 animated short directed by Gerald Potterton, based on a story of the same name from Stephen Leacock's ''Literary Lapses'' collection of short fiction. The six and a half minute film takes a humorous look at a y ...

'' and ''

Christmas Cracker Christmas crackers are festive table decorations that make a snapping sound when pulled open, and often contain a small gift, paper hat and a joke. They are part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Commonwealth countri ...

'', and as producer for '' The Selfish Giant''.

Personal life

Born in London, Potterton attended the Hammersmith Art School. He emigrated from England to live in Canada in 1955. Potterton lived in

Cowansville Cowansville is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, located on Lac Davignon north of the U.S. border. It is the seat of Brome-Missisquoi, a regional county municipality. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 15,234. In recent yea ...

, Quebec, Canada, where he was involved in the production of live and animated motion pictures. Inspired by Quebec's pastoral

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondv ...

, he painted landscapes and aviation subjects. He died on 23 August 2022, at the age of 91.

Professional career

After working as an assistant animator in London, Potterton joined the NFB in 1954 where he directed both animated and live-action films. He collaborated with

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

on ''

Pinter's People ''Pinter's People'' is a compilation of revue sketches or short prose works by Harold Pinter, which was performed for four weeks from 30 January 2007, at the Haymarket Theatre, in London, starring Bill Bailey, Geraldine McNulty, Sally Phillips, ...

'' in 1969 and

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

on ''

The Railrodder ''The Railrodder'' is a 1965 short comedy film starring Buster Keaton in one of his final film roles, directed by Gerald Potterton and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). A 25-minute comedic travelogue of Canada, ''The Railrodder ...

'' in 1965. After contributing to

George Dunning George Garnett Dunning (November 17, 1920 – February 15, 1979) was a Canadian filmmaker and animator. He is known for animating and directing the 1968 film inspired by the Beatles, '' Yellow Submarine''. Biography Dunning was born in Toronto ...

's animated feature ''Yellow Submarine'' in 1968, he returned to freelance work in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. During the early 1970s, among other projects, he directed live-action and animated sequences for ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' and ''

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The ...

''. In 1981, he was hired by producer

Ivan Reitman Ivan Reitman (; October 27, 1946February 12, 2022) was a Czechoslovak-born Canadian filmmaker. He was best known for his comedy work, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 1998. Film ...

to direct the animated feature ''Heavy Metal''. Potterton coordinated more than one thousand artists, animators and technicians from seventeen countries working in Los Angeles, New York, London,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. During the 1980s and 1990s, he continued making animated and live-action features for television and video.

Potterton Productions

Established in 1968, this production company produced both live-action and animated films. Apart from Potterton's own projects, this company produced Peter Sander's '' The Selfish Giant'' and Larry Kent's ''Fleur Bleue'' in 1971, Mike Mills' '' The Happy Prince'' in 1974, ''The Little Mermaid'' in 1975, and in 1975 ''The Christmas Messenger''. The company was closed in 1974.

Later works

Potterton recently directed

Sandy Wilson Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953). Biography Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow ...

's musical '' The Boy Friend'' at Theatre Lac Brome, and created and directed ''Peter Piper and the Plane People''. Also, through Potterton Studios, he was writing ''A Stage Too Far''.

Filmography

Other works

Potterton illustrated the 1977 children's book, ''

Scouse the Mouse ''Scouse the Mouse'' is a children's album released in the UK in 1977. It featured the vocals of Ringo Starr and others. Story and recording Starr appears as the album's main character, Scouse the Mouse, who emigrates from Liverpool to the Uni ...

'', by

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

. He also wrote '' The Star (and George)'', published by Harper & Row, 1968.

Awards and honours

From 1970 to 1971 Potterton served as vice-president of l'Association Internationale des films d'animation (ASIFA). He was a distinguished member of the

Royal Canadian Academy The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

(RCA). At the 12th Annual Cartoons on the Bay International Festival of Television Animation in

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

, Italy, in April 2008, Potterton received the Pulcinella Lifetime Achievement Award.http://www.geraldpotterton.ca/news.html In September 2002, he received The Buster Award at

The Buster Keaton Celebration ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Other awards include:

References

External links

* * *
Watch Gerald Potterton's films on the NFB website

Gerald Potterton, ''Canadian Film Encyclopedia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potterton, Gerald 1931 births 2022 deaths British animators British film producers British television directors British illustrators National Film Board of Canada people Film directors from London British animated film directors Canadian animated film directors British animated film producers Canadian animated film producers English expatriates in Canada People from Cowansville