Leslie James "Les" Clark (November 17, 1907 - September 12, 1979) was an American

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 the first of Disney's Nine Old Men. Joining Disney in 1927, he was the only one to work on the origins of

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

with Ub Iwerks.

Early life

Les Clark was born in

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

in 1907, the eldest of 12 children to James Clark, a carpenter,1910 United States Federal Census and Lute Wadsworth. By 1910, the family lived in Salt Lake City and by 1920, they lived in Twin Falls, Idaho. By 1930, they lived in Los Angeles, where Les attended Venice High School. During high school, he worked a summer job at an ice cream shop near Walt Disney Studios in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. Walt and Roy Disney were frequent patrons at the shop, and Walt had once complimented Les on his lettering job of the menus. Eventually, Les got the courage to ask Walt for a job. He recalled Walt's reply:

...
alt said Alt or ALT may refer to: Abbreviations for words * Alt account, an alternative online identity also known as a sock puppet account * Alternate character, in online gaming * Alternate route, type of highway designation * Alternating group, mathema ...
'Bring some of your drawings in and let's see what they look like.' So, I copied some cartoons and showed them to Walt. He said I had a good line, and why don't I come to work on Monday.

Les reported to the studio the Monday after he graduated high school for a temporary position in 1927. He and his wife Miriam had a son, Richard,1940 United States Federal Census and a daughter, Miriam.

Career at Disney Studio

Les started work at the studio first as a camera operator and doing ink and paint on the animations. He moved on to work under the guidance of Ub Iwerks, working on shorts in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series. During the development of the character Mickey Mouse, Clark was promoted to the position of inbetweener where he worked on a scene for the upcoming '' Steamboat Willie''. Les was then promoted to

and was tasked to work on the Silly Symphony '' The Skeleton Dance''. After Ub Iwerks left Disney, Clark was given the position as lead animator on Mickey Mouse. He continued honing his craft, attending art classes while working at the studio. As he improved, he was given the task of animating the Seven Dwarfs in the upcoming film ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. In particular, Clark worked on the scene where Snow White dances with each of the Seven Dwarfs. He would go on to animate the iconic Disney characters Pinocchio, Cinderella,

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

and Tinker Bell.

Animation style

Clark was known for his skill in timing his animation to musical scores, as well as his ability to convey emotion in his work.

Death

Les Clark died of cancer in Santa Barbara, California on September 12, 1979.

Filmography

References

*Canemaker, John. (2001). Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation. New York, NY: Disney Editions.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Les 1907 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American artists American animated film directors American animators American film directors Animators from Utah Animators from California Burials in Tennessee Deaths from cancer in California Film directors from Utah Venice High School (Los Angeles) alumni Walt Disney Animation Studios people