Milt Neil (May 30, 1914 – October 18, 1997), sometimes known as "the Duck Man", was an American animator, toy designer and comics artist. He was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in 1914. He worked for

Disney Studios The Walt Disney Studios is an American film and entertainment studio, and is the Studios Content segment of the Walt Disney Company. Based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California, the studio is best known for its multifaceted ...

from 1935 to 1944. He worked on ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

'', ''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...

'', ''

Saludos Amigos ''Saludos Amigos'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "Greetings, Friends") is a 1942 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. It is the List of ...

'', and ''

The Three Caballeros ''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action/animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on ...

''. After leaving

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 ...

he briefly worked for

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 ...

. He was also active in advertising and redesigned the two mascots of

Pea Soup Andersen's Pea Soup Andersen's is a restaurant chain in Central California that primarily serves travelers. The chain consists of two locations along the state's two major north–south highways: U.S. Route 101 in Buellton and Interstate 5 in Santa Nella. ...

. They received their permanent names Hap-Pea and Pea-Wee through a contest. Neil became involved with the children's show ''

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F Campbell

'', for whom he designed puppets and various other merchandising objects. Together with Chad Grothkopf he adapted the TV show into a newspaper comic between 1950 and 1953, though he only worked on it for the first three months, after which Grothkopf took over. Neil ran the character animation program at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Design. He died in 1997.

Sources

American animators American comics artists Toy designers 1914 births 1997 deaths People from New Jersey Walt Disney Animation Studios people Walter Lantz Productions people {{US-animator-stub