Ralph Waldo Wright (May 17, 1908 – December 31, 1983) was a

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 ...

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 story/

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...

writer who provided the gloomy, sullen voice of

Eeyore Eeyore ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-P ...

from the popular '' Winnie the Pooh'' franchise.

Biography

Wright came to the studio in the 1940s, and became well known throughout the ensuing decades for his endearingly gloomy and sullen personality traits as well as his bass voice. He turned out to be a natural model for

when the studio began development on '' Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree''. He, along with his fellow Disney contemporaries, was a pioneer in the use of "gags" within cartoons, often acted out in front of the "story board," a bulletin board pinned with sequential sketches of the cartoon's scenes. Early on, with ''

Goofy's Glider This is a list of animated short films produced by Walt Disney and Walt Disney Animation Studios from 1921 to the present. This includes films produced at the Laugh-O-Gram Studio which Disney founded in 1921 as well as the animation studio now o ...

'' and other "How To" cartoons, Ralph pioneered the story concept featuring a hero's failed attempt at achieving his goals. This technique is still in use today in most major animation studios.

Warner Bros. Cartoons 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 American media history, it was ...

incorporated this premise into Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner,

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

and Tweety, and

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

and Daffy Duck cartoons. This highly reusable format proved to be wildly successful. In fact, full credit was attributed by Frank Tashlin interviewed by Michael Barrier in 2004: "That all came from a marvelous fellow who came from Tillamook, Oregon, a fellow by the name of Ralph Wright. He came down, and his pants were twelve inches too short for him, and he wore suspenders—he was out of the hills. But he had a crazy, crazy mind, almost as wild as Roy Williams, who is the best of all. Ralph did the first story of that type for Jack Kinney, called How to Ride a Horse. The Goof tried to stay on the horse—boom, off, another joke. That was the beginning of what still seems to be going on today. Then he and Kinney made more—a series of jokes, just one problem and working it out. It's like a symphony, with a theme and then the development of that theme." He spent the last 30 years of his life in San Luis Obispo County in Los Osos, California. He died on the final day of 1983, at his home in Los Osos from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, at the age of 75.

Credits

Everything that Ralph Wright worked on are by Walt Disney Productions except as noted.

Writer/Storyboard Team

*''

'' (1940) (story) *''

The Art of Skiing ''The Art of Skiing'' is a Goofy cartoon made by Walt Disney Productions in 1941. It has historical significance as the first cartoon to use the now-famous Goofy holler, as well as the short that led to the "How to..." series, beginning with '' ...

'' (1941) (story) *'' The Art of Self Defense'' (1941) (story) *''Donald's Garden'' (1942) (story) *'' Bambi'' (1942) (story developer) *''

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 ...

'' (1942) (story) *'' How to Swim'' (1942) (story) *''Victory Vehicles'' (1943) (writer) *'' The Three Caballeros'' (1944) (story) *''The Eyes Have It'' (1945) (story) *''

Donald's Crime ''Donald's Crime'' is a 1945 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon, which parodies film noir crime dramas of the time, follows Donald Duck as he struggles with guilt a ...

'' (1945) (story) *''

No Sail ''No Sail'' is a cartoon produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1945, featuring Donald Duck and Goofy. It follows Donald and Goofy after finding themselves stranded at sea and the crazy ways they try to survive. Plot Goofy and Donald buy a co ...

'' (1945) (story) *''

Song of the South ''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated musical film, musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. ...

'' (1946) (cartoon story) *''Crazy with the Heat'' (1947) (story) *''The House Cat (Felis Vulgaris)'' (1948) (story supervisor) ( Gaumont British Animation) *''The Cuckoo'' (1948) (story supervisor) (Gaumont British Animation) *''The Australian Platypus'' (1949) (story supervisor) (Gaumont British Animation) *''Dude Duck'' (1951) (story) *''

Plutopia ''Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters'' is a 2013 book by American environmental historian Kate Brown. The book is a comparative history of the cities of Richland, in the northwest Uni ...

'' (1951) (story) *''R'coon Dawg'' (1951) (story) *'' Lambert the Sheepish Lion'' (1952) (story) *''

Trick or Treat Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...

'' (1952) (story) *'' Peter Pan'' (1953) (story) *''

Don's Fountain of Youth ''Don's Fountain of Youth'' is a 1953 American animated short film by Walt Disney Productions featuring Donald Duck. Plot Donald and his nephews are in Donald's car on vacation in Florida, and pass by an "old Spanish fort" and a flamingo. The ...

'' (1953) (story) *'' The Wonderful World of Disney'' (1956–1964, six episodes) (story, writer) *''Siam'' (1954) *'' Lady and the Tramp'' (1955) (story) *''

Perri Perri may refer to: * ''Perri'' (novel) or ''The Youth of a Squirrel'', a 1938 novel by Felix Salten * ''Perri'' (film), a 1957 Disney film *Perri (name), a surname and given name * Perri (surname) See also * Peri (disambiguation) * Perry (disamb ...

'' (1957) (writer) *'' Sleeping Beauty'' (1959) (additional story) *''

Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Jack Kinney Productions John Ryan Kinney (March 29, 1909 – February 9, 1992)Lenburg (2006), pp. 180 was an American animator, director and producer of animated shorts. Kinney is the older brother of fellow Disney animator Dick Kinney. Early life Jack Kinney was bor ...

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

) *''

Mr. Magoo Mr. Magoo (known by his full name: J. Quincy Magoo) is a fictional cartoon character created at the UPA animation studio in 1949. Voiced by Jim Backus, Mr. Magoo is an elderly, wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of comical ...

'' (1960, five episodes) (story) ( UPA) *''

The Dick Tracy Show ''The Dick Tracy Show'' is an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA. In the show, policeman Dick Tracy employed a series of cartoony subordinat ...

'' (1961, nine episodes) (story) (UPA) *''

Nikki, Wild Dog of the North ''Nikki: Wild Dog of the North'' is a 1961 adventure film directed by Jack Couffer and Don Haldane. The plot, based on the novel ''Nomads of the North'' by James Oliver Curwood, centers around the adventures of a malamute dog named Nikki. Plo ...

'' (1961) (writer) *''

Aquamania ''Aquamania'' is a 1961 American animated Goofy cartoon produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution on December 20, 1961. This cartoon was the last from Disney's "Golden Era" which featured Goofy as a solo star, a ...

'' (1961) (story) *''

Gay Purr-ee ''Gay Purr-ee'' is a 1962 American animated musical film produced by United Productions of America and released by Warner Bros. It features the voice of Judy Garland in her only animated-film role, as well as Robert Goulet in his first feature fi ...

'' (1962) (additional dialog) (UPA,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

) *''Snuffy Smith and Barney Google'' (1963, one episode) (writer) (

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 ...

, King Features Syndicate) *''Salmon Loafer'' (1963) (story) ( Walter Lantz Productions) *''Yellowstone Cubs'' (1963) (writer) *'' Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree'' (1966) (story) *''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...

'' (1967) (story) *'' Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'' (1968) (story) *'' The Aristocats'' (1970) (story) *'' Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' (1971) (animation story) *''Rogue's Rock'' (1974-1976 TV series) (

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

) *''

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ''The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' is a 1977 American animated musical anthology comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It is the 22nd Disney animated feature film and was first rel ...

'' (1977) (story)

Actor

*'' Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree'' (1966) .... Eeyore (voice) *'' Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'' (1968) .... Eeyore (voice) *''

'' (1977) .... Eeyore (voice) *''

Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore ''Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore'' is a 1983 American animated featurette based on the sixth chapter of both books ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and '' The House at Pooh Corner'' by A.A. Milne. Produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by B ...

'' (1983) .... Eeyore (voice) (final film role)

Director

*''Siam'' (1954) *''

'' (1957)

Miscellaneous crew

*'' The Art of Self Defense'' (1941) (animator) *''

'' (1957) (composer: songs) *''

'' (1977) (performer: "Mind Over Matter", "Hip Hip Pooh-ray!")

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Ralph 1908 births 1983 deaths American animators American male screenwriters American male voice actors American animated film directors Animation screenwriters Walt Disney Animation Studios people Male actors from Grants Pass, Oregon 20th-century American male actors People from Los Osos, California Screenwriters from California 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters