Faith Hubley (née Chestman; September 16, 1924 – December 7, 2001) 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 ...

, known for her experimental work both in collaboration with her husband John Hubley, and on her own following her husband's death.

Biography

Born to Sally and Irving Chestman,

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

immigrants, she grew up with three siblings on

Manhattan's West Side The West Side of Manhattan refers to the side of Manhattan Island which abuts the Hudson River and faces the U.S. state of New Jersey. Fifth Avenue, Central Park, and lower Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambigua ...

during the 1920s and 1930s. She spoke little about her childhood and left home at age 15 to work in the theater, adopting the name Faith Elliott. At age 18, she moved to

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, ...

, starting as a messenger at Columbia Pictures. She subsequently worked as a sound-effects and music editor, and then script clerk for

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

. She later worked as a script supervisor (''

12 Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a ...

'') and editor (''Go, Man, Go''; with the

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Career

The Hubleys jointly founded Storyboard Studios as an independent animation studio, vowing to make one independent film a year. They collaborated on more than 20 short films, up until John's death during open-heart surgery in 1977. At that time they were working on the '' Doonesbury'' television cartoon, ''A Doonesbury Special''. Faith Hubley, with Garry Trudeau and Bill Littlejohn, completed the special despite the doubts of NBC executives. The Hubleys won Oscars for their shorts:
Moonbird
'' (1959), '' The Hole'' (1962) and '' A Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature'' (1966); they also received Oscar nominations for ''Windy Day'', ''Of Men and Demons'', ''Voyage to Next'' and ''

A Doonesbury Special ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title characte ...

''. Her many solo projects established her as a significant film creator in her own right. She began her first solo project, ''W.O.W. (Women of the World)'', after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1975. Between 1976 and 2001, she completed 24 further solo animated films. Her films often feature abstract imagery and

non-linear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...

stories; many draw on themes of mythology and indigenous art. She was also a painter, with her works being exhibited in galleries in Europe and the United States. Unlike conventional hand-drawn animation where a camera takes pictures of paintings on celluloid that are lit from above, she used a technique where drawings on paper were illuminated from below, giving the animation a special look. Faith Hubley taught at the Yale School of Art in the 1990s.

Preservation, Legacy, and Accolades

The Academy Film Archive preserved several of Faith Hubley's films, including ''A Smattering of Spots'', ''A Doonesbury Special'', and ''The Hole''. Faith Hubley received honors from the Cannes,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, London, and San Francisco film festivals. She won fourteen CINE Golden Eagle awards, and received honorary doctorates from the University of Chicago, Columbia College, and

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

. Her 1981 animated film ''"

Enter Life ''Enter Life'' is an 8-minute animated film from 1982 about the earliest origin of life, or abiogensis on earth. Directed by Faith Hubley of Hubley Studios, the film traces a possible course of development, according to contemporary theory, of o ...

"'' can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, as part of the Early Life exhibit. In 1995, the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

presented a retrospective program of her works. To coincide with the unveiling of a historical marker for her husband, John Hubley, in his hometown of Marinette, Wisconsin, Marinette's mayor Steve Genisot proclaimed May 20, 2023 "John and Faith Hubley Day" in Wisconsin. Though not a native of Wisconsin, Faith Hubley was recognized for being "unarguably neof the most important figures in the history of independent animation, and indeed

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

Death

Faith Hubley died in 2001, aged 77, in New Haven, Connecticut, following her long battle with breast cancer, 26 years after her initial diagnosis.

Family

She married John Hubley in 1955. The couple had four children: Mark Hubley, animator Emily Hubley, musician/artist Georgia Hubley, and Hamp Hubley. Their children's voices were featured in a number of their films.

Filmography

With John Hubley

* ''Adventures of an *'' (1956) *'' Harlem Wednesday'' (1957) * '' Tender Game'' (1958) * '' Moonbird'' (1959) * '' Children of the Sun'' (1960) * ''

Of Stars and Men ''Of Stars and Men'' is a 1964 animated film from the Hubley family of animators, based on the 1959 book of the same name by astronomer Harlow Shapley, who also narrates. Made in the style of a documentary, it tells of humankind's quest (in the fo ...

'' (1961) * '' The Hole'' (1962) * '' The Hat'' (1963) * '' A Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature'' (1965) * '' Urbanissimo'' (1966) * '' The Cruise'' (1966) * ''Windy Day'' (1967) * '' Of Men and Demons'' (1968) * ''

Zuckerkandl Zuckerkandl is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Berta Zuckerkandl (1864–1945), journalist, author, leader of an influential salon * Emil Zuckerkandl (1849–1910), anatomist * Emile Zuckerkandl (1922-2013), biologist, physiol ...

'' (1969) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Imagination E", 1969) * '' Sesame Street'' ("O Song", 1969) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Polar Bear & Exit", 1970) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Small V", 1970) * ''Eggs'' (1970) * '' Sesame Street'' ("F for Football", 1971) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Baby Fantasy", 1971) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Birds 1-20", 1971) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Penguin Rhythms", 1971) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Hungry M", 1971) * ''

Dig Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock (geology), rock on the surface of Earth. Di ...

'' (1972) (TV film) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Letter S", 1972) * '' Cockaboody'' (1973)(TV film) * ''

Voyage to Next Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to: Literature *''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden * ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter *''The Voyage'', Murray Bail * "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by ...

'' (1974) * '' People, People, People'' (1975) * ''

Everybody Rides the Carousel ''Everybody Rides the Carousel'' is a 1975 independent animated film about the stages of life. It was directed by John Hubley and written and produced by Hubley and his wife Faith. Among the cast are Meryl Streep, Dinah Manoff, and Lane Smith and ...

'' (1976)(TV film) * ''

'' (1977)

Solo

* '' W.O.W. (Women of the World)'' (1975) * '' Second Chance: Sea'' (1976) * '' Whither Weather'' (1977) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Catch the Kitty", 1977) * '' Step by Step'' (1978) * ''

Sky Dance Skydance Media, LLC (formerly known as Skydance Productions) is an American production company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company entered a five-year partnership to co-produce and co-finance films w ...

'' (1980) * ''

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'' (1981) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Vitamin V", 1981) * ''

'' (1981) * '' Starlore'' (1983) * '' Hello'' (1984) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Bedtime Noises", 1985) * ''

The Cosmic Eye ''The Cosmic Eye'' is a 1986 American animated science fiction film directed by Faith Hubley and featuring the voices of Dizzy Gillespie, Maureen Stapleton and Jack Warden. Plot A trio of homeward-bound space musicians, suffering from acute nos ...

'' (1985) * '' Sesame Street'' ("Telephone Cat", 1986) * '' Time of the Angels'' (1987) * '' Yes We Can'' (1989) * '' Sesame Street'' ("S-Snake", 1989) * '' Who Am I?'' (1989) * ''

Amazonia The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

'' (1990) * '' Upside Down'' (1991) * ''

Tall Time Tales Tall commonly refers to: *Tall, a degree of height **Tall, a degree of human height Tall may also refer to: Places * Tall, Semnan, a village in Semnan Province of Iran * River Tall, a river in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom Arts. entertai ...

'' (1992) * ''

Cloudland The Cloudland Dance Hall, originally called Luna Park, was a famous entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was demolished in 1982 and the site was subsequently developed into an apartment complex. On its ...

'' (1993) * '' Seers and Clowns'' (1994) * '' Rainbows of Hawai'i'' (1995) * '' My Universe Inside Out'' (1996) * '' The Girl With Her Head Coming Off'' (with Emily Hubley) (1996) * '' Beyond the Shadow Place'' (1997) * '' Africa'' (1998) * ''

Witch Madness Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

'' (1999) * ''

Our Spirited Earth Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regula ...

'' (2000) * ''

Northern Ice, Golden Sun Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

'' (2001)

References

Works * *

External links

* * /www.clipland.com/Name/0003277/ Faith Hubleyat /www.clipland.com Clipland {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubley, Faith American storyboard artists American animated film directors Women animated film directors 1924 births 2001 deaths Animators from New York (state) Hollywood blacklist American people of Russian-Jewish descent Artists from Manhattan Directors of Best Animated Short Academy Award winners American women animators Deaths from breast cancer in Connecticut Producers who won the Best Animated Short Academy Award