Fred Spencer (May 1, 1904 – November 11, 1938) was an American animator who worked at

Walt Disney Productions 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 1 ...

. He was considered an authority on Donald Duck and wrote an influential analysis of the character.

Career

Spencer joined

in 1931 and first worked on several early '' Mickey Mouse'' cartoons. In 1932 he began independently producing a two-tier Mickey Mouse comic strip, even though he was not connected with the comics department at Disney. The studio approved the project and the strip appeared in the national DeMolay newsletter.Walt and DeMolay
at Mouse Planet The character Donald Duck was introduced at Disney in 1934, and Spencer began to focus more on Donald than on Mickey. In 1935 Spencer wrote an analysis of Donald which served as the standard for writing for, drawing, and animating the character. Spencer's model sheets included in the report feature a redesigned version of Donald that was shorter and rounder – largely identical to his appearance today. Spencer also included remarks on Donald's personality and mannerisms. Spencer animated on seven Disney short films as well as the studio's first feature, ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

'' (1937). Spencer's short projects include ''Mickey's Fire Brigade'' (1935), '' On Ice'', '' Moving Day'' (1936), '' Donald and Pluto'', ''

Don Donald ''Don Donald'' is a 1937 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon follows Donald Duck attempting to woo a female Mexican duck named Donna. It was directed by Ben Sharpsteen and ...

'' (1937), ''Pluto's Quin-puplets'', and '' Donald's Golf Game'' (1938).

Personal life

Spencer was a member of

DeMolay International DeMolay International is an international fraternal organization for young men ages 12 to 21. It was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919 and named for Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. DeMolay was incorporat ...

and received the prestigious Legion of Honor award. He also drew a monthly comic strip starring Mickey Mouse for their magazine. He died in a car accident in 1938.THURSDAY-HELP WANTED Mickey Mouse and Demolay
at Disney History Institute

Filmography

* The Klondike Kid (1932) *

Babes in the Woods ''Babes in the Woods'' is a 1932 Silly Symphonies animated film. It is a re-working of the British folk tale ''Babes in the Wood'', with some material incorporated from ''Hansel and Gretel'' by the Brothers Grimm, and the addition of a village ...

(1932) *

Mickey's Service Station ''Mickey's Service Station'' is a 1935 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The film, which stars Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy as car mechanics, was also the final black-and-white appe ...

(1935) *

The Cookie Carnival ''The Cookie Carnival'' is an animated short produced by Walt Disney Productions and originally released May 25, 1935. It is a Cinderella story involving a cookie girl who wishes to be queen at the cookie carnival, and a homage to the Atlantic Ci ...

(1935) * Mickey's Fire Brigade (1935) * On Ice (1936) * Orphans' Picnic (1936) * Moving Day (1936) * Donald and Pluto (1937) *

(1937) *

(1937) * Pluto's Quin-puplets (1938) * The Fox Hunt (1938) *

Mickey's Parrot ''Mickey's Parrot'' is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and released on September 9, 1938. The film was directed by Ben Sharpsteen and animated by Frenchy de Trémaudan, Louie Schmittt, Chuck Couc ...

(1938) * Donald's Golf Game (1938) * Donald's Penguin (1939)

Notes

1904 births 1938 deaths Accidental deaths in California American animators American comics artists Disney comics artists Walt Disney Animation Studios people Road incident deaths in California {{Disney-stub