Joaquin Rudolfo Zamora (March 26, 1910 – July 29, 1989) was a Mexican-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 games ...

and a prolific

animation director An animation director is either the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or television, and animated segment for a live action film or television show, or the animator in charge of co ...

. His credits include ''

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC te ...

'', ''

The Jetsons ''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced ...

'', ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

'', '' The Biskitts'', ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and inf ...

'', and many others.

Career

Zamora was born in

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Me ...

, but raised in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. As a young adult, he read a help wanted ad in the local newspaper seeking a male animator at Pat Sullivan's studio. Despite Zamora having no prior experience in the field, he was intrigued and applied. His test entailed tracing a photo of ''

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he was one of the most recognized cartoon characte ...

'', and Zamora was hired after placing second among three men. Zamora was still employed at Pat Sullivan's in 1928. He was hired as an inbetweener at

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of ...

in 1930, and eventually became an animator there. Shamus Culhane described Zamora as "the star" among the new batch of animators at Fleischer. Following his stint at Fleischer, Zamora 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 ...

during the early 1930s, with

Ed Benedict Ed Benedict (August 23, 1912 – August 28, 2006) was an American animator and layout artist. He is best known for his work with Hanna-Barbera Productions, where he helped design Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, and Reddy on Ruff and Reddy. Career Be ...

as his assistant. While there, Zamora animated on ''

Silly Symphony ''Silly Symphony'' is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Silly Symphonies'' were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces ...

'' cartoons, including ''

The China Plate ''The China Plate'' is a 1931 ''Silly Symphonies'' animated film. Plot The short is based on the Willow pattern legend, with some major differences, including a dragon. There is an oriental scene, the Willow pattern on a china plate, that comes ...

'' (1931). Zamora had a reputation for spending too much time playing practical jokes as opposed to working, and for this reason was fired by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

in 1932. By the 1940s he was an animator at

Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, working on short films during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1944, he was one of several animators of the ''

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...

'' short ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an '' opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was ba ...

''. This cartoon was later chosen as one of

The 50 Greatest Cartoons ''The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals'' is a 1994 book by animation historian Jerry Beck. Criteria It consists of articles about 50 highly regarded animated short films made in North America and other notable ca ...

in 1994. Throughout the 1960s, Zamora served as director for ''

Rocky & Bullwinkle ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC tele ...

'' and '' Peabody's Improbable History'', also overseeing Mexican animators who worked on the series overseas. At the twilight of his career, Zamora was a director at

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

. He helmed episodes of '' Richie Rich'', ''

The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show ''The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' is the sixth incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon '' Scooby-Doo''. It premiered on September 10, 1983, featuring the return of Daphne, and ran for one season on ABC as a half-hour prog ...

'' and ''

Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American sitcom television series that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of '' Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' st ...

'', an animated adaptation of the sitcom. Zamora directed a Christmas episode of ''

'' that aired in 1983. Zamora's last credit was the 1987 television film ''

Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose ''Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose'' is a 1987 animated made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera as part of the '' Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10'' series. This film aired in syndication. Plot Yogi leads his friends on ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zamora, Rudy 1910 births 1989 deaths American animators American animated film directors Mexican emigrants to the United States Fleischer Studios people Hanna-Barbera people