Winston Hibler
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Winston Murray Hunt Hibler (October 8, 1910 – August 8, 1976) was an American screenwriter, film producer, director and narrator associated with Walt Disney Studios.


Biography and career

Hibler was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on October 10, 1910. He was the youngest child of Christopher Hibler and Louise Eisenbeis. He wanted to be an actor in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
at the age of 12. In 1930, he graduated from the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...
and performed on Broadway, ''In the Best of Families''. Later in the same year, he married to Dottie Johnson, whom had three children. A year later, he moved to Hollywood to pursue his career on Broadway, he appeared in a small role in ''
The Last Days of Pompeii ''The Last Days of Pompeii'' is a novel written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. The novel was inspired by the painting '' The Last Day of Pompeii'' by the Russian painter Karl Briullov, which Bulwer-Lytton had seen in Milan. It culminates in ...
''. Later, he took up freelance writing for magazines and radio to help supplement his income. In 1942, Hibler joined
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 ...
as a camera operator. Then later on, he worked as a technical director for the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
training films. As a songwriter, Hibler contributed lyrics with
Ted Sears Edward Robert Sears (March 13, 1900August 22, 1958) was an American animator during The Golden Age of American animation. Sears worked for the Fleischer Studios in the late-1920s and early-1930s, and was hired away from Max Fleischer to work at ...
, who wrote songs for some musical films, like ''Following the Leader'' from ''
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...
'', and ''I Wonder'' from ''
Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
''. Hibler also voice-over roles in documentary films, and some series in ''
True-Life Adventures ''True-Life Adventures'' is a series of short and full-length nature documentary films released by Walt Disney Productions between the years 1948 and 1960. The first seven films released were thirty-minute shorts, with the subsequent seven films ...
'' and ''People and Places''. In 1961, Hibler produced his feature film, ''
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 ...
''. Later in 1963, Hibler and his wife moved to
Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...
. He died on August 8, 1976, in Burbank, just three years before his last release, ''
The Black Hole ''The Black Hole'' is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins and Ernest Borgnine, ...
''. He posthumously awarded as
Disney Legend The Disney Legends Awards is a Hall of Fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. Established in 1987, the honor was traditionally awarded annually during a speci ...
in 1992.


Select filmography


Narrator

* '' Seal Island'' (1948) * ''
In Beaver Valley ''In Beaver Valley'' is a 1950 American short documentary film directed by James Algar. The film was produced by Walt Disney as part of the '' True-Life Adventures'' series of nature documentaries. It won an Oscar in 1951 for Best Short Subjec ...
'' (1950) * ''
Nature's Half Acre ''Nature's Half Acre'' is a 1951 American short documentary film directed by James Algar. In 1952, it won an Oscar at the 24th Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel). The film was produced by Walt Disney as part of the '' True-Life A ...
'' (1951) * ''
Water Birds A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...
'' (1952) * ''
The Living Desert ''The Living Desert'' is a 1953 American nature documentary film that shows the everyday lives of the animals of the desert of the Southwestern United States. The film was written by James Algar, Winston Hibler, Jack Moffitt (uncredited) and T ...
'' (1953) * '' Bear Country'' (1953) * ''
Prowlers of the Everglades ''Prowlers of the Everglades'' is a 1953 American short documentary film directed by James Algar. The film was produced by Ben Sharpsteen as part of the '' True-Life Adventures'' series of nature documentaries. It was shot in Technicolor Tech ...
'' (1953) * ''
The Vanishing Prairie ''The Vanishing Prairie'' is a 1954 American documentary film directed by James Algar and released by Walt Disney Productions. The theme music was given a set of lyrics by Hazel "Gil" George. It was rechristened as "Pioneer's Prayer" in '' Wes ...
'' (1954) * ''
The African Lion ''The African Lion'' is a 1955 American documentary film directed by James Algar. It was released by Walt Disney Productions as part of its '' True-Life Adventures'' series. The film, which was shot over a 30-month period in Kenya, Tanganyika and ...
'' (1955) * ''
Secrets of Life ''Secrets of Life'' is a 1956 American documentary film written and directed by James Algar. The documentary follows the changing world of nature, the sky, the sea, the sun, planets, insects and volcanic action. The documentary was released on No ...
'' (1956) * '' Perri'' (1957) * '' White Wilderness'' (1958) * ''
Jungle Cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littora ...
'' (1960) * ''
King of the Grizzlies ''King of the Grizzlies'' is a 1970 adventure film directed by Ron Kelly and written by Jack Speirs, Rod Peterson and Norman Wright as a loose adaptation of Ernest Thompson Seton's 1900 novel ''Biography Of A Grizzly''. The film stars John Yesn ...
'' (1970) * '' The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures'' (1975)


Screenwriter

* ''
Melody Time ''Melody Time'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated musical film produced by Walt Disney. The tenth Disney animated feature film, it was released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of seven segments set to popular mu ...
'' (1948) (''
Johnny Appleseed John Chapman (September 26, 1774March 18, 1845), better known as Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, as well as the northern coun ...
'' segment) * '' The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' (1949) (both ''The Wind in the Willows'' and ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' segments) * ''
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'' (1950) * ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' (1951) * ''
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...
'' (1953) * ''
The Living Desert ''The Living Desert'' is a 1953 American nature documentary film that shows the everyday lives of the animals of the desert of the Southwestern United States. The film was written by James Algar, Winston Hibler, Jack Moffitt (uncredited) and T ...
'' (1953) * ''
The Vanishing Prairie ''The Vanishing Prairie'' is a 1954 American documentary film directed by James Algar and released by Walt Disney Productions. The theme music was given a set of lyrics by Hazel "Gil" George. It was rechristened as "Pioneer's Prayer" in '' Wes ...
'' (1954) * '' Perri'' (1957) * ''
Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' (1959) * ''
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) * ''
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day ''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'' is a 1968 American animation, animated featurette based on the third, fifth, ninth, and tenth chapters of ''Winnie-the-Pooh (book), Winnie-the-Pooh'' and the second, eighth, and ninth chapters from ''The Ho ...
'' (1968) (Story supervisor) * '' The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures'' (1975)


Director

* '' Men Against the Arctic'' (1955)


Producer

* ''
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) * ''
Follow Me, Boys! ''Follow Me, Boys!'' is a 1966 American drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is an adaptation of the 1954 novel ''God and My Country'' by MacKinlay Kantor and was the final live action film produced by Walt Disney, who died two week ...
'' (1966) * ''
The Aristocats ''The Aristocats'' is a 1970 American animated romantic musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. The 20th Disney animated feature film, the film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Ro ...
'' (1970) * '' The Castaway Cowboy'' (1974) * ''
The Bears and I ''The Bears and I'' is a 1974 American drama film directed by Bernard McEveety and written by John Whedon. The film stars Patrick Wayne, Chief Dan George, Andrew Duggan, Michael Ansara and Robert Pine. The film was released on July 31, 1974, by ...
'' (1974) * ''
The Island at the Top of the World ''The Island at the Top of the World'' is a 1974 American live-action lost world fantasy adventure film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Winston Hibler. It was released by Walt Disney Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Distributi ...
'' (1974)


Recognition


Awards and nominations

* 1951,
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
co-nomination for 'Best Dramatic Presentation' for ''Cinderella'' (1950) * 1956, won
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
'Golden Plaque' for ''Men Against the Arctic'' (1955) * 1959,
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
co-nomination for 'Best Soundtrack Album, Original Cast – Motion Picture or Television' for ''Sleeping Beauty'' (1959)


References


External links

* *
Winston Hibler at Disney Legends
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibler, Winston 1910 births 1976 deaths American male screenwriters American film producers American animated film producers Animation screenwriters Walt Disney Animation Studios people Writers from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Film directors from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters