

In Memoriam: Remembering The Animation Industry Figures Who Died In 2021
In a year already saturated with tragedy, news of yet another passing in the animation world was often the last thing we wanted to hear. Yet we covered more deaths in 2021 than in any previous year: 36 in all.
This isn’t necessarily because the past 12 months saw excess deaths (none of the ones we wrote about were confirmed to be linked to Covid-19). But more than ever, we saw in obituaries a chance to pay tribute to brilliant below-the-line artists and voice actors, influential executives, giants of international animation, pioneering women and artists of color — the people who power our industry, yet are rarely recognized as such.
We’ve linked through to our coverage below. While researching the obituaries, we were struck by how little information is available on some of these figures (at least in the English language). Let’s see that as an opportunity. There is still so much to say, to write, to learn about the history of our medium – so many great careers to honor.

Edwin Aguilar
Artist and assistant director who worked on The Simpsons for 22 years

Dale Baer
Animator who worked on many Disney films across decades

Brenda Banks
One of the first Black women animators in America

Vinnie Bell
Animator who worked at many New York studios over half a century

Giannalberto Bendazzi
Researcher and historian who wrote seminal global histories of the animation art form

Jamie Kezlarian Bolio
Industry artist-turned-consultant who championed indie animation

Allan Burns
Writer and producer who worked on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

Dave Creek
Lead character designer on Bob’s Burgers

David H. DePatie
Veteran animation executive and co-founder of Pink Panther studio DePatie-Freleng Enterprises

Jacques Drouin
Master of pinscreen animation

Don Duga
Versatile artist who worked at Rankin/Bass Productions

Brian Goldner
Hasbro CEO who turned the company into an entertainment giant

Troy Gustafson
Effects animator who worked on many films of the Disney Renaissance

Marcell Jankovics
Filmmaker who directed some of Hungary’s greatest animated works

Olivier Jean-Marie
Director of Oggy and the Cockroaches and creator of Zig & Sharko

Anne Jolliffe
Artist often claimed to be Australia’s first professional woman animator

Don Jurwich
Director and producer who worked at Hanna-Barbera and Marvel

Fred Ladd
Pioneering producer of English-language versions of anime shows

Gary Leib
Cartoonist, filmmaker, animator, and Grammy-nominated musician

György Matolcsy
Longtime director of Hungary’s Pannónia Film Studio

Tayiba Musavi and Fatima Mohammadi
Animators who worked for the Afghan Film Organization

Roy Naisbitt
Master layout artist and longtime collaborator of Richard Williams

Keiko Nobumoto
Screenwriter who worked on Cowboy Bebop and Tokyo Godfathers

Yasuo Otsuka
Influential animator who mentored Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata

Vera Pacheco
Clean-up supervisor of Disney Animation’s last hand-drawn features – The Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh

Kathleen Quaife-Hodge
Effects animator who worked for Disney and Sullivan Bluth

Fernando Ruíz Álvarez
Co-director of Los tres reyes magos, Mexico’s first animated feature

Will Ryan
Disney voice artist and former ASIFA-Hollywood president

Robert Stanton
Prominent background artist of the Disney Renaissance

Masami Suda
Animator and character designer who animation-directed Fist of the North Star

Ruthie Tompson
Disney legend who played key technical roles on countless classics and longest-living animation worker of all time (she died at 111)

Thea White
Voice of Muriel Bagge on Courage the Cowardly Dog

Derrick Wyatt
Character designer on Teen Titans, Transformers, and Scooby Doo

Eiichi Yamamoto
Anime artist who collaborated with Osamu Tezuka and directed Belladonna of Sadness

Phil Young
Veteran animator of the Disney renaissance