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
