Tuck Tucker obit

Veteran Animator-Writer Tuck Tucker dies at 59

He was not on the list.

Veteran animator, writer, storyboard artist, director and songwriter ‘Tuck’ Tucker at age 59 on December 22. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, Tucker fell in love with cartoons and the world of animation at an early age. His first job out of college was breakdown artist on Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987), which led to work on the BraveStarr series and Disney’s feature The Little Mermaid. In the early 1990s, he worked as a layout artist on Rugrats, The Ren & Stimpy Show and The Simpsons. He soon became a storyboard artist and director on animated series such as Hey Arnold!, Aaahh! Real Monsters and Duckman.

Among the many other popular animated shows and movies Tucker worked on were SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Oh Yeah! Cartoons (“Planet Kate/Fat Head”), The Mighty B!, Camp Lazlo, as well as The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. (Tucker’s daughter is one of the kids’ voices that heard in the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.) He also won the 38th Annual Annie Award in 2011 for Best Music in a Television Production (along with Jeremy Wakefield, Sage Guyton, and Nick Carr.) for his work on SpongeBob.

His directing credits included The Fairly OddParents, Drawn Together, Hey Arnold!, Party Wagon and Hey Arnold! The Movie. His most recent credits were as sheet timer on Clarence and as storyboard revisionist on 2021’s upcoming Bob’s Burger: The Movie. Tucker also taught graphic and animation design at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.

On Thursday (December 24), Hey Arnold! Creator Craig Bartlett paid tribute to the late artist on Facebook: “A great friend, a master draftsman, a tireless practical joker, a brilliant storyteller, the first one I reached out to when I began Hey Arnold! because he was the best board guy I had ever met. I’ll always remember him at his drawing board, arms blackened to the elbows with graphite, eraser shavings everywhere, bringing my characters to life. A killer work ethic, passionately into it. I’m so lucky I got to work with him for so many years. He gave and gave. I miss him already, my heart is broken. Rest in power, Tuck Tucker.”

Former SpongeBob storyboard artist Nick Lauer wrote: “Last night I found out my mentor from college, Tuck Tucker, passed away. He was a wonderful man with a great sense of humour. I learned so much from him. You might know him from Spongebob and Hey Arnold (he was a big reason why Helga turned out to be such a great character). I would not be where I am today without his guidance. I can’t get over the fact that I won’t be able to chat on the phone with him again. Don’t forget to tell the important people in your life how much they mean to you. One day it may be too late. Thanks for everything, Tuck.”

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Notes

1987      Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night                 Breakdown Artist

1988      BraveStarr: The Movie   Assistant Animator

1989      Back to Neverland           Assistant Animator (uncredited)

1989      The Little Mermaid          Breakdown and In between Artist

1990      Flower Planet     Concept Developer & Animator

1996      "Arnold"               Layout Artist, Storyboard Artist, & Supervising Director

1997      Tales of Worm Paranoia                Layout Artist

1998      Planet Kate         Storyboard Artist

1999      Curbside              Storyboard Artist

2002      Hey Arnold!: The Movie                 Director

2004      Party Wagon      Character Designer, Prop Designer, Sheet Timer, Storyboard Artist, & Director

2004      Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas Storyboard Artist

2004      The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour   Creative Consultant

2004      The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie         Storyboard Artist

2005      Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story                 Assistant Director

2006      The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 2: When Nerds Collide!    Creative Consultant

 

Television

Year       Title       Notes

1988–1989          A.L.F.     Storyboard Clean-Up

1990–1993; 1995             The Simpsons    Storyboard Artist (Dancin' Homer)

Layout Artist

Character Layout Artist (1990)

Animation Timer (Principal Charming)

Background Layout Artist (A Star Is Burns)

1991; 1994–1995             Rugrats                 Character Layout Artist (1991)

Storyboard Artist (1994–1995)

Assistant Director (1994)

1992–1993          The Ren and Stimpy Show            Layout Artist

1993      2 Stupid Dogs     Storyboard Artist

1994–1995          Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

1994–1996          Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man

1996–2004          Hey Arnold!        Creative Director

Supervising Director (1999–2004)

Storyboard Director (1996–1999)

Storyboard Supervisor

Director (1996–1998; 2001)

2002–2006          The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius Creative Consultant

2005      Camp Lazlo         Writer & Storyboard Artist

2005–2006          Family Guy          Storyboard Artist (PTV)

Assistant Director

2005–2006          Drawn Together               Director

2006–2014          SpongeBob SquarePants               Writer & Storyboard Director (2006–2007)

Songwriter (2008)

Supervising Storyboard Director (2007–2014)

2006–2007          Squirrel Boy        Storyboard Artist

2008      The Mighty B      Storyboard Revisionist

2013–2014          The Fairly OddParents    Director

2014      Clarence               Sheet Timer, Storyboard Supervisor, & Storyboard Revision Supervisor

2015      All Hail King Julien            Storyboard Artist