Mel Shaw obit

Mel Shaw (1914-2012)

He was not on the list.

The Disney History blog reports that Disney visual development artist Mel Shaw has passed away at the age of 97. He was born Melvin Schwartzman in Brooklyn on December 19, 1914. Shaw was among a handful of artists who worked at Disney both during its Golden Age in the late-1930s as well as during the studio’s resurgence in the 1990s.

Shaw’s first job in motion pictures was at the age of sixteen when he worked a summer job lettering movie titles at Pacific Titles. The studio was owned by Leon Schlesinger, and through him, Shaw was introduced to animation directors Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising. He worked at their studio, Harman-Ising Productions, for “four or five years” before being hired by Disney in 1937. Shaw contributed visual development artwork to films such as Fantasia, Bambi, and The Wind in the Willows, which was later produced as The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

Shaw left Disney in 1941 and rejoined with Hugh Harman at his studio Hugh Harman Productions. There, they worked on military training films, and also spent some time developing a live-action/animated feature adapatation of The Little Prince with Orson Welles.

Later, during WWII, Shaw spent two years in India running an animation unit for the US Army Signal Corps, where he helped produce a live-action/animation documentary about the Burma Campaign. After the war, he started a design studio with former Harman-Ising co-worker Bob Allen called Allen-Shaw, where they designed ceramic figurines and toys for Disney. They were also involved in designing the Howdy Doody puppet.

Shaw returned to Disney in 1974 and contributed visual development and story ideas to films including The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, among others.

For a full accounting of Shaw’s career, there is a fantastic 50-page interview with him in Walt’s People, Vol. 12:. To see more of Mel Shaw’s personal artwork, visit MelShawStudios.com.

Animation department

2003 Brother Bear (character designer)

2002 Treasure Planet (key animator)

1999 Tarzan (assistant animator)

1994 The Lion King (character designer)

1938 Merbabies (Short) (animator - uncredited)

1936 To Spring (Short) (animator - uncredited)

1936 Bottles (Short) (animator - uncredited)

1935 Alias St. Nick (Short) (animator - uncredited)

1935 Good Little Monkeys (Short) (animator - uncredited)

1934 Toyland Broadcast (Short) (animator - uncredited)

1934 Tale of the Vienna Woods (Short) (animator - uncredited) / (character layouts - uncredited)

1933 We're in the Money (Short) (animator - uncredited)



Writer

1986 The Great Mouse Detective (story adapted by - as Melvin Shaw)

1985 The Black Cauldron (additional story contributions - as Melvin Shaw)

1957 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) (cartoon story - 1 episode)

- Tricks of Our Trade (1957) ... (cartoon story)

1942 Bambi (story development - as Melvin Shaw)

1934 Tale of the Vienna Woods (Short) (story - uncredited)


Miscellaneous Crew (3 credits)

1985 The Black Cauldron (additional story contributions - as Melvin Shaw)

1981 The Fox and the Hound (creative assistant to the producers - as Melvin Shaw)

1977 The Rescuers (titles - as Melvin Shaw)


Art department (2 credits)

1994 The Lion King (visual development artist)

1991 Beauty and the Beast (production consultant: visual development)


Editor

2010 Finding Grandma (Short)

Soundtrack

1978 Deadman's Curve (TV Movie) (writer: "Baby Talk")