Will Vinton obit

Will Vinton, California Raisins creator, dies at 70

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The animator behind the California Raisins, Will Vinton also coined the term Claymation.

Will Vinton (1947 – 2018) was a stop-motion animator who coined the term Claymation. During the 1980s and 90s his cartoonish clay animations were frequently seen in national commercials. He helped make the California Raisins a sensation, and also animated the Noid for Domino’s Pizza, and M&M’s candy characters.

In 1975 he won an Academy Award with Bob Gardner for the animated short, “Closed Mondays.” He then founded Will Vinton Studios in Portland, Oregon. The studio produced several notable short films, the feature-length “The Adventures of Mark Twain” (1985), and following the phenomenal success of the California Raisins, several TV specials for CBS, including “Meet the Raisins” and “A Claymation Christmas Celebration.” The studio also produced the animated series “The PJs” starring the voice of Eddie Murphy.

A documentary about Will Vinton’s life and career, “Welcome to My Daydream: The Story of Will Vinton,” is currently in production.

We invite you to share condolences for Will Vinton in our Guest Book.

Died: Thursday, October 4, 2018 (Who else died on October 4?)

Details of death: Died in Portland of multiple myeloma cancer at the age of 70.

Work

Feature films

Gone for a Better Deal (1974) – director, producer (live-action documentary)

Return to Oz (1985) – claymation director, producer (Academy Award nominee)

The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) – director, producer (Comet Quest: UK: video title)

Shadow Play (1986) – producer (live-action thriller)

Festival of Claymation (1987) – director, producer (compilation of short films)

Moonwalker (1988) – segment director, producer: Speed Demon by Michael Jackson

Brain Donors (1992) – segment director (intro and outro)

The Wild (2006) – executive producer

TV series

The California Raisin Show, TV Series 23:00 × 13 (executive producer)

Klay's TV, TV series pilot (director, executive producer)

5 Cecille shorts for Sesame Street, 1:30 min. (producer)

Adventures in Wonderland (Caterpillar's Stories), 4 min. × 30 (executive producer)

Hammer Time short for Sesame Street

The PJs, TV Series 23:00 × 52 (executive producer) Primetime Emmy Award Winner

Boyer Brother, TV Series Pilot (executive producer)

Gary & Mike, TV Series 23:00 × 13 (executive producer) Primetime Emmy Award Nominee

Slacker Cats, TV Series Pilot (executive producer)

TV specials

Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987), 23 min. (director, producer) Prime-time Emmy Winner

Meet the Raisins! (1988), 23:00 (executive producer, producer) Prime-time Emmy nominee

The Raisins: Sold Out! The California Raisins II (1990), 23:00 (director, producer) Prime-time Emmy nominee

Claymation Comedy of Horrors (1991), 23:00 (executive producer, producer) Prime-time Emmy winner

Claymation Easter (1992), 23:00 (executive producer, producer) Prime-time Emmy Winner

The Online Adventures of Ozzie the Elf (1997), 21:30 (animator)

Short films

Wobbly Wino, 2 min. (director, producer)

Culture Shock, 17 min. (co-director, producer)

Closed Mondays (1974), 9 min. (co-director) Academy Award winner[29]

Mountain Music (1976), 9 min. (director, producer)[29]

Martin the Cobbler (1977), 26 min. (director, producer)

Claymation (1978), documentary, 18 min. (director, producer)[29][30][31]

Rip Van Winkle (1978), 26 min. (director, producer) Academy Award Nominee[29]

The Little Prince (1979), 25 min. (director, producer)

Legacy: A Very Short History of Natural Resources (1979), 7 min. (director, producer)

Dinosaur (1980), 17 min. (director, producer)[32]

A Christmas Gift (1980), 7 min. (director, producer)

Creation (1981), 7:36 (director, producer) Academy Award Nominee

The Great Cognito (1982), 5 min. (director, producer) Academy Award Nominee

The Diary of Adam and Eve, 24 min. (director, producer)

Vanz Kant Danz (John Fogerty music video) (1985), 6 min. (director, producer)

Mr. Resistor (1994), 8 min. (executive producer)

Go Down Death (1994), 10 min. (director, producer)

Zerox and Mylar (1995), 5 min. (executive producer)

Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension (1996), 13 min. (producer)

Bride of Resistor (1997), 6 min. (executive producer)

The Stars Came Dreaming (1998), 12 min. (executive producer)

The Lost 'M' Adventure (3-D short film featuring the M&M's characters) (2000), 12 min. (executive producer)

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) (2002), 8 min. (executive producer)[33]

The Morning After (2005), 7:30 (director, producer)

The Martial Artist (2007), 20 min. (director, producer, writer)

Musical theatre

The Kiss (2014), (director, producer)