Bill Matthews obit

Disney Artist Bill Matthews has died

 He was not on the list.

Sad news by way of Doug Engalla:

When I started at the Studio in 1990, one of the first people I met outside of my department was this fellow, Bill Matthews. At the time, he oversaw Disney Animation's artist training program, but his history with the Studio began as early as 1956, working on 1959's SLEEPING BEAUTY, the original Mickey Mouse Club television series, and various shorts. Bill left the Studio in 1959. He did work on the movie Alice in Wonderland as well.

Began career in Animation as an Inbetweener at the Walt Disney Studios in 1956, working on "Sleeping Beauty", the original Mickey Mouse Club, the Disneyland TV Series, and numerous theatrical shorts; left the Studio in 1959 as an Assistant Effects Animator.

During this period, Bill also began freelancing as an illustrator and graphic designer, establishing and maintaining several art accounts, which he serviced periodically over the years.

He returned to Disney's in 1987 to set up the recruitment and training of new artists, but not before working for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as the sole animator for their early films on the space program; establishing the Animation Training Program at Sheridan College near Ontario, Canada; animated for Hanna-Barbera and Filmation studios; and taught 2D animation graphics at California State University at Northridge. So, by 1987, Bill was well-prepared to start up the Artist Development department at Disney Animation.

Respected and revered as an instructor at Disney's, Bill has been a subject not only within the Studio's annual Caricature Shows, but on film: he made his Disney Animation film debut as a television wrestler in OLIVER & COMPANY. Bill formally retired in 1997, but was invited to be a consultant at the Studio for a few more years.

Bill was awarded the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists “Golden Award” in 2005 for “50 Years of Service to the Craft”. 

Today, I learned that Bill (photographed here in March 2012) passed away on Monday, the 24th of January. He's left behind an incredible legacy of talented artists who contributed to the so named 'Disney Renaissance,' even beyond the Studio itself. I for one was privileged to know him.

Thank you for bringing your brand of magic to this life, Bill.