As I sat at my drawing board wildly sketching away on a new
feature film idea, I suddenly glanced up to see two visitors in the room. It
seems they were scrutinizing the sketches, models and story boards in my
cluttered office. The two older gentleman were wearing the pastel colored garb
usually sported by retirees living in the nearby beach community. But, who were
these codgers, I wondered. And why would they have any interest in an obscure
little cartoon studio in Newport Beach?
I could tell by their comments the two men were hardly
novices when it came to the production of animated films. Could they have
worked in the cartoon business at one time, I wondered? And what would prompt
their interest in our little animated venture? Since two gentlemen appeared low
key and soft spoken, it took me a few minutes before I recognized the Disney
veteran who had once been my boss at Walt’s mouse factory many years ago. His
name was Clyde Geronimi, but friends and colleagues knew him by the nickname,
“Gerry.” Gerry Geronimi wasn’t just another Disney employee, in case you’re
wondering. He had been a major player in Walt’s animation department for
decades and directed many of the classic Disney films that I saw as a child.
One morning I looked up to see one of my old Disney bosses in my office.
It had easily been two decades since I last saw Gerry
Geronimi at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. In the 1960s, I remember
Geronimi had traveled to Europe on a film assignment for the old Maestro.
Though Gerry had spent most of his career directing animated projects, Walt
Disney had decided to trust his supervising director with a live-action project
this time around. I never did see the completed television show Gerry
supervised for Walt, and I was somewhat surprised that the Disney veteran
suddenly departed the studio where he had spent so much of his career. Not long
after Gerry’s departure, Walt Disney passed away and the Studio would be
changed forever.
However, the kids in the studio had no idea who the old
gentleman was and the incredible accomplishments he had achieved while working
for Disney. I still kick myself for not grabbing a tape recorder and asking the
animation veteran and few hundred questions. However, we still had a job to do
and I was reluctant to impose on our visitor’s time. Perhaps he had a golf game
to get to, or whatever retirees do with their leisure time. After the two
gentleman said their goodbyes and headed out the door, I felt it was important
to inform my studio colleagues who they had just met.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Gerry Geronimi was born in Italy and emigrated to the United
States in 1908. He began his cartoon career in New York City working as an
animator for the Hearst Studios before
heading to Southern California in 1931 to join a scrappy little cartoon studio
known as Walt Disney Productions. Walt Disney had a knack for spotting
potential leaders, so Gerry was told to put down his animation pencil and take
on a new role as a director of Walt’s cartoon shorts. Geronimi eventually
directed several shorts, and even took home an Academy Award for “The Ugly
Duckling.”
Before long, Gerry Geronimi had become one of Walt Disney’s
trusted feature film directors along with Wilfred Jackson, Ham Luske and
others. You’ll see Gerry’s name on darn near every Disney classic animated film
produced in the 1940s & 1950s. His credits — to name a few — include, “Cinderella,”
“Alice In Wonderland,” “Peter Pan” and “Lady and the Tramp.” When I arrived at
the Walt Disney Studios in the 1950s just beginning my animation career, Gerry
was the big boss in the animation department. He was our supervising director
on the Disney classic, “Sleeping Beauty,” and often his was the final word on
what went into the finished film. Of course, Walt Disney himself really had the
final say when it came to story. But Walt trusted Gerry to make the right calls
when other duties had the Old Maestro’s attention.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved
As so often happens, Gerry Geronimi was sadly forgotten once
he left Walt Disney Studios and began his retirement. There were no awards or
accolades given to the departing Disney Master for his many years of service.
Although he did receive the Windsor McKay Award some years later. Adding icing
to the cake, the coveted award was presented to Gerry by Cartoon legend Walter
Lantz.
Clyde “Gerry” Geronimi passed away in Newport Beach
California in April of 1989 at the age of eighty seven. His stellar career in the cartoon
business reached back to the 1930s and he wrapped up his Disney career in the 1960s
after completing work on “Sleeping Beauty.” Ironically, it was the same decade that
the Old Maestro left us. If you’ve ever seen a Walt Disney feature animated
film it’s more than likely you’ve seen a film directed by Gerry Geronimi. That
quiet, aging gentleman who stopped in my Newport Beach office that morning many
years ago was a true Disney Legend. Sadly, few people besides myself were even
aware of that.
Clyde Geronimi directs Helen Stanley in the live-action reference footage which
was used during the production of Disney’s animated feature,”Sleeping
Beauty.” He was our supervising director on this Disney animated
classic. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Did you enjoy today’s Toon Tuesday column? Well, if you’d like to learn more about the many
amazing & amusing adventures that this Disney Legend has had over the
course of the 40+ years that he’s worked in the animation industry, then you
definitely want to check out some of the books which Mr. Norman has written.
Floyd’s most recent effort – “Disk Drive: Animated Humor
in the Digital Age” – is available for purchase through blurb.com. While
Mr. Norman’s original collection of cartoons and stories — “Faster!
Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation” – is still for sale over
at John Cawley’s Cataroo. And if you still haven’t had your fill of Floyd, feel
free to move on over to Mr. Fun. Which is where Mr. Norman posts his musings
when he’s not writing for JHM.