Dick Lundy (animator)

Dick Lundy
Born	Richard James Lundy August 14, 1907(1907-08-14) Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, U. S.
Died	April 7, 1990(1990-04-07) (aged 82) San Diego, California, U. S.
Occupation	Animator Film director
Known for	Creator of Donald Duck

Richard James "Dick" Lundy (August 14, 1907 – April 7, 1990) was an American animator and film director who worked at several different animation studios including Walt Disney Productions, MGM, and Hanna-Barbera. Lundy was a pioneer of personality animation and is today most remembered as one of the creators of Donald Duck.^[1] Throughout his career he worked as a primary animator on at least 60 films, both short and feature-length, and directed 51 short films.^[2]

Career overview

In the summer of 1929 Lundy started working for Walt Disney Productions, first assigned in the ink and paint department. In September he transferred to the animation department as an inbetweener. In March the next year Lundy was promoted to animator and later worked on Three Little Pigs (1933) and Orphan's Benefit (1934). After working on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Lundy became a director at Disney.

In 1943 Lundy departed the Disney studios and worked for Walter Lantz Productions. He started as an animator and again became a director. He directed Andy Panda, Woody Woodpecker, and the Swing Symphonies.

Lundy worked for Wolff Productions after the Lantz studies closed in 1948. Here he worked on television commercials.

In 1950 Lundy worked for MGM on Barney Bear shorts and the Droopy film Caballero Droopy.

In 1959 Lundy worked for Hanna-Barbera on The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, and Scooby Doo. He retired in 1973 but continued to do freelance work for several years thereafter.^[3]

Donald Duck

Lundy was not the first to draw or even animate Donald Duck. This was done by Art Babbitt and Dick Huemer in the short film The Wise Little Hen, a film in which Lundy also worked. This was Donald's first appearance, although the story offered little opportunity for character development. This would come in Donald's second appearance, Orphan's Benefit, in which Lundy was the sole animator of Donald. According to common animation practice, the audio and voices of the film were recorded first and were then played for the animators to reference. In listening to voice actor Clarence Nash portray the Duck in Orphan's Benefit, Lundy said "[I] decided that [Donald] was an ego-show-off. If anything crossed him, he got mad and blew his top."^[4]

Personal life

Lundy was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to James and Minnie Lundy, their only child. Shortly after his birth the family moved to Detroit where Lundy's father worked as an inspector for the Burroughs Adding Machine Company.

When Lundy was ten years old his parents separated and he and his mother went to live in Port Huron north of Detroit. They later moved back to the city where Lundy's mother worked as a waitress. Lundy moved to Los Angeles in the late 1920s.

Lundy was married twice. In 1932 he married Juanita Sheridan who also worked at the Disney studio. This marriage ended in divorce in 1934. By 1939 Lundy was remarried.^[5][6]

Notes

1. ^ 44. Dick Lundy at 50 Most Influential Disney Animators. 2011-05-11; retrieved 2011-08-08.
2. ^ Dick Lundy at the Internet Movie Database
3. ^ A Letter from Dick Lundy at Mayerson on Animation. 2006-05-11; retrieved 2011-08-08.
4. ^ O'Brien, Flora; Justin Knowles, Leslie Posner (1984). Walt Disney's Donald Duck: 50 Years of Happy Frustration. Tucson, AZ: HPBooks. p. 14. ISBN 0-89586-333-2. 
5. ^ Donald Duck, Animation Bloggers & Ancestry.Com, or Robin’s Rules of Research #2 & #3
6. ^ Century Birthday - Dick Lundy at Animation - Who & Where. 2007-08-14; retrieved 2011-08-08.

Persondata
Name	Lundy, Dick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 14, 1907
Place of birth	Michigan, U.S.
Date of death	April 7, 1990
Place of death	San Diego, California, U.S.