Emery Hawkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | Emery Otis Hawkins (1912-04-30)April 30, 1912 Jerome, Arizona, U.S. |
| Died | June 1, 1989(1989-06-01) (aged 77) Taos, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Other names | Emory Hawkins |
| Occupation(s) | Animator, Director |
| Years active | 1935–1982 |
| Employer(s) | The Charles Mintz Studio/Screen Gems (1932–1937, 1941–1942) MGM (1937–1938) Walt Disney Productions (1938–1941, 1942, 1945–1946) Walter Lantz Productions (1942–1945) Warner Bros. Cartoons (1946–1950) John Sutherland Productions (1950–1959) Dibujos Animados (1953–1954) Richard Williams Productions (1975–1982)[1] |
| Spouses | [1] |
| Children | 3 |
Emery Otis Hawkins[2] (April 30, 1912 – June 1, 1989) was an Americananimator, best known for his work during theGolden age of American animation, working in various studios in the industry.
Emery Hawkins was born in Jerome, Arizona to a father who was a all-round cowboy for two years and to a mother who was a painter. He started drawing when he was two years old and his family had a lot of history with artistic careers, including his aunts. He went toNorth Hollywood High School but was a college dropout. Hawkins always animated on flipbooks. At the age of 16 in 1928, he did an animation of a clown walking and dancing, showed it to Disney, and they thought it was a copy of their animation.[3]
Hawkins began his career in the animation industry as a cel inker at the Charles Mintz studio, where he would later be promoted to animator. He would then work atMGM and then move toThe Walt Disney Company in the late 30's but would leave in 1941 during theDisney animators' strike because his colleagues said they would never talk to him again if he did strike. Initially going back to Mintz' Studio (now renamed Screen Gems), he would later move toWalter Lantz Productions, where he would co-redesign their flagship characterWoody Woodpecker with Art Heinemann.[3][4] Later in mid-1946 he would move toWarner Bros. Cartoons to animator forArthur Davis,Robert McKimson,Chuck Jones, andFriz Freleng up until 1950. Hawkins later worked in John Sutherland Productions as well as working and directing the 1954 Mexican cartoonManolin Torero with his former colleague Pat Matthews at Dibujos Animados.[5] He briefly did commercials for different companies in the 1950s, including Playhouse Pictures,Storyboard Inc.,Pelican Films, Quartet Films andBill Melendez Productions.[6]
Hawkins later years had him working inRichard Williams' animation studio. There he worked on the Greedy scene inRaggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure with assistant animatorDan Haskett (who disliked the job),[7] as well as animatingThe Thief and the Cobbler, that latter which he worked with other colleagues he knew in the industry, such asKen Harris andGrim Natwick. The film itself wouldn't see an official release until 1993.
Hawkins developedAlzheimer's disease in his later years and was forced to retire. He died in 1989 at the age of 77.
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