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Lester Novros | |
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| Born | (1909-01-27)January 27, 1909 Passaic, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | September 10, 2000(2000-09-10) (aged 91) Sherman Oaks, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Les Novros |
| Occupation(s) | animator, teacher, artist |
| Known for | animation |
| Children | David Novros |
Lester Novros (January 27, 1909 – September 10, 2000) was an American artist, animator, and teacher.
Lester Novros was born inPassaic, New Jersey, on January 27, 1909. Novros studied painting at theNational Academy of Design inNew York City, was an active member of theArt Students League of New York and studied at thePrado Museum inMadrid,Spain.[1]
His curiosity in the study of movement lead to an interest inmotion pictures. In 1936, he was recruited by theWalt Disney Company to come to Hollywood to work on feature animation projects. Novros was an "inbetweener" on the 1937 Disney animated filmSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and received a credit forart direction for the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence ofFantasia (1940).
In 1941, Novros left Disney to form his own production company, Graphic Films. That same year, he joined the faculty of the Cinema Department of theUniversity of Southern California. Thousands of students took his course on "Filmic Expression" before his retirement in 1984.
Novros taught USC filmic writing students. I had his brilliant class in spring of 1986. He included the brilliant psychological theory of movement laws and human evaluation. This understanding creates excellence in all visual mediums. These theories were from Slavo Vorkapich.
Graphic Films found immediate success producing training films for the military duringWorld War II. As theUnited States Air Force andNASA emerged in the post war period, Graphic's expertise in animating the visual dimensions of space exploration played a key role in interesting theUnited States Congress and the general public in supporting the country's first forays into space.
Among his many achievements, Novros may be most remembered as a pioneer in the large format and special venue film industries. Included in his filmography are numerous specialty films produced forWorld Fair Expositions, including several titles for the 1964 New York's World Fair, includingChemical Man for Abbott Laboratories,Reaching for the Stars, forLockheed Corporation, andVoyage to America for the United States Pavilion. However, it was the 10-perf,70mm filmTo the Moon and Beyond, (produced for Cinerama Corporation) that caught the attention of filmmakerStanley Kubrick, who soon enlisted the creativity of Novros and his special effects team in the creation ofA Space Odyssey (1968).[1]
Novros's interest in large format film technology led him to produce some of the firstImax/Omnimax films, for theReuben H. Fleet Space Center inSan Diego, California, includingVoyage to the Outer Planets,Cosmos: the World of Loren Eisley andTomorrow in Space (1982). In 1976, Novros won national acclaim and anAcademy Award nomination for hisdocumentary filmUniverse.
Novros's much sought after course at USC helped young filmmakers understand the relationship of color, light, movement and form as they specifically related to the film medium. Upon his retirement from USC, he continued to assemble his lectures into a textbook. Former student and friendGeorge Lucas penned these words for the introduction of the manuscript: "The first time I truly understood the unique quality of film was when I took Les Novros' class. Stressing that film is a kinetic medium, Les has kept theEisensteinian flame burning at USC, and it is a tradition that has strongly influenced my work."[citation needed]
At the age of 91, Novros died on September 10, 2000, inSherman Oaks, California, after an extended illness. He was survived by his wife Esther (née Susswein) Novros and his children, including sonDavid Novros.[2]
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