Vladimir Peter "Bill"Tytla (October 25, 1904 – December 30, 1968) was aUkrainian-American animator known for his work inWalt Disney Animation Studios,Paramount'sFamous Studios, andTerrytoons. In his Disney career, Tytla is particularly noted for the animation inSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs,Pinocchio,Fantasia (The Sorcerer's Apprentice andNight on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria Segments) andDumbo. He was inducted as aDisney Legend in 1998.^[2]

He was also known for co-creatingLittle Audrey for Paramount Pictures alongsideSeymour Kneitel.^[3]

Vladimir Peter Tytla was born on October 25, 1904, inYonkers, New York.^[4][2] HisUkrainian immigrant parents reportedly recognized talent in their son and encouraged it. In 1914, when Tytla was 9, he visitedManhattan to attendGertie the Dinosaur, an animatedvaudeville act byWinsor McCay. He never forgot it, and some say it changed his life forever.^[4]

Tytla attended the New York Evening School ofIndustrial Design while still in high school. But eventually high school lost out to his interest in art and he quit. In 1920, at age 16, Tytla was working for theParamount animationstudio in New York. His assignment was providing lettering for title cards. He was nicknamed "Tytla the Titler."^[2][4]

His first animation experiences were onMutt and Jeff short films at theBronx studio ofRaoul Barré and theJoy and Bloom Phable at theGreenwich Village studio of John Terry, later creator of the aviationcomic stripScorchy Smith. His brotherPaul Terry, founder ofTerrytoons, soon hired Tytla to work on hisAesop's Fables.^[4]

Within three years he was earning a very good salary as an animator and supporting his family. The simplistic nature of cartoons at the time did not challenge Tytla who dreamed of becoming a fine artist. He took up his studies again at theArt Students League of New York and studied underBoardman Robinson.^[4]

In 1929, he sailed forEurope with some of his school friends to study painting inParis. There he not only studied painting, but sculpture withCharles Despiau. To this has been attributed the weight and three-dimensionality of his work. In Europe he was able to see first hand the masterpieces he had only read about. True to his nature of never wanting to be second best, Tytla came to the conclusion that he could never top these masters and destroyed most of his work.^[4]

Tytla returned to theUnited States with the attitude that he could become a great master of animation by incorporating his rich knowledge of art. Now animated shorts had sound which in turn brought a new enthusiasm and a need for talented animators. Paul Terry offered Bill a job right away. There he met animatorArt Babbitt, who became his close friend and roommate. Art eventually left to work forWalt Disney because of the challenging work and good working conditions. For two years Art tried to entice Bill to come out to Hollywood, but Bill did not want to leave his family and a well-paying job during theGreat Depression. Finally in 1934 Tytla flew to Hollywood. He was very impressed and accepted the job even at a lower salary than he was being paid at Terrytoons.^[4]

During his "probationary" year in 1935 Tytla worked on three shorts:

• The Cookie Carnival, aSilly Symphonies short, first released on May 25, 1935.^[5]
• Mickey's Fire Brigade, a cartoon featuringfirefightersMickey Mouse,Goofy andDonald Duck attempting to rescueClarabelle Cow from a burningboarding house. First released on August 3, 1935.^[2][5]
• Cock o' the Walk, a Silly Symphonies short, first released on November 30, 1935.^[2][5]

Tytla inThe Cookie Carnival was responsible for animating thegingerbread boy and girl as well as the rivalry between theangel-food anddevil's food cakes. He animated the broadly comicClarabelle Cow inMickey's Fire Brigade. InCock o' the Walk, Tytla animated his first "heavy," abullyrooster dancing theCarioca.Grim Natwick, creator ofBetty Boop, remarked, "Bill hovered over hisdrawing board like a giant vulture protecting anest filled with golden eggs, he was an intense worker—eager, nervous, absorbed... Key drawings were whittled out with impassioned pencil thrusts that tore holes in the animation paper."^[5][2]

His work did not go unnoticed byWalt Disney who soon came to realize what he had in Tytla. Consequently, both his responsibilities and his wages increased dramatically. Tytla and Babbitt quickly became two of Disney's top-salaried artists, and again shared a residence—this time a Tuxedo Terrace house complete with a maid. He continued to send money home and purchased for his family 150 acre (607,000 m²) of farmland inEast Lyme,Connecticut. Babbitt started after hours "Action Analysis" classes and brought inDon Graham to teach. Tytla was an eager participator in these classes (later to become officially sanctioned by Disney) which have been credited with some of the phenomenal leaps in the quality of animation during this period.^[5]

Tytla was one of the first animators assigned toSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs.Fred Moore and Tytla were responsible for much of the design of the film and the definition of the personalities of the seven dwarfs. One of Tytla's famous scenes from the film (as described byJohn Canemaker) is where woman-hating Grumpy is kissed bySnow White. As he brusquely walks away, an internal warmth generated by the kiss gradually slows him, bringing a soft smile and sigh to his lips, revealing his true feelings of love. Grumpy's inner feelings are portrayed solely throughpantomime—in his tellingfacial expressions, hisbody language, and the timing of his reactions.^[5][2]

One evening of 1936 in the art classes of Don Graham, a vibrant and beautiful 22-year-old actress and fashion model fromSeattle named Adrienne le Clerc posed for the animators, including Tytla.^[6] She shared his volcanic temperament, but admitted "My glass was half-filled with enthusiasm, his often half-empty with self-doubts. We were, however, definitelyyin and yang". Their thirty-year marriage began on April 21, 1938.^[5]

Clearly, she was a great inspiration and support for her husband although she complained that to get her husband's attention when he was intently working on his animation, she had to stand in the doorwaynaked.^[7]

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was eventually completed and premiered and released on December 21, 1937. Tytla was next assigned to animate Stromboli, an explosivepuppeteer andkidnapper inPinocchio. "Bill was powerful,muscular, high-strung and sensitive, with a tremendous ego," wrote Disney animatorsFrank Thomas andOllie Johnston in their bookThe Disney Villain. "Everything was 'feelings' with Bill. Whatever he animated had the inner feelings of his characters expressed through very strong acting. He did not just get inside Stromboli, he was Stromboli and he lived that part." AnimatorT. Hee saw Tytla so wrapped up in his work, that he quietly scurried out of the room.^[2][8][9]

Brave Little Tailor was a 1938 short featuringMickey andMinnie Mouse. Tytla animated the giant who was as dumb as he was huge. The character "became the model for all giants throughout the industry from gags to personality," according to Johnston and Thomas.^[8] The short was nominated for theAcademy Award for Animated Short Film of 1939. But it lost toFerdinand the Bull, another Disney short, directed by Dick Rickard, animated byMilt Kahl andWard Kimball.

Early in 1938, Tytla animated Yen Sid, the oldmagician in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", which would eventually become a segment inFantasia. However the character fromFantasia which Tytla is better known for is Chernabog, his own version ofCrnobog the Black God, from the "Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria" sequence. It is often said that Chernabog was based on actorBela Lugosi, and Walt did bring him in to do live action reference for the character. However, Bill already had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to do and did not like Bela'sinterpretation of the character.^[10] Instead he hadWilfred Jackson (who is credited for the music ofSteamboat Willie) act out the part for him, and that is what he used as live action reference.^[11][8]

Not one to want to be typecast as an animator who only worked the strongest characters, Tytla requested as his next assignmentDumbo, the baby elephant ridiculed and rejected because of his big ears. This time his reference was his own infant son, Peter. The intent was to do something nontheatrical and sincere, to try to put the personality of a human child into that of an elephant so that it rings true. His son, Peter Tytla, has grown up to become acollage artist focusing on images made from photographs of junk cars.^[12]

WhileSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs was hugely successful the following films had a hard time making money due to thewar in Europe cutting of nearly 50% of their revenue. This led to staff layoff and broken promises with regard to job security, raises and bonuses.

While the top animators like Tytla and Babbitt were highly paid, they were all too aware of the low wages being paid toassistants and Film production people. Babbitt even went as far as paying his assistant out of his own pocket. But in early 1941, Babbitt was fired forunion activities. The day after Babbitt led over 300 Disney studio employees in astrike, demanding union representation. To Disney's surprise and dismay, Tytla joined the strike line. "I was for the company union, and I went on strike because my friends were on strike," said Tytla. "I was sympathetic with their views, but I never wanted to do anything against Walt." The strike lasted over two months and was so divisive that it profoundly altered the course of American character animation. As the strike ended, America enteredWorld War II and theGolden age was effectively over.^[12]

Tytla returned to the studio, but "there was too much tension and electricity in the air," according to Adrianne Tytla. With Vladimir, "everything was instinctive and intuitive, and now the vibes were all wrong." Due to the economics of the studio at the time, assignments were less challenging. InSaludos Amigos Tytla animated Pedro (a baby airplane) and Jose Carioca (a Brazilian parrot). His small and final portrayals at Disney were a witch and a Nazi teacher in the shortEducation for Death and the climactic battle between a giant octopus and an American eagle in the featureVictory Through Air Power. Tytla's perception that he was unwelcome at the studio, less challenging work, his wife's three-year-long illness withtuberculosis, fear ofJapanese attack, and a desire to live on his Connecticut farm eventually led him to the decision to leave the studio. He resigned from the Disney studio on February 24, 1943, an action he regretted for the remainder of his life.^[12][2]

After leaving the Disney studio Tytla returned toTerrytoons for a short while. There he was assigned as a film director for the shortThe Sultan's Birthday (1944). Tytla soon left Terrytoons but would continue to act as a director for the rest of his animation career.^[13]

His next employer wasFamous Studios, owned byParamount Pictures. His directorial efforts there include several shorts:^[13]

• StarringLittle Lulu.
  • Snap Happy (June 22, 1945).
  • Bored of Education (March 1, 1946).
  • A Scout with the Gout (March 24, 1947).
  • Super Lulu (November 21, 1947).
• StarringPopeye.
  • Service with a Guile (April 19, 1946).
  • Rocket to Mars (August 9, 1946).
  • Island Fling (December 27, 1946).
  • Popeye Meets Hercules (June 18, 1948).
  • Tar with a Star (August 12, 1949).
  • Jitterbug Jive (June 23, 1950).
• Noveltoons featuringLittle Audrey.
  • The Lost Dream (March 18, 1949).
  • Song of the Birds (November 18, 1949).
  • Tarts and Flowers (May 26, 1950).
  • Goofy Goofy Gander (August 18, 1950).
• StarringCasper the Friendly Ghost.
  • Casper's Spree Under the Sea (October 13, 1950).
  • Ghost Writers (April 25, 1958) (directed bySeymour Kneitel,Izzy Sparber and him).
• Noveltoons featuringPaddy.
  • The Wee Men (August 8, 1947).
  • Leprechaun's Gold (October 14, 1949).
• Noveltoon featuring Timothy Turkey:
  • Voice of the Turkey (October 13, 1950).
• Noveltoons featuring all the characters:
  • Sudden Fried Chicken featuring Herman and Henry (October 18, 1946)
  • We're in the Honey (March 19, 1948).
  • The Bored Cuckoo (April 9, 1948).
  • The Mite Makes Right (October 15, 1948).
  • Hector's Hectic Life (November 19, 1948).
  • Campus Capers featuring Herman (July 1, 1949)

His own daughter Tammy reportedly provided inspiration for the Little Lulu and Little Audrey shorts. She would later pursue a career as an artist and photographer, known as Tamara Schacher-Tytla.^[13]

Tytla leftFamous Studios during the early 1950s to work for Tempo Productions. Tempo was founded in 1946 as a partnership betweenDavid Hilberman and Zack Schwartz. They were both former Disney colleagues of Tytla. David had notably served as anart director forBambi and Zack for "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". They were among the founders of theUnited Productions of America but later sold their shares to theirpartnerStephen Bosustow.

At first the two intended to produce educational films but soon found there was only a limited market for them. HoweverJack Zander, head of the animation department of Transfilm Inc., which produced television commercials, approached them with an offer to produce animated advertisements for his company. They were at first assigned to advertiseCamel cigarettes. Later their assignments includedStandard Brands,Plymouth automobile, National Dairy Association,Tide andClark Gum Company. Zack Schwartz had left the company in 1948/1949 but assignments continued. David Hilberman decided to expand the staff. The expansion included hiring Tytla as advertisement director.

The squared-off stylized designs reportedly frustrated Tytla. But he produced some good work there including somestop motion animation. His animated advertisements though are perhaps the least well-remembered part of his career. When therevival of interest in classical animation started in the 1980s, they were long unavailable to audiences, presumably lost. A reason for this was that Tempo proved short-lived,blacklisted during theRed Scare of the early 1950s.

Tytla, however took time to visit his former colleagues at Disney in 1954. Unlike Babbitt he was welcome to do so and even had his picture taken with his old boss Walt. In a letter toMarc Davis written in December 1954 Tytla said "What a helluva swell time I had, It did me a world of good".

His next sources of employment wereanimated series. He is credited as director for episodes of four different series:^[13]

• Popeye (September 10, 1956 –September 28, 1963).
• Deputy Dawg (September 5, 1959 – 1972).
• Matty's Funday Funnies (featuringBeany and Cecil byBob Clampett, October 11, 1959 – 1962).
• The New Casper Cartoon Show (1963–1969).

He also took time to create one last short for Terrytoons,First Flight Up (1962). His last work of animation on a film was forWarner Bros. Cartoons^[14] onThe Incredible Mr. Limpet, a comedy feature film mixing live action and animation, directed byArthur Lubin and starringDon Knotts as a fish. However, during this time Tytla became ill and a lot of the actual animation was completed by animation directorRobert McKimson,Hawley Pratt andGerry Chiniquy. All three of them are better known for theirLooney Tunes work.^[13] Tytla had also been working on the idea for an animated movie called "Mousthusula, the 2000 Year Old Mouse", but couldn't find anyone being interested.^[15]

Following this Tytla suffered many small strokes which left himblind in his left eye. On August 13, 1967, the opening night of theMontrealExpo's World Exhibition of Animation Cinema, featured a screening ofDumbo as part of anHommage Aux Pionniers. Tytla was invited, but worried if anyone would remember him. When the film finished, they announced the presence of "The Great Animator." When the spotlight finally found him, the audience erupted in "a huge outpouring of love. It may have been one of the great moments of his life," recalled animation historian John Culhane.^[13]

In a letter dated August 27, 1968, W.H. Anderson, then-Vice President of Walt Disney Productions, rejected Tytla's offer to do "trial animation", saying, "We really have only enough animation for our present staff." And as late as October 11, 1968, less than three months before Tytla's death, Disney directorWolfgang Reitherman responded to story material Tytla submitted explaining "... I'm sorry to say that your story ideas don't fit into our present program.. We have not forgotten that you are anxious to animate here at the studio, but ... So far, we can just barely keep our present crew of animators busy ... rest assured you have many friends here at the studio who are pulling for you."^[13]

After briefly working atHanna-Barbera, and directingThe Lone Ranger cartoon forFormat Films, Vladimir Tytla died on his farm on December 30, 1968, aged 64.^[16] He was an atheist.^[13][2][17]

• "The Vladimir Tytla Page". Archived fromthe original on October 27, 2009. RetrievedSeptember 21, 2004. by Eddie Bowers. Original text for this article. Used with permission and based onVladimir Tytla – Master AnimatorJohn Canemaker, Catalogue essay for exhibition at The Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, N.Y. September 25, 1994 – January 1, 1995.
• Bill Tytla atIMDb

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