James Algar | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1912-06-11)June 11, 1912 Modesto, California, United States |
| Died | February 26, 1998(1998-02-26) (aged 85) Carmel, California, United States |
| Occupations | Film director, screenwriter, film producer |
| Years active | 1934–1977 |
James Algar (June 11, 1912 – February 26, 1998)[1] was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer.[2] He worked atWalt Disney Productions for 43 years and received theDisney Legends award in 1998.[3] He was born inModesto, California and died inCarmel, California.
In 1958, Algar directed an Oscar-winning documentaryWhite Wilderness, which contains a scene that supposedly depicts a mass lemming migration, and ends with the lemmings leaping into theArctic Ocean. In 1982, theCBC Television news magazine programThe Fifth Estate broadcast a documentary about animal cruelty in Hollywood calledCruel Camera, focusing onWhite Wilderness, as well as the television programWild Kingdom. The host of the CBC program,Bob McKeown, discovered that the lemming scene was actually filmed at theBow River nearCanmore, Alberta, and further that the same small group of lemmings was transported to the location, jostled on turntables, and repeatedly shoved off a cliff to imply mass suicide.[4]
McKeown interviewed a lemming expert, who claimed that the particular species of lemming shown in the film is not known to migrate, much less commit mass suicide.[5][6]
