Phil Roman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Philip Ichabod Roman (1930-12-21)December 21, 1930 (age 94) Fresno, California, U.S. |
| Education | San Joaquin Memorial High School |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1955–present |
| Notable work | Peanuts Garfield |
| Spouse | Anita Tweedy |
| Children | Christian Roman |
Philip Ichabod Roman (born December 21, 1930) is an Americananimator and the director of thePeanuts andGarfield animated specials. He is the founder of the animation studiosFilm Roman andPhil Roman Entertainment.[1]
Philip Roman was born on December 21, 1930, inFresno, California. His parents wereMexican migrant farm workers. He spoke onlySpanish until kindergarten.[2][3] After graduating fromSan Joaquin Memorial High School, he moved toHollywood, California and earned a scholarship to the Hollywood Art Center School.[3]
Roman begin his career in 1955 as an assistant animator for theDisney animated classicSleeping Beauty.[3] Early in his career, Roman was an animator forChuck Jones's independent studios,Sib Tower 12 Productions and laterChuck Jones Productions. He was a lead animator forHow the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and later provided an audio commentary withJune Foray on the DVD release of the film. In the 1970s, Roman directed several of thePeanuts animated specials produced atBill Melendez' studio.
In 1984, Roman founded his own animation studio,Film Roman, which produced the animation for theGarfield television specials. He directed all the twelveGarfield specials broadcast from 1982 to 1991. He also appeared in the documentary specialHappy Birthday, Garfield, which went behind the scenes of both the comic strip and the animated versions ofGarfield.[4] In 1992, Roman became animation executive producer forThe Simpsons, which his company started working on beginning withseason four, taking over fromKlasky Csupo, who animated the first three seasons. In the same year, he directedTom and Jerry: The Movie, his studio's first theatrical feature.
In 1999, Roman sold his studio and later formedPhil Roman Entertainment. The company produced the animated specialGrandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. Roman has served as the production supervisor and executive producer in the Mexican-American animated filmEl Americano: The Movie, which was released in 2016.[5] Following Film Roman's purchase by Waterman Entertainment in 2015, Roman returned to the company he founded as chairmanemeritus untilSteve Waterman terminated the company in 2018.[6]
In 2016, Roman was honored with theInkpot Award.[7]
