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Walt Disney Companyanimator Burny Mattinson, who had been with the company since 1953, has died. He was 87.
The companyannounced Mattinson’s death on Tuesday, noting the long-tenured employee — he “was the longest-serving cast member” in the company’s history — died Monday at Canyon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canoga Park, Calif., “following a short illness.”
“Burny’s artistry, generosity, and love of Disney Animation and the generations of storytellers that have come through our doors, for seven decades, has made us better—better artists, better technologists, and better collaborators,” Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer Jennifer Lee said in a statement Tuesday.
“All of us who have had the honor to know him and learn from him will ensure his legacy carries on,” she added.
As Disney’s longest-tenured employee, the company had planned to give Mattinson its first-ever “70th anniversary service award” in June, per a Disney press release.
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Born on May 13, 1936, Mattinson once said that he aspired to work in animation ever since his mother took him to see Disney’s 1940 animated classicPinocchio, and he began teaching himself to draw Disney-style animated characters, according to a release.
Mattinson eventually got his first job on the Disney lot as a mailroom employee just after graduating high school and first started working on the company’s animated films just six months later for 1955’sLady and the Tramp.
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By the time Disney was producing its 1959 filmSleeping Beauty, Mattinson had been promoted to an assistant animator. From there, he worked on films likeOne Hundred and One Dalmatians(1961),The Sword in the Stone(1963) andThe Jungle Book(1967). He also worked on the story team forAladdin(1992),Beauty and the Beast(1993),The Lion King(1994),Pocahontas(1995),The Hunchback of Notre Dame(1996),Tarzan(1997), andMulan(1998), per a release.
“Deeply saddened that Disney Legend Burny Mattinson—our longest serving employee—has passed away,” company CEO Bob Igerwrote on TwitterMonday as the company mourned Mattinson’s death.
“Burny started as a messenger on the lot in 1953 & went on to become a true icon of @DisneyAnimation,” Iger added. “We are forever grateful for his contributions & seven decades of service.”
source: people.com
