We said goodbye this year to many brilliant women and men who devoted their lives and talents to advancing the art of animation and visual effects to new heights. We honor their legacy, celebrate their numerous accomplishments and are forever grateful to them for creating art that moved, entertained and inspired us.
We thank Tom Sito and Yvette Kaplan for hosting the annual Afternoon of Remembrance on Saturday, March 8, at noon, to celebrate their achievements and honoring their memories. It will be a hybrid event with some participating at the Animation Guild Hall in Burbank and some via Zoom. (For more info, visit animationguild.org.)
David Barrington-Holt. Designer, artist, modelmaker who led Jim Henson’s first West Coast Creature Shop. He was instrumental in developing the groundbreaking Henson Performance Control System, which allowed a single performer to operate complex, computer-driven puppets. Credits included George of the Jungle, The Phantom, Dr. Dolittle and Scooby-Doo. Died March 13, age 78.
Howard Beckerman. New York-based animator, cartoonist, historian and teacher (Parsons School of Design and School of Visual Arts). Co-created syndicated comic strip Miss Chipps and wrote the book Animation: The Whole Story. Died June 29, age 93.
Kay Benbow. Influential British producer, director and exec; controller of the BBC channel CBeebies from 2010 to 2017). Credits included Numberjacks, In the Night Garden, Timmy Time and Wibbly Pig. Died March 24, age 62.
Peter Bennett. Longtime art director and background painter on SpongeBob SquarePants. He also provided art direction for ChalkZone, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, The Patrick Star Show and first two SpongeBob SquarePants movies, as well as artwork for SpongeBob Comics. Died May 17, age 57.
Jan Browning. Animation painter, inker and checker at Hanna-Barbera, Animedia and Warner Bros. who worked on more than 130 shows and movies in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s (from BraveStarr, The Little Mermaid and Space Jam to Animaniacs, SpongeBob SquarePants, Wonder Woman, The Batman, Young Justice and Harley Quinn). Longtime member of Animation Guild 839 executive board and a TAG Golden Award winner. Died Nov. 19, age 81.
Janice Burgess. Well-loved Nickelodeon and Children’s Television Workshop executive and creator of popular preschool series The Backyardigans. She also oversaw the production of such shows as Little Bill, Blue’s Clues, Gullah Gullah Island, Winx’s Club and Bubble Guppies. Died March 2, age 72.
John Bush. Emmy-winning producer of The Simpsons. Also served as animation director on Family Guy; exec producer on Clerks, King of the Hill, X-Men: Evolution; and line producer on projects such as Daffy’s Rhapsody, I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat and New Looney Tunes. Died Nov. 23, 2023; age 69.
Emma Calder. Award-winning British animator and producer, best known for her two Annecy Cristal-nominated shorts, Beware of Trains and Roger Ballen’s Theatre of Apparitions, as well as 1998’s The Queen’s Monastery. Died Sept. 26, age 65.
Curtis James Crawford. Canadian animator, writer, filmmaker and producer who was a storyboard artist for shows such as Captain Planet and the Planeteers, The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin and Young Robin Hood. He went on to produce such shows as The Eggs, Watership Down, Toad Patrol and Mole Sisters. Died April 27, age 66.
James Darren. Actor and singer best known for starring in Gidget movies. Animation credits included The Flintstones (as Jimmy Darrock), Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear! Died Sept. 2, age 88.
Laurent de Brunhoff. French author and illustrator who is best known for reviving his father Jean’s stories about the popular and very civilized elephant named Babar. The original illustrated book Histoire de Babar (The Story of Babar) was created by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931, followed by six more picture books. The elephant king inspired several 2D- and CG-animated series and features. Died March 22, age 98.
Diane Delano. Veteran actress best known for her memorable roles in films such as The Wicker Man and TV shows such as Northern Exposure and Popular. Her numerous animation credits include Rugrats The Angry Beavers, Rocket Power, Teen Titans, Ben 10: Alien Force, American Dad!, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Ben 10: Omniverse, We Bare Bears, New Looney Tunes, Niko and the Sword of Light, Young Justice, Infinity Train and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Died Dec. 13, age 67.
Roger Dicken. British vfx artist nominated for an Oscar for his work on When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth. Other credits included The Land That Time Forgot, Alien, White Dog and The Hunger. Died Feb. 18, age 84.
Mark Dodson. Prolific voice actor who played Salacious B. Crumb in Return of the Jedi, the Ewoks in Ewoks: The Battle for Endor and Niima Scavenger in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Also starred as Mogwai in the Gremlins movies and in numerous games. Died March 2, age 64.
Shannen Doherty. Famous for portraying Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210, the talented actor is remembered by animation fans for voicing Teresa in The Secret of NIMH (1982). Other animation credits included Gary & Mike and Mari-Kari. Died July 13, age 53.
Shigeko Doyle. Veteran ink-and-paint artist whose many credits included movies such as FernGully: The Last Rainforest and Cool World — and shows such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Mask, The Simpsons, The Critic and King of the Hill.
Maurice Edwards. Feature and TV series background designer who worked on Justice League, Biker Mice From Mars, Extreme Ghostbusters, Godzilla, Men in Black, Eight Crazy Nights, Loonatics Unleashed and The Batman.
Philip J. Felix. Layout and storyboard artist and model designer at Warner Bros., Marvel, Universal Cartoon Studios, DreamWorks and Disney TV Animation. His credits ranged from Tiny Toon Adventures and The Real Ghostbusters to Muppet Babies and the Hercules TV series. Died Dec. 23, 2023; age 61.
Elliot Field. Actor and KFWB radio deejay who lent his voice to characters in The Flintstones (as Alvin Brickrock, pictured) The Incredible Hulk, Quick Draw McGraw and Snooper and Blabber. Died June 27, age 97.
Greg Finley. Voiceover artist and writer who worked on over 80 shows and movies, including Robotech: The Movie, Oliver & Company, Dinosaur and Lilo & Stitch. Died Feb. 1, age 76.
Joe Flaherty. Emmy-winning comedic actor, writer and SCTV alum (Count Floyd). Animation credits included Home on the Range, The Legend of Tarzan, Family Guy, The Life & Times of Tim and Clone High. Died April 1, age 82.
Martin Forte. Background artist at Hanna-Barbera, Filmation and Universal Cartoon Studios who worked on Charlotte’s Web, Heidi’s Song, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Super Friends and numerous versions of Scooby-Doo. Died Jan. 18, age 87.
Bob Foster. Veteran cartoonist and storyboard artist whose career spanned five decades. Among his credits: The New Yogi Bear Show, Garfield and Friends, Superman: The Animated Series, The Angry Beavers, Hey Arnold!, Freakazoid!, Godzilla, Hercules, Family Guy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Kamp Koral and Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown. Died Sept. 30, age 80.
Randy Fukuda. Longtime project manager at Walt Disney Animation Studios and operation facilities manager at Disneytoon Studios. Died April 25, age 93.
Teri Garr. Oscar-nominated and much-loved actor known for comedic roles in movies such as Tootsie, Young Frankenstein, Mr. Mom and After Hours. She lent her voice talents to animated shows such as Duckman, Shining Time Station, Casper Meets Wendy, Dr. Katz, King of the Hill, Batman Beyond and What’s New, Scooby-Doo? Died Oct. 29, age 79.
Christopher W. Gee. Longtime technical director at Disney who worked on movies such as Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Fantasia 2000, Treasure Planet, Bolt and The Princess and the Frog.Died July 26, age 63.
Brad Goodchild. Prolific storyboard artist, production manager, director and animator whose credits included Star Wars: Droids, The Magic School Bus, The Legend of Tarzan, Young Justice, Peter Rabbit, Transformers: Rescue Bots, Big Nate, Class of the Titans, Kim Possible, Sesame Street Mecha Builders and Hailey’s on It!. Died Oct. 18, age 68.
David Graham. Acclaimed British actor best known for voicing the Daleks on Doctor Who, Grandpa Pig on Peppa Pig and several characters in the Thunderbirds shows and films. Died Sept. 20, age 99.
Benji Gregory. Former child actor and voice artist who starred as Brian on the sitcom Alf and voiced Andy on Pound Puppies. Other animation credits included the Back to the Future TV series (as Biff Jr.), Fantastic Max and Once Upon a Forest. Died June 13, age 46.
Mark Gustafson. Oscar-winning stop-motion director and animator who co-directed Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and served as animation director on Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. At Will Vinton Studios, he worked on The Adventures of Mark Twain, Return to Oz and Claymation Christmas. He was lead animator on the Emmy-nominated Meet the Raisins! and won an Emmy for the stop-motion special Claymation Easter. Gustafson was also nominated for an Annie Award for the short Mr. Resistor. He wrote and directed its sequel, Bride of Resistor, and also directed episodes of Fox’s The PJs. Died Feb. 1, age 64.
Doc Harris. Veteran character actor whose animation credits included several Dragon Ball Z and Barbie projects, Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars!, The New Adventures of He-Man, Monster Rancher and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Died Oct. 5, age 76.
Reid Harrison. Prolific TV writer and producer who worked on a long string of animated shows, including The Simpsons, The PJs, Gary & Mike, Duckman, Pinky and the Brain, George of the Jungle, Drawn Together, Angelo Rules, Sonic Boom and Danger Mouse. He was also supervising producer on Matt Groening’s Netflix series Disenchantment. Died Jan. 15, age 65.
Dan Hennessey. Canadian director and voice actor who played Chief Quimby on Inspector Gadget, Brave Heart Lion in The Care Bears, Father Bear in Little Bear, Thompson & Thompson in The Adventures of Tintin and Dizzy in the feature Rock & Rule. Died Nov. 13, age 83.
Darryl Hickman. Writer, actor and TV executive who starred as Davey in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He lent his voice to many animated shows, including Pac-Man, Super Friends, GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords, Davey and Goliath, The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, Beauty and the Beast and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. Died May 22, age 92.
Sean Pin Ho. Effects and visual development artist at DreamWorks and Pixar who worked on The Prince of Egypt, Shark Tale, The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron — and the WALL-E and Up video games. Died Sept. 4, age 53.
Mutsumi Inomata. Japanese illustrator and animator who worked on such shows as Magical Princess Minky Momo, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Sacred Seven. Died March 10, age 63.
Jean-Guy Jacques. Animator, actor, sheet timer and director whose credits included Garfield Specials, Arthur, Lion of Oz, Rugrats, Rocko’s Modern Life and Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat. Died Jan. 24, age 93.
James Earl Jones. Iconic Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actor with a distinctive baritone voice who brought Darth Vader (Star Wars) and Mufasa (The Lion King) to life. Other animated projects included Garfield and Friends, Casper: A Spirited Beginning, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child, Robots, The Simpsons, Nine Dog Christmas, Recess Christmas and Our Friend, Martin. Died Sept. 9, age 93.
Karen Keller. Disney layout artist who worked on The Black Cauldron, The Rescuers Down Under, Bambi II, The Fox and the Hound 2, The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver & Company, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Hercules, Fantasia 2000, The Emperor’s New Groove and Home on the Range. Died in Dec., age 71.
Jon Kenny. Popular Irish actor and comedian (The Banshees of Inisherin, Father Ted) who lent his voice to characters in Cartoon Saloon’s acclaimed movies Song of the Sea (2014) and Wolfwalkers (2020). Died Nov. 15, age 66.
Kris Kristofferson. Rugged singer and actor, best known for starring in movies like A Star Is Born, Heaven’s Gate, but he also voiced animated characters in The Land Before Time VI, Dolphin Tale and Disney preschool show Handy Manny. Died Sept. 28, age 88.
Yōji Kuri. Japanese director, artist and avant-garde manga creator of acclaimed shorts such as Au Fou!, The Midnight Parasites, Flower, Manga, Tragedy on the G-String and Imagination in the Trousers whose picture book Gokiburi-chan inspired the 2005 anime series of the same name. Winner of lifetime achievement awards from Annecy, Tokyo Intl. Anime Fair and Zagreb Animation festivals. Died Nov. 24, age 96.
Nigel Lambert. British actor whose voice credits included The Adventures of Paddington Bear, The Princess and the Pea, Azur & Asmar and Justin and the Knights of Valour. Died in September, age 80.
Linda Lavin. Tony-winning and two-time Emmy-nominated stage, screen and TV actress best known for her long-running CBS sitcom Alice. She made her feature film debut in the 1984 movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan as a doctor who twists Kermit the Frog out of shape in the popular feature directed by Frank Oz. She also appeared as a guest on The Muppet Show (Episode 406) in 1979. In animation, she voiced Helen Kellerman and Gertie Lombard, two guest characters in Fox TV’s award-winning series Bob’s Burgers (In the episodes “It Snakes a Village” and “Radio No You Didn’t”). (Gertie is the mother of Alice Lombard and grandmother of Lily Lombard, who’s Bob Belcher’s mom.) Lavin also voiced Mother Vulture in Cartoon Network’s Courage the Cowardly Dog in 2002. Died Dec. 29, age 87.
Richard Lewis. Popular comic and TV actor (Curb Your Enthusiasm) who voiced Ziggy Abler in BoJack Horseman, Buddy in Pound Puppies and Golem in The Simpsons. Died Feb. 27, age 76.
Rachael Lillis. Prolific actor with over 127 credits, best known for voicing Jessie and Misty in the Pokémon series and movies. Other credits included LastMan, Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Winx Club, Bakuman, Dinosaur King and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Died Aug. 10, age 55.
Morgan Lofting. Voice actor and writer who is best known for playing the Baroness in various G.I. Joe animated series and movies. Also lent her voice to The Transformers, Jem, Quack Pack and Ben 10: Omniverse. Died Nov. 27, age 84.
Nancy MacKenzie. Peruvian-born, Mexican actor who voiced Marge in the popular Spanish-dubbed version of The Simpsons during the first 15 seasons (beginning in 1990). Died June 14, age 81.
Taiki Matsuno. Japanese actor known for voicing Hajime Kindaichi in The Kindaichi Case Files, Koga in Inuyasha, Tart in Fresh Pretty Cure!, Agumon in Digimon Savers and SpongeBob in the Japanese dub of SpongeBob SquarePants. Died June 26, age 56.
Mitzi McCall. Comedian, actor and sitcom writer whose animated voice roles spanned several decades, from The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, The Flintstones Comedy Hour, The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, TaleSpin and Bobby’s World to Duckman, Cow and Chicken, Hey Arnold!, The Wild Thornberrys, Ice Age and Regular Show. Died Aug. 8, age 93.
Kent Melton. Influential model designer at Warner Bros. (Tiny Toon Adventures), Disney (Aladdin, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Pocahontas and Tarzan), DreamWorks (The Prince of Egypt, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, The Road to El Dorado), Pixar (The Incredibles) and Laika Studios (Coraline, ParaNorman). Died Feb. 22, age 68.
Erica Peterson. TV writer who worked at Sony Pictures Animation and DreamWorks TV (Megamind Rules!) Died Jan. 10, age 43.
Tim McGovern. CGI pioneer, visual effects veteran and founding member of the Visual Effects Society. His credits included the original Tron, Total Recall, Dunkirk, Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, First Man and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Died March 30, age 68.
John McKenna. Intl. Emmy-nominated producer who led One Animation (2016-2022) and was also head of production at Exodus and Prana Studios. He worked on animated projects such as Igor, Happily N’Ever After, Oggy and the Cockroaches, Postman Pat: The Movie, Top Cat Begins, Saving Santa, The Oddbods Show and Kaeloo. Died April 14, Age 71.
Bob McKnight. Popular veteran storyboard artist and animator whose numerous credits included Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, The Tigger Movie, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Bambi II, Tom & Jerry, The Wizard of Oz, Looney Tunes Cartoons and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers. His final credit was the recently released The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. Died Nov. 2024
Harlene Mears. Painter who worked on Disney movies such as The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas and Hercules.
Mike Milne. Six-time Emmy-winning British artist, CG pioneer, graphic designer and educator (and grandnephew of A.A. Milne) who worked at Framestore on award-winning projects such as Walking With Dinosaurs, Walking With Beasts, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chased by Dinosaurs, Secrets of the Deep and Primeval. Died May 19, age 76.
David Mink. Model designer and storyboard artist who worked at Disney TV Animation, Warner Bros. and Adelaide/Sony Animation. His credits included Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Aladdin (series), Pinky and the Brain, Goof Troop, Quack Pack, Darkwing Duck, Gargoyles, Detention and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries. Died Jan. 7, age 59.
Chris Minz (aka Dr. Minz). Canadian layout artist and layout supervisor who worked on many Nelvana shows such as Star Wars: Droids, Beetlejuice, The Magic School Bus, Rupert, Pippi Longstockings, Ned’s Newt, Little Bear, George and Martha and Curduroy. Died in Dec., age 64.
Don Moore. Background artist and art director at Don Bluth Studios, Disney and ILM who worked on projects such as The Secret of NIMH, Thumbelina, An American Tail, Dragon’s Lair, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Hercules, Tarzan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Atlantis and Treasure Planet. Died in June 2024.
Martin Mull. Popular comic and actor (Veep, Roseanne) who also lent his voice to animated characters in shows such as Family Dog, Recess, The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Wild Thornberrys, Dexter’s Laboratory, Danny Phantom, American Dad! and Bob’s Burgers. Died June 27, age 80.
Bob Newhart. Beloved comic actor (The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart) who voiced Bernard the Mouse in Disney’s The Rescuers and its sequel, The Rescuers Down Under; appeared as himself in The Simpsons; and voiced Leonard the Polar Bear in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998). Died July 18, age 94.
Toshiyuki Nishida. Award-winning Japanese actor whose animation voice credits included A Letter to Momo and There Goes Our Hero: The Heat of the Pennant Race. Died Oct 17, age 76.
Eli Noyes. Experimental stop-motion filmmaker who received an Oscar nomination in 1966 for his short Clay or the Origin of Species and an Annecy Prize for the short Alphabet in 1967. He also directed episodes of MTV’s Liquid Television in the 1990s and worked on games such as Ruff’s Bone and Top Gun: Fire at Will. Died March 23, age 81.
Noriko Ohara. Prolific Japanese actor known for voicing Nobita Nobi in Doraemon, all the female villains in the Time Bokan series, Conan in Future Boy Conan series and Peter in Heidi, Girl of the Alps. Died July 12, age 88.
Ken Page. Actor best known for voicing Oogie Boogie in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and its various spinoffs. Also had voice roles in All Dogs Go to Heaven, Kingdom Hearts and All Grown Up! Died Sept. 30, age 70.
Gloria Palter. Animation checker who worked at Adelaide Productions, Nickelodeon and Film Roman. Among her TV credits are Extreme Ghostbusters, Godzilla: The Series, Men in Black: The Series, Skunk Fu! and King of the Hill. Died March 8, age 93.
Andy Paley. Prolific songwriter, singer, musician and composer who worked with a wide range of stars (including The Beach Boys, Debbie Harry, Madonna and Jerry Lee Lewis) and on various animated shows, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Camp Lazlo, Handy Manny, My Gym Partner’s a Monkey and Digimon. Died Nov. 20, age 72.
Don Perro. Canadian animator and educator (head of commercial animation dept. at Capilano University in Vancouver) whose credits included The Raccoons, Ren & Stimpy, The Prophet, Problem Child and The Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Died in November, age 64.
James Proimos. Children’s author, illustrator and designer (The Many Adventures of Johnny Mutton, Over the Moon, Year of the Jungle, Joe’s Wish) and co-creator of the YTV-Kids WB! show Generation O! Died July 8, age 66.
Alan Rachins. Veteran TV actor best known for his roles in L.A. Law and Dharma & Greg, and who also provided voices for animated shows such as Batman: The Animated Series, Rugrats, Justice League Unlimited and The Spectacular Spider-Man. Died Nov. 2, age 82.
Peter Renaday. Voice actor who worked on Samurai Jack, Justice League, Batman: The Brave & the Bold, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Archer and Assassin’s Creed (game), to name a few. Died Sept. 8, age 89.
Daniel Ridgers. TV animation producer and production manager who worked at Disney TV Animation, Starz and Disney Imagneering. His credits included such works as Future-Worm!, The Oblongs, Wild About Safety With Timon & Pumbaa, Mickey Mouse and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You Now! Died Dec. 2, age 52.
Gena Rowlands. Two-time Oscar-nominated actor best known for films such as A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria and The Notebook. She voiced Grandmother in the English dub of Marjane Satrapi’s Oscar-nominated Persepolis. Died Aug. 14, age 94.
Harry Sabin. Animator, designer, visual developer and storyboard artist at Warner Bros., Disney TVA, Filmation and other studios. His film credits included The Iron Giant, Osmosis Jones, Space Jam, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas. TV credits ranged from several He-Man and She-Ra projects, BraveStarr and Ghostbusters to American Dad! Died April 15, age 67.
Vladimir Samsonov. Russian animation director who worked on more than 50 animated projects, including The Little Plane, The Ingot, A Little Bluebeard, The Bread’s Light, Firebird, Sonata, Posle, Togo and Kak. Died Feb 20, age 87.
Lillian Schwartz. Experimental director, cinematographer and CGI pioneer best known for directing Mime Control, Dancer and Ensemble 1 in 1977. Recipient of ASIFA’s 2022 Winsor McCay Award. Died Oct. 12, age 97.
Marty Schwartz. Assistant animator who worked on the BraveStarr series and many of the Disney features of the 1990s and 2000s, including Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Hercules, Tarzan, Fantasia 2000, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet and Home on the Range. Died Feb. 18, age 70.
Richard B. Sherman. Two-time Oscar-winning Disney legend who, with late brother Robert (1925-2012), wrote beloved and unforgettable songs for such classics as Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Charlotte’s Web and Snoopy, Come Home. Died May 25, age 95.
Emi Shinohara. Japanese actor who voiced many characters in animated TV shows and movies, such as Perfect Blue, Ninja Scroll, Naruto, Sailor Moon, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Violet Evergarden: The Movie. Died Sept. 8, age 61.
James Sikking. Actor best known for playing Lt. Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blues and his work on animated shows such as Duckman, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Batman Beyond and Rocket Power. Died July 13, age 90.
Richard Simmons. Fitness instructor, producer and TV personality who also voiced animated characters in Dinosaurs, Rocko’s Modern Life, Hercules, Johnny Bravo and Fish Hooks. Died July 13, age 76.
Maggie Smith. Two-time Oscar-winning British actor best known for roles in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, the Harry Potter movies and Downton Abbey. She voiced Lady Blueberry in the movie Gnomeo & Juliet. Died Sep. 27, age 89.
Adam Somner. Oscar-nominated first assistant director who worked on more than 76 projects, including The BFG, The Adventures of Tintin, Rango, War Horse, The Cat Returns and The Jungle Book (1994). He was also production runner on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Died Nov. 27, age 57.
Donald Sutherland. Oscar-winning actor best known for Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Hunger Games and Klute. He also lent his voice to animated works such as Ozi: Voice of the Forest, Astro Boy and The Simpsons. Died June 20 , age 88.
Michael Swanigan. Storyboard artist for over 85 animated projects, including The Mask (producer), Super Friends, G.I. Joe, Ghostbusters, Superman, DuckTales, Gargoyles, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Simpsons, Octonauts, X-Men: Evolution, Stuart Little and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. Died Sept. 24, age 67.
Keiichi Tanaami. Japanese pop artist, graphic designer, producer and director whose credits included the Sundance Award-nominated The Laughing Spider, Frankenstein, Tokyo Loop and The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors. Died Aug. 9, age 88.
Tony Todd. Deep-voiced actor best known for playing the lead in the Candyman movies. Also voiced characters in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Young Justice, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Sym-Bionic Titan, Transformers: Prime, Bravest Warriors and Masters of the Universe: Revolution. Died Nov. 6, age 69.
Akira Toriyama. Japanese manga artist and character designer who wrote and illustrated the hugely influential Dragon Ball from 1984 to 1995, which became one of the bestselling manga series of all time. Other works included Dr. Slump, Pink, Go! Go! Ackman and Kajika. Died March 1, age 68.
Marina Voskanyants. Russian animator who worked on over 96 projects, including The Mystery of the Third Planet, Dunno on the Moon, The Humpbacked Horse and It Was I Who Drew the Little Man. Died Oct. 4, age 90.
M. Emmet Walsh. Popular character actor known for his work in Blade Runner, Blood Simple and Critters, and who also voiced animated characters in The Iron Giant, Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, Racing Stripes, The X’s, Pound Puppies, Adventure Time. Died March 19, age 88.
Robert Watts. British producer at Lucasfilm whose credits included the first three Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. Died Sept. 30, age 86.
Carl Weathers. Actor known for his roles in the Rocky movies, Predator and Arrested Development, and in video games such as Mortal Kombat X. He voiced Combat Carl in Toy Story 4. Animation credits included Eight Crazy Nights, Balto III, Regular Show, Toy Story of Terror and Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Died Feb. 2, age 76.
George Wilkins. Musician, arranger and composer best known for his work with Disney Parks. Animation credits included The Wacky World of Mother Goose, The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin and Return to Oz. Died Nov. 9, age 90.
Étienne Willem. Belgian storyboard and layout artist who worked on shows such as Strawberry Shortcake, Trollz, DinoSquad, Horseland, Tara Duncan and Cartoon Saloon’s The Breadwinner. Died June 16, age 51.
Philip Williams. Daytime Emmy-nominated Toronto-based actor who lent his voice to shows such as Cyberchase, Time Warp Trio, Rolie Polie Olie, The Berenstain Bears and Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends. Died Sept 8, age 70.
Tom Wyner. Prolific writer (Vampire Hunter D, Transformers: Monsters in Disguise, Lensman, Around the World With Willy Fog, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds), voice director and voice actor (Ghost in the Shell, Robotech: Love Live Alive, Samurai Champloo, Wolf’s Rain, Digimon: Digital Monsters, Lupin the Third). Died June 30, age 77.
This In Memoriam list includes names of animation and vfx luminaries who died Dec. 2023 thru Dec. 17, 2023. We will update this list online to reflect all of those who passed away in 2024.
