Ollie Johnson, the last remaining animator from the “golden age” of Disney Animation, has passed away at the age of 95 according to BBC News.  He was the last member of an elite group known as the “Nine Old Men” and worked on such classic films as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio and Peter Pan.
“Ollie was part of an amazing generation of artists, one of the real pioneers of our art,” said Roy Disney, nephew of Walt Disney.
Johnson’s most famous piece of animation was his work on Bambi. He created the memorable and haunting death of Bambi’s mother at the hands of a hunter.  Johnson also worked on Fantasia, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, and The Jungle Book.
Johnston studied at Los Angeles’ Chouinard Art Institute and was approached by the then-fledgling Disney studio in 1935 to work on animated shorts including Mickey’s Garden, Pluto’s Judgement Day and Mickey’s Rival.  He retired in 1978 to devote his time to writing, lecturing and consulting and recieved a Disney Legends Award in 1989.  He was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2003 and received the National Medal of Arts in 2005. He was the first animator to receive the medal.
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