Art Babbitt
Arthur Harold Babitsky (October 8, 1907 – March 4, 1992), better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He received over 80 awards as an animation director and animator, and also developed the character of Goofy. Babbitt worked as an animator or animation director on films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo, among others. Outside of Disney, he also animated The Wise Quacking Duck for Leon Schlesinger Productions.
Art Babbitt
March 4, 1992 (aged 84)
Arthur Babbitt
1929–1992
Terrytoons (1929–1932)
Walt Disney Animation Studios (1932–1941; 1945–1948)
Warner Bros. Cartoons (1941–1945)
UPA (1948–1955)
Lou Bunin Films (1949)
Storyboard/Hubley Studios, Inc./Quartet Films (1955–1977)
Hanna-Barbera (1957–1992)
Richard Williams Productions (1967–1992)
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Early life[edit]
Babbitt was born to a Jewish family[1] in the Little Bohemia section of Omaha, Nebraska, but moved to Sioux City, Iowa after he finished kindergarten. After graduating from Sioux City Central High in 1924 at the age of 16, Art decided to move to New York to take on the role of breadwinner after his hard-working father had an accident on duty and became paralyzed as a result.
Family life and legacy[edit]
His first wife (1937–1940) was Marge Champion, a dance model in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. His second wife was Dina Babbitt, an artist and a Holocaust survivor. He had two daughters with Dina, L. Michele Babbitt and Karin Wendy Babbitt.[6] His third wife until his death was actress Barbara Perry. His step-daughter from Barbara is Laurel James. Babbitt died of kidney failure on March 4, 1992. In the late 1980s, a British television documentary titled Animating Art was broadcast, celebrating Babbitt's life and work. The documentary was produced and directed by Imogen Sutton (Richard Williams' wife), and features extensive interviews with Babbitt and his then employer, Williams.[7] Babbitt was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 2007.[8]
The Academy Film Archive holds a small collection of personal films belonging to Babbitt.[9] The archive has preserved a number of Babbitt's home movies from this collection, including one of the 1938 Academy Awards.[10]