Frank Thomas
One of Disney's "Nine Old Men", Frank was born on September 5, 1913, Frank was raised in Fresno, California, where his father was President of Fresno State College. By the age of nine, Frank already knew what he wanted to do in life; he once recalled asking his father how he could make money just drawing pictures. By the time he was a sophomore at Fresno State, his interest in art expanded into motion pictures. As a class project, Frank wrote and directed a movie that spoofed college life, which played in local theaters.
After finishing his education at Stanford University, Frank went on to study at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. While living in a rooming house in Hollywood, he met another young Stanford graduate, who worked as an artist at The Walt Disney Studios. The artist told Frank about a job opening and on September 24, 1934, he joined Disney as employee no. 224 assigned to work on the short "Mickey's Elephant."
Over the years, Frank worked on nearly 20 animated features including, "Pinocchio," "Peter Pan," "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," "The Jungle Book," and "101 Dalmatians," as well as numerous shorts. He also accompanied Walt Disney and a select group of artists on a goodwill tour through South America, in 1941, on behalf of the American Government, which inspired the animated features "Saludos Amigos" and "The Three Caballeros."
In his spare time, Frank played piano with the internationally famous "Firehouse Five Plus Two" jazz band, along with fellow Disney artists, including Ward Kimball.
After nearly 45 years with the Studio, Frank retired in 1978. He went on to co-author four books with life-long friend and fellow animator Ollie Johnston, including the definitive "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life," "Too Funny For Words," "Walt Disney's Bambi: The Story and the Film," and "The Disney Villain." He and Ollie were also the subjects of the 1995 documentary "Frank and Ollie," which chronicles their unique friendship, which began at Stanford, and creative relationship at Disney.
After finishing his education at Stanford University, Frank went on to study at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. While living in a rooming house in Hollywood, he met another young Stanford graduate, who worked as an artist at The Walt Disney Studios. The artist told Frank about a job opening and on September 24, 1934, he joined Disney as employee no. 224 assigned to work on the short "Mickey's Elephant."
Over the years, Frank worked on nearly 20 animated features including, "Pinocchio," "Peter Pan," "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," "The Jungle Book," and "101 Dalmatians," as well as numerous shorts. He also accompanied Walt Disney and a select group of artists on a goodwill tour through South America, in 1941, on behalf of the American Government, which inspired the animated features "Saludos Amigos" and "The Three Caballeros."
In his spare time, Frank played piano with the internationally famous "Firehouse Five Plus Two" jazz band, along with fellow Disney artists, including Ward Kimball.
After nearly 45 years with the Studio, Frank retired in 1978. He went on to co-author four books with life-long friend and fellow animator Ollie Johnston, including the definitive "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life," "Too Funny For Words," "Walt Disney's Bambi: The Story and the Film," and "The Disney Villain." He and Ollie were also the subjects of the 1995 documentary "Frank and Ollie," which chronicles their unique friendship, which began at Stanford, and creative relationship at Disney.