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Kenneth John "Ken" O'Brien was an American animator, who was hired by March 1961 as a supervising animator at Arnold Gillespie's Quartet Films. Dan Gordon left Hanna-Barbera at the same time to work for the company. O'Brien had been at Disney for a number of years and was an animator on some of the most attractive cartoons ever produced by Walter Lantz (with his buddy, Fred Moore in the late '40s). He animated on the stylish John Sutherland propaganda short, "Destination Earth" (1956), and spent some thankless years toiling on dreck, such as the TV Magoos (he joined UPA in August 1960) and "He-Man". He also worked on animatronics in the mid-'60s at WED and taught at Cal Arts. O'Brien was from Butte, Montana, spent some teenaged years in Seattle, and was supporting his widowed mother on a Disney salary by 1940.

His work for Disney included character animation on Pinocchio, Bambi, Make Mine Music, Song of the South, the Bongo segment of Fun and Fancy Free, the Pecos Bill segment of Melody Time, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Donald's Diary, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, the ABC Afterschool Specials episode "The Last of the Curlews", Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, and the ABC Weekend Specials episodes "The Puppy's Great Adventure", "The Puppy's Amazing Rescue", and "P.J. Funnybunny".

He died January 17, 1990, at age 74.

Filmography[]

Year Film Position
1937 The Old Mill in-between artist - uncredited
1940 Pinocchio assistant animator - uncredited
1940 Fantasia assistant animator - segments: "The Nutcracker Suite"
"The Pastoral Symphony" - uncredited
1942 Bambi animator
1944 The Three Caballeros animator - uncredited
1946 Make Mine Music animator
1946 Squatter's Rights animator - uncredited
1946 Song of the South animator
1947 Fun and Fancy Free character animator: "Bongo"
1948 Melody Time character animator)
"Pecos Bill" - animator
1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad animator - uncredited
1949 Toy Tinkers animator - uncredited
1950 Cinderella character animator
1951 Alice in Wonderland animator - uncredited
1953 Peter Pan character animator
1954 Donald's Diary animator
1955 Lady and the Tramp character animator
directing animator - uncredited
1959 Sleeping Beauty character animator
1961 Aquamania animator - uncredited
1970 The Aristocats animator - uncredited
1973 Robin Hood animator - uncredited
1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh animator - uncredited
1983 Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore animator

Gallery[]


v - e - d
Walt Disney Animation Studios - Transparent Logo
1920s—1970s
Disney's Nine Old Men: Milt KahlFrank ThomasOllie JohnstonLes ClarkJohn LounsberyMarc DavisWard KimballEric LarsonWolfgang Reitherman

Animators: Bill TytlaArt BabbittLee BlairPreston BlairFred MooreShamus CulhaneCy YoungDon LuskNorman FergusonHal KingJack HannahDick KinneyHal AmbroKen O'BrienJudge WhitakerBill JusticeDon BluthGary GoldmanCharles A. NicholsBlaine GibsonJohn EwingWalt StanchfieldRolly CrumpFred HellmichAmby PaliwodaWilfred JacksonXavier AtencioBen SharpsteenEarl HurdDale OliverEric CleworthDavid HandFred SpencerJulius SvendsenJack BradburyKenneth MuseRudolf IsingHugh HarmanFriz FrelengWalt KellyLeo SalkinJohn DehnerRetta ScottDavid SwiftMel ShawJack CuttingGrant SimmonsArt StevensFrank TashlinWathel RogersTyrus WongJohnny Cannon
Visual Development, Layout, Background Artists and Character Designers: Gustaf TenggrenMary BlairMarjorie RalstonLillian BoundsJoe GrantMel ShawClaude CoatsDon DaGradiJohn HenchEyvind EarleKen O'ConnorThor PutnamAlbert HurterJohn HubleyHerbert RymanDon GriffithBasil DavidovichJack BoydPeter EllenshawRuthie TompsonEarl DuvallRetta DavidsonUb IwerksVance GerryHazel SewellJames BodreroLance NolleyGrace BaileyMaurice NobleDale BarnhartAndy EngmanEustace LycettJohn EmersonJoe Hale
Storyboard Artists and Writers: Bill PeetRalph WrightDick HuemerFloyd NormanYale GraceyTed SearsErdman PennerJoe RinaldiWinston HiblerOtto EnglanderWilliam CottrellBill BergAl BertinoT. HeeHomer BrightmanTed OsbourneLarry ClemmonsHarry ReevesJesse MarshChuck CouchWebb SmithDick Sebast
Directors: Clyde GeronimiHamilton LuskeJack KinneyTed BermanRichard RichGeorge ScribnerRiley ThomsonDick LundyJack KingBurt GillettJames AlgarBill RobertsLarry Lansburgh
Producers: Walt DisneyRon MillerKen AndersonDon DuckwallPerce PearceMargaret J. Winkler

1980s—present
Renaissance Directors: Rob MinkoffRoger AllersGary TrousdaleKirk WiseChris SandersMark DindalJohn Musker

Story Trust Directors: Ron ClementsChris BuckByron HowardDon HallChris WilliamsRich MooreStephen J. AndersonNathan GrenoFawn Veerasunthorn
Producers: Peter Del VechoClark SpencerRoy ConliDorothy McKimDon HahnShane Morris
Chief Creative Officer: Jennifer Lee
Associated Figures: Bob IgerRoy Edward DisneyMichael EisnerJohn LasseterEd CatmullJeffrey KatzenbergBob Chapek
Signature Voice Actors: Jim CummingsAlan TudykKatie LowesJohn DiMaggioMaurice LaMarcheJodi BensonDavid Ogden StiersJesse CortiPaul BriggsRaymond S. PersiPhil JohnstonFrank WelkerBill FarmerBrian Cummings
Signature Musicians: Robert B. Sherman Richard M. Sherman Alan Menken Kristen Anderson-Lopez Robert LopezLin-Manuel MirandaHoward AshmanTim RicePhil CollinsStephen SchwartzMarc ShaimanDanny Troob
Supervising Animators: Glen KeaneAndreas DejaEric GoldbergMark HennJohn PomeroyRandy HaycockDale BaerTony BancroftTom BancroftTony FucileAnthony DeRosaRuss EdmondsRandy HaycockBruce W. SmithDuncan MarjoribanksRuben AquinoNik RanieriRon HusbandRick FarmiloeTom SitoTony AnselmoWill FinnKathy Zielinski
Visual Development & Storyboard Artists: Dean DeBloisClaire KeaneBrittney LeeJin KimShiyoon KimRyan Green

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