Ralph Waldo Wright was an American actor, story/storyboard writer, director, and animation pioneer, who, for Disney, was best known for providing the gloomy, sullen voice of Eeyore from the popular Winnie the Pooh franchise. Wright came to the studio circa in 1940 and became well-known throughout the ensuing decades for his endearingly gloomy and sullen personality traits, as well as his notable bass voice. He turned out to be a natural model for Eeyore when the studio began development on Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.
He, along with his fellow Disney contemporaries, was a pioneer in the use of "gags" within cartoons, often acted out in front of the "storyboard", a bulletin board pinned with sequential sketches of the cartoon's scenes. This technique is still in use today in most major animation studios. He spent the last 30 years of his life in San Luis Obispo County. He loved his grandchildren dearly and spent many hours teaching them to see the minute details in life, which were extraordinarily fascinating and humorous to him. He died at his home in Los Osos, California from a heart attack.
Filmography[]
- Goofy's Glider - 1940 - Animator, story
- The Art of Self Defense - 1941 - Animator, story
- How to Ride a Horse - 1941 - Writer/storyboard team
- Saludos Amigos - 1942 - Writer/storyboard team
- Bambi - 1942 - Story developer
- The Three Caballeros - 1944 - Writer
- The Eyes Have It - 1945 - Story
- Donald's Crime - 1945 - Story
- Song of the South - 1946 - Cartoon story
- Crazy with the Heat - 1947 - Story
- Dude Duck - 1951 - Story
- Plutopia - 1951 - Story
- Trick or Treat - 1952 - Story
- Lambert the Sheepish Lion - 1952 - story
- Peter Pan - 1953 - Writer/storyboard team
- Don's Fountain of Youth - 1953 - Story
- Lady and the Tramp - 1955 - Writer/storyboard team
- Perri - 1957 - Director, writer/storyboard team
- Sleeping Beauty - 1959 - Additional story
- Nikki, Wild Dog of the North - 1961 - Writer/storyboard team
- Aquamania - 1961 - story
- Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree - 1966 - Story, voice: Eeyore
- The Jungle Book - 1967 - Writer/storyboard team, voice: Gloomy elephant (uncredited)
- Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day -1968 - story, voice: Eeyore
- The Aristocats - 1970 - Writer/storyboard team
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks - 1971 - Animation story
- "The City Fox" - 1972 - The Wonderful World of Disney - Contributing writer
- "Rogue's Rock" - 1974 - The Wonderful World of Disney - Writer
- Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! - 1974 - Story
- Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore - 1983 - Voice: Eeyore (final role)
Role[]
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