Obituaries : Wilfred Jackson; Animator at Disney
Wilfred E. Jackson, the Academy Award-winning director of animation and a cartoon veteran whose experience dates to Mickey Mouse’s speaking debut in the 1928 “Steamboat Willie,” died Sunday night at his home on Balboa Island. The 33-year Walt Disney veteran, who had retired from that studio in 1961, was 82.
Starting with the first full-length Disney feature, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” released in 1938, Jackson had a hand in 11 major pictures: “Pinocchio,” “Fantasia” (he directed the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence), “Dumbo,” “Saludos Amigos,” “Song of the South,” “Melody Time,” “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan” and “Lady and the Tramp.”
Jackson also had helped Disney give the cartoon world a voice by devising a method of pre-timing animation with sound.
He won the first of his three Academy Awards for “The Tortoise and the Hare” in 1935. His others were for “The Country Cousin” in 1936 and “The Old Mill” in 1937.
A widower, Jackson is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
There will be no funeral.
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
