Disney artist Vance Gerry dies at age 75, worked on classic Disney
animated films
Vance Gerry, a veteran Disney animation storyman, layout artist, and
visual development artist since 1955, passed away on Saturday, March
5th at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California, of complications
from cancer. He was 75 years old.
Regarded as one of the most talented and creative story artists in
the animation industry, Gerry contributed to such classic Disney animated
features as "101 Dalmatians," "The Jungle Book,"
"The Aristocats," "Robin Hood," "The Rescuers,"
"The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh," "The Great
Mouse Detective," "Oliver & Company," "Pocahontas,"
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Hercules," "Tarzan,"
"Fantasia/2000," and "Home on the Range."
Up until his death, Gerry continued to work closely with 96-year-old
Disney legend Joe Grant (who co-wrote "Dumbo," and designed
the Queen/Witch character for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"),
and Burny Mattinson (a 50-year veteran himself whose credits include
animating, directing and storyman), adapting books and developing original
story ideas. The trio comically referred to their group as the "Geriatricals."
Commenting on Gerry's passing, Grant said, "Vance was one of the
finest graphic artists of our times, and he also was a great storyteller.
I wish I had known him sooner and worked with him longer. In addition
to his interests and talents in the field of animation, he was a master
of topography and design. I loved working with him. He made an enormous
impact in the art world of animation and he made coming to work a lot
of fun."
Don Hahn, producer of such animated blockbusters as "Beauty and
the Beast" and "The Lion King," added, "Vance had
his fingerprints all over such iconic animated films as 'The Jungle
Book,' '101 Dalmatians,' and 'Beauty and the Beast.' He was a writer's
writer and his sense of storytelling and influence on all of us was
profound. He was one of the smartest and most charming storymen the
industry has seen. A generation of filmmakers studied under his wing
and learned from his spectacular storyboards. It wasn't that he drew
better than others, or wrote better than others, or communicated emotion
and character better than others. It was that he did all these things
and did them well for decades that makes Vance's legacy stand apart."
Born in Pasadena, California in 1929, Gerry studied at the Chouinard
Art Institute before joining Disney in 1955. He began his career as
an assistant in-betweener. Moving on to layout artist, he contributed
to such Disney television shows as "The Goofy Success Story,"
"Goofy's Cavalcade of Sports," and "How to Relax,"
and such featurettes as "The Truth About Mother Goose," and
"Donald in Mathmagic Land." As a layout artist, he also worked
on the features, "101 Dalmatians," and "The Sword in
the Stone."
Gerry exhibited his talents for story beginning with the 1967 Disney
classic, "The Jungle Book," and went on to be a major contributor
to such other Disney favorites as "The Aristocats," "Robin
Hood," "The Rescuers," "The Many Adventures of Winnie
the Pooh," "The Fox and the Hound," "The Black Cauldron,"
"Oliver & Company," and "Hercules."
He received a story adaptation credit for the 1986 Disney feature,
"The Great Mouse Detective." For "Fantasia/2000,"
he worked on the conceptual storyboards for the "Carnival of the
Animals" sequence.
From 1995 forward, Gerry turned his attention to visual development
and character design. In those capacities, he contributed to such later
features as "Pocahontas," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame,"
"Tarzan," and "Home on the Range."
Discussing his work with animation historian John Canemaker for the
book, "Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney
Inspirational Sketch Artists," Gerry expressed a relaxed confidence
about the creative process. "It doesn't take much to get started,"
he said. "I'd just as soon start with a title of a picture and
just start dreaming into it. A script is restricting because it tells
you too much. I'd rather start earlier than that and look for possibilities
for animation and entertainment, rather than story elements or structure.
A lot of things come quick at first. But once you get really tired of
a project and can't stand it anymore, that's the time you're really
going to get going on it. All the things that the guys work on so hard
for a long time usually come off better."
In addition to his activities at Walt Disney Feature Animation, Gerry
also operated his own letter press, The Weatherbird Press, which published
many fine print graphic books.
Gerry is survived by his wife, Mary, of 48 years, and his niece, Elizabeth
Soder, of Red Bluff, California. A memorial service is scheduled for
this Friday (3/11) at 1:00 pm at Annandale Golf Club (One N. San Rafael
Ave.) in Pasadena. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the
International Museum of Graphic Communication, 8469 Kass Drive, Buena
Park, CA 90621; 714/523-2080.
