Ward Kimball, probably the most well-known of Walt’s Nine Old Men, departed Disney’s in 1973, some thirty-nine years after getting hired. He left for a variety of reasons (he was in his late fifties) but not getting along with upper management was the major one. Ward had worked as a supervising animator on the features, served as a director and story artist, and headed up his own animation unit. He had won an Academy Award for the featurette “It’s Tough To Be A Bird” a handful of years before walking away from the studio. At his departure, another featurette entitled “It’s a Dog’s Life” remained unfinished.
I talked to Ward a lot in the late seventies. What follows is the transcript of the interview I did with him in April, 1978, in his living room and sunny yard, a stone’s throw from his home railroad, full-size train, and his storage sheds filled with Disney toys. (Mr. Kimball passed away at age 88.)
[…]
Some pages of this site contain affiliate links. If you activate this feature and follow one of these links we will get a small provision for your purchases. These links contain information about the originating site and may allow the destination site to track your buying patterns. Please check our Privacy policy for more information.
