Gerald Potterton

Gerald Potterton (8 March 1931 – 23 August 2022) was a British–Canadian director, writer, producer and animator. He is best known for directing the cult classic '' Heavy Metal'' and his animation work on '' Yellow Submarine''.

Potterton was nominated three times for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film: as director on the National Film Board of Canada animated shorts ''My Financial Career'' and ''Christmas Cracker'', and as producer for '' The Selfish Giant''.

Personal life

Born in London, Potterton attended the Hammersmith Art School. He emigrated from England to live in Canada in 1955.

Potterton lived in Cowansville, Quebec, Canada, where he was involved in the production of live and animated motion pictures. Inspired by Quebec's pastoral Eastern Townships, he painted landscapes and aviation subjects. He died on 23 August 2022, at the age of 91.

Professional career

After working as an assistant animator in London, Potterton joined the NFB in 1954 where he directed both animated and live-action films. He collaborated with Harold Pinter on '' Pinter's People'' in 1969 and Buster Keaton on '' The Railrodder'' in 1965.

After contributing to George Dunning's animated feature ''Yellow Submarine'' in 1968,
he returned to freelance work in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

During the early 1970s, among other projects, he directed live-action and animated sequences for ''Sesame Street'' and '' The Electric Company''.

In 1981, he was hired by producer Ivan Reitman to direct the animated feature ''Heavy Metal''. Potterton coordinated more than one thousand artists, animators and technicians from seventeen countries working in Los Angeles, New York, London, Montreal and Ottawa.

During the 1980s and 1990s, he continued making animated and live-action features for television and video.

Potterton Productions

Established in 1968, this production company produced both live-action and animated films. Apart from Potterton's own projects, this company produced Peter Sander's '' The Selfish Giant'' and Larry Kent's ''Fleur Bleue'' in 1971, Mike Mills' '' The Happy Prince'' in 1974, ''The Little Mermaid'' in 1975, and in 1975 ''The Christmas Messenger''. The company was closed in 1974.

Later works

Potterton recently directed Sandy Wilson's musical '' The Boy Friend'' at Theatre Lac Brome, and created and directed ''Peter Piper and the Plane People''. Also, through Potterton Studios, he was writing ''A Stage Too Far''.

Filmography

Other works

Potterton illustrated the 1977 children's book, ''Scouse the Mouse'', by Donald Pleasence. He also wrote '' The Star (and George)'', published by Harper & Row, 1968.

Awards and honours

From 1970 to 1971 Potterton served as vice-president of l'Association Internationale des films d'animation (ASIFA). He was a distinguished member of the Royal Canadian Academy (RCA).

At the 12th Annual Cartoons on the Bay International Festival of Television Animation in Salerno, Italy, in April 2008, Potterton received the Pulcinella Lifetime Achievement Award.http://www.geraldpotterton.ca/news.html

In September 2002, he received The Buster Award at The Buster Keaton Celebration.

Other awards include:

See also

References

External links

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Watch Gerald Potterton's films on the NFB website

Gerald Potterton, ''Canadian Film Encyclopedia''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potterton, Gerald
1931 births
2022 deaths
British animators
British film producers
British television directors
British illustrators
National Film Board of Canada people
Film directors from London
British animated film directors
Canadian animated film directors
British animated film producers
Canadian animated film producers
English expatriates in Canada
People from Cowansville