Brice Harvey Mack (June 2, 1917 – January 2, 2008) was a background painter and director, known for his extensive work at
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
in the 1940s and 1950s as a background painter. He was hired for story writing at Disney in the 1950s, and worked on illustrating children's books based on the studio's films.
His first credited appearance was as the
background artist
A background artist or sometimes called a background stylist or background painter is one who is involved in the process of animation who establishes the color, style, and mood of a scene drawn by an animation layout artist. The methods used can e ...
for the ''Rite of Spring'' sequence in ''
Fantasia''. He worked on ''
Song of the South
''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated musical film, musical comedy-drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson, produced by Walt Disney, and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pi ...
'', ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
'', ''
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...
'', and ''
Lady and the Tramp
''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. Based on Ward Greene's 1945 ''Cosmopolitan (magazine) ...
''. He also worked on Walt Disney's
anthology television series
An anthology series is a written series, radio program, radio, television show, television, film series, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, Season (television) ...
as a background painter and writer in the late 1950s. In the 1950s he became the president of
ERA Productions, a small studio which was staffed with animators who had mostly come from Disney after leaving during the
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
* Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
* Airstrike, ...
of 1941, producing and directing animated and live action commercials for the Peterson Company, as well as work for Disney. He later went on to form Unicorn Productions, with which he continued to work on commercials, films, and theme park rides, continuing to consult for Disney into the early 1990s, when he retired.
His feature work includes directing the 1978
live-action
Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...
horror film ''
Jennifer'', written by
Steve Krantz. Other director credits include ''Rooster: Spurs of Death'' (1983), ''
Swap Meet
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell Used good, previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of ...
'' (1979), and ''
Half a House'' (1979). He was the executive in charge of production for ''
Ruby
Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...
'' and the producer of ''
Mara of the Wilderness''.
Mack was survived by his wife, Ginni, three sons and three grandsons. His son
Kevin Mack is an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
–winning
visual effects supervisor
In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director or producers through the use of visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the pr ...
.
Awards
Brice Mack was awarded the Golden Motion Picture Cartoonist award in 1987.
Filmography
References
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External links
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American animators
Background artists
Walt Disney Animation Studios people
1917 births
2008 deaths
Filipino emigrants to the United States
{{US-animator-stub