David "Dave" Swift (July 27, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American screenwriter,

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

, director, and producer. He is best known for writing and directing the 1967 film, '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying''. Swift began his career as an animator and filmmaker at The Walt Disney Studios where he adapted the story of '' Pollyanna'' for the screen and wrote and directed '' The Parent Trap'' (1961).

Life and career

Born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Swift's father owned a factory that made sausage casings. After

the depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, he dropped out of school at the age of 17 and boarded a freight train to California to pursue his goal of working for

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

. After arriving in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Swift worked several odd jobs to earn money including working as an usher at the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

theatre. In between work, he attended art school and also attended Hollywood High School at night. He began his career at The Walt Disney Studio as an office boy and rose to be an assistant animator under

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honor ...

in 1938. After serving with the 8th Air Force during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Swift became a radio and television writer. He attracted acclaim as the creator of '' Mister Peepers''. Swift re-joined Disney as the writer, director and producer of '' Pollyanna'' (1960), followed by '' The Parent Trap'' (1961). After making '' Love Is a Ball'', Swift was then contracted to

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

for '' The Interns'', '' Under the Yum Yum Tree'' and '' Good Neighbor Sam'', the latter two with

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...

. He also created the TV shows '' Grindl'', '' Camp Runamuck'', and ''

Arnie Arnie is a masculine given name, frequently a shortened version of Arnold. It may refer to: People * Arnie Arenz (1911–1985), American National Football League quarterback in 1934 * Arnie Beyeler (born 1964), American minor league baseball p ...

''. Swift returned to Disney to write '' Candleshoe'' in 1977. During the 1980s, he worked as a writer and director for television. His final project was the screenplay for the 1998 remake of ''The Parent Trap'', starring

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...

, Natasha Richardson and

Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), '' The Big Easy'' (1986), '' Innerspace'' (1987), '' Great Balls of Fire!'' (1989), ' ...

Personal life

In 1951, Swift married actress Maggie McNamara. They later divorced. He married model Micheline Swift in 1957 to whom he remained married until his death. The couple had two daughters, Michelle and Wendon.

Death

On December 31, 2001, Swift died of heart failure at St. John's Health Center in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, at the age of 82.

References

External links

*
The Papers of David Swift
at the Special Collections & University Archives at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, David 1919 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American animated film directors American animated film producers American comedy film directors American male film actors American male screenwriters American male television actors American television directors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Film directors from Los Angeles Film directors from Minnesota Film producers from California Film producers from Minnesota Hollywood High School alumni Male actors from Minneapolis Military personnel from Minnesota Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Minnesota Television producers from California United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Writers from Minneapolis