Don Patterson (December 26, 1909 - December 12, 1998) was an American producer,

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 ...

, and director who worked at various studios during the

Golden age of American animation The golden age of American animation was a period that began with the popularization of Sound film, sound synchronized cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the 1960s when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medi ...

, including

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 ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (also commonly referred to as MGM Cartoons) was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsi ...

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1949 and then from 1950 to 1972, and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures. The studio was originally formed as Universal Carto ...

Grantray-Lawrence Animation Grantray-Lawrence Animation was an American animation studio active from 1954 to 1968 and founded by Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson (hence "Grant-Ray"), and Robert L. Lawrence. This animation company produced commercials and low-budget animated ...

, and

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

. He was the older brother of animator Ray Patterson.

Career

Patterson began his career in the early 1930s as an

in-betweener The In-Betweener is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in ''Warlock'' #9 (1975). Publication history The character first appeared in ''Warlock ...

at the

Charles Mintz Charles Bear Mintz (November 5, 1889 – December 30, 1939)''Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American film producer and distributor who assumed control over Margaret J. Winkler's Winkler Pict ...

Studio, and then moved to

Universal Cartoon Studios Universal Animation Studios LLC, formerly known as Universal Cartoon Studios, is an American animation studio and a division of Universal 1440 Entertainment, an home entertainment division of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, which in tur ...

. He began working at the Walt Disney Studios in 1935, contributing to Disney's short subjects as well as their to five theatrical films: ''Pinocchio'', ''Fantasia'' (''Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria'' Segment), ''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy Comedy drama, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film i ...

'', ''

The Three Caballeros ''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action and animated musical propaganda anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the ...

'' and ''

Make Mine Music ''Make Mine Music'' is a 1946 American animated Musical film, musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures on April 20, 1946. During World War II, much of Walt Disney's staff was drafted into the United Stat ...

''. Patterson eventually left Disney in 1946 and moved to the

. Initially he worked with

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who is best known for co-creating ''Tom and Jerry'' and providing the vocal effects for the series' title characters. Alongside Joseph B ...

and

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator and cartoonist, best known as the co-founder of the animation studio Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian Americans, Italian immigrants in New York City, Bar ...

on ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

'' (the same unit as his brother

Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

worked in) before moving to a unit headed by

Michael Lah Michael Richard Lah (September 1, 1912 – October 13, 1995) was an American animator of Slovene origin. He is best remembered for his work at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, primarily as a member of Tex Avery's animation unit. He first w ...

and

Preston Blair Preston Erwin Blair (October 24, 1908 – April 19, 1995) was an American character animation, character animator, best remembered for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio. ...

to animate three ''

Barney Bear ''Barney Bear'' is an American series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by MGM Cartoons. The title character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a sluggish, sleepy bear who often is in pursuit of nothing except for peace and qui ...

'' shorts. He left MGM after the Lah and Blair unit was disbanded by management not long after. In the early 1950s, Patterson returned to Universal as the animation studio was now called Walter Lantz Productions and became one of Lantz's four key animators, along with Ray Abrams,

Laverne Harding Emily Laverne Harding (October 10, 1905 – September 25, 1984) was an American animator and cartoonist. Early life Harding was born on October 10, 1905, to Christians John B. Harding and Pearle W. Harding in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her family m ...

and

Paul Smith Paul Smith is the name of: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (English singer) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of British in ...

. He would eventually become a director himself in 1952.

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

, in his book ''Of Mice and Magic'', said that Patterson showed great aptitude for the assignment. His shorts are praised for showcasing a level of ambition and smart storytelling despite working with more meager budgets compared to MGM. His better remembered shorts include ''

Termites from Mars This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 2024 cartoons (195 Woody shorts and 9 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...

'' (1953), ''

Hypnotic Hick ''Hypnotic Hick ''is a 1953 Woody Woodpecker cartoon supervised by Don Patterson. The film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and released on September 26, 1953 by Universal International. The short is notable for being the first and on ...

'' (1953), ''

Socko in Morocco This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 2024 cartoons (195 Woody shorts and 9 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...

,'' '' Alley to Bali'', ''

A Fine Feathered Frenzy This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 2024 cartoons (195 Woody shorts and 9 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...

'' and '' Convict Concerto'' (all 1954). Patterson was eventually demoted back to an animator when

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (; February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of America ...

was brought in to direct a few shorts. He would continue to animate for Lantz until 1960, when he moved to

. Patterson won a Golden Award at the 1985 Motion Pictures Screen Cartoonists Awards.Don Patterson – Awards

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

. Patterson died on December 12, 1998, at

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, just 14 days short of his 89th birthday.

Selected Filmography

References

External links

* 1909 births 1998 deaths Animators from Illinois Film directors from Illinois American animated film directors American animated film producers Disney people Hanna-Barbera people Walt Disney Animation Studios people Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people Walter Lantz Productions people {{US-animator-stub