Gordon A. Sheehan (born Gordon Augustine Holland May 11, 1910 – September 6, 1996), was an American

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

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

. He spent the early part of his career at

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...

animating notable features such as

Betty Boop Betty Boop is a cartoon character designed by Grim Natwick at the request of Max Fleischer. She originally appeared in the '' Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pic ...

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, and

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

, among other works.

Early life

Born in Mechanicville,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, he was the seventh of eight children of Patrick and Anna (Hammond) Holland, who were Irish immigrants from

county Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

. After the death of his mother at the age of five, he went to live with a family by the name of Sheehan, whose surname he assumed, although, he was never legally adopted by them.

Education

Sheehan was a 1928 graduate of Mechanicville High School, and received his artistic education at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

, graduating in 1932.

Career

Sheehan joined the Fleischer Studio in 1933, where he worked animating various series of cartoon, such as

. Sheehan formed his own studio in 1944 that largely produced animated governmental and educational films, along with cartoons inspired by the work of

Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), better known as Rube Goldberg (), was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated ...

. Later he was the head of animation at Sound Masters, Inc. and

Coronet Films Coronet Films (also known as Coronet Instructional Media Inc.) was an American producer and distributor of documentary shorts shown in public schools, mostly in the 16mm format, from the 1940s through the 1980s (when the videocassette recorder r ...

. After his retirement, Sheehan was an animation professor at

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

, where he taught and inspired notable animator

Genndy Tartakovsky Gennady Borisovich "Genndy" Tartakovsky (; born January 17, 1970) is a Soviet-born American animation, animator, screenwriter, film producer, and film director, director. He is best known as the creator of various animated television series on ...

. Tartakovsky recalled, “my first nimationteacher was Gordon Sheehan, he was 90 years old. He was an old

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.otdo this for a living, cause he still drew, like, that old Fleischer style in circles, and he was amazing and very inspiring, and I realized I couldn’t not do it.” Sheehan received a lifetime achievement award from the International Animation Association (Midwest Chapter) and the Official Popeye Fan Club. He died of heart failure in Chicago on September 6, 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehan, Gordon A. 1910 births 1996 deaths People from Mechanicville, New York Pratt Institute alumni Fleischer Studios people American people of Irish descent 20th-century American artists Animators from New York (state) American humorists Columbia College Chicago faculty