Hal Adelquist (11 July 1914 – 26 March 1981) was an American animator, storyboard writer, animation and TV producer primarily known for his work in helping to create and produce ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...

'', which began running as an

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television series in 1955. Along with producer, Bill Walsh, and others at the behest of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

, the show was created and Adelquist was credited as an

associate producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, dir ...

for several of the episodes where he served as right-hand man to

Walsh Walsh may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walsh (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places * Fort Walsh, one of the first posts of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police * Walsh, Ontario, Norfolk ...

Career

Adelquist's ideas helped create the show from early conception to the first year, and he ensured that the series met production schedules. Adelquist also had served under

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

prior to the Mickey Mouse Club show as head assistant director on Disney's "

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

." Adelquist started with

as an

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple 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 gam ...

and later was promoted to "middle" management. Early in his career he served as an

, then worked in the personnel department, and then was put in charge of the story department. One of his more notable tasks was to serve as a liaison between

and his famous "

Nine Old Men Disney's Nine Old Men were Walt Disney Productions' core animators, some of whom later became directors, who created some of Disney's most famous animated cartoons, from '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (1937) onward to ''The Rescuers'' (197 ...

" of animation. It was later revealed by famous animator,

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 honored ...

, in a 1980s interview with

Michael Barrier Michael J. Barrier (born June 15, 1940) is an American animation historian. Work Barrier was the founder and editor of ''Funnyworld'', the first magazine exclusively devoted to comics and animation. It began as a contribution to the CAPA-Alpha a ...

, that the animators had chosen Hal as their spokesperson, even though by position he was studio management. Adelquist was demoted to "talent scout" in 1956 after working tirelessly to get the Mickey Mouse Club show off the ground. Shortly thereafter he resigned, never to work at

again.

Personal life

Harold Williams Adelquist was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, on July 11, 1914. His father, an accountant, came from a family of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants living in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, while his mother, Francis Williams, was from

. The family relocated to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

before 1920, and eventually settled in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where he attended

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest Public education#United States, public high school in the Southern California, Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are ...

. After graduating in 1932 he went to work for

Disney Studios The Walt Disney Studios is an American film and entertainment studio, and is the Studios Content segment of the Walt Disney Company. Based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California, the studio is best known for its multifaceted ...

that very year. He later married and had two daughters. Harold Williams Adelquist died March 26, 1981 in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adelquist, Hal 1914 births 1981 deaths Animators from Utah American storyboard artists American animated film producers American television producers Artists from Salt Lake City Disney people American people of Swedish descent

Career

Personal life

References

Other reading

External links