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 briefly returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first te ...

'', which began running as an

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television series in 1955. Along with producer

Bill Walsh William Ernest Walsh (November 30, 1931 – July 30, 2007) was an American professional and college football coach. He served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal, during which time he popularized the West Coast off ...

, and others at the behest of

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 ...

, the show was created and Adelquist was credited as an associate producer 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 Places Australia * Mount Walsh, Mount Walsh National Park Canada * Fort Walsh, one of the first Royal Canadian Mounted ...

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 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 ...

prior to the

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

show as head assistant director on Disney's "

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

." Adelquist started with

as an

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 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 a group of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions' core animators, who worked at the studio from the 1920s to the 1980s. Some of the Nine Old Men also worked as directors, creating some of Disney's most ...

" 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 honor ...

, in a 1980s interview with

Michael Barrier Michael J. Barrier (born June 15, 1940) is an American animation historian, author, and critic, best known for his extensive research on the history of American animation and comic art. He is the author of ''Hollywood Cartoons: American Animat ...

, 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

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 or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, on July 11, 1914. His father, an accountant, came from a family of Swedish immigrants living in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, while his mother, Francis Williams, was from

. The family relocated to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

before 1920, and eventually settled 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, ...

where he attended

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans. Los Angeles High School is a publ ...

. After graduating in 1932 he went to work for

Disney Studios The Walt Disney Studios is a major division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company best known for housing its multifaceted film studio divisions. Founded on October 16, 1923, and based mainly at the namesake s ...

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 coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

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