Leland "Lee" Hartman (February 27, 1930 – December 24, 2012) was an American animator and writer. Hartman graduated from the

Art Institute of Pittsburgh The Art Institute of Pittsburgh was a Private university, private Art school, art college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school emphasized design education and career preparation for the Creative industries, creative job market. It was founded ...

. Hartman was employed as an animator for the

Walt Disney Company 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 ...

from 1955 to 1960. His credits at Disney included animated pieces for ''

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 ...

''; the 1958 short film, ''

Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originate ...

'', which was directed by

Les Clark Leslie James Clark (November 17, 1907 – September 12, 1979) was an American animator and the first of Disney's Nine Old Men, joining Walt Disney Productions in 1927. Early life Les Clark was born in Ogden, Utah in 1907, the eldest of 12 ch ...

(a member of

Disney's Nine Old Men Disney's Nine Old Men were a group of 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 popular animated movies from '' ...

); and the

animated feature film These lists of animated feature films compile animated feature films from around the world and are organized alphabetically under the year of release (the year the completed film was first released to the public). Theatrical releases as well as ...

, ''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'', which was released in 1959. Hartman worked for

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...

during the 1990s. His animation for Warner Bros. included ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...

''. Hartman began writing, in addition to animation, during the 1960s. In 1997, he published a series of short horror stories called "The Darkendown Tales." He also ventured into acting, appearing as a reporter in the 1968 horror film, ''

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American Independent film, independent zombie horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John A. Russo, John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Har ...

'' and as the voice of the Reporter in ''Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated''.Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated
/ref> He also created the original sketch of "Slimer" for the animated Ghostbusters series. Hartman, who suffered from

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

for six years, had been hospitalized at Kane Regional Glen Hazel Center in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, since early 2012 due to his condition. He died in Pittsburgh on December 24, 2012, at the age of 82. He was a resident of

Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania Castle Shannon is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,249 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. History The first families settled Castle Shannon in 1786 in pursuit o ...

. Most of Hartman's extensive art collection was donated to the ToonSeum in Pittsburgh, where it will be on display. A smaller portion of his collection was bequeathed to the

Heinz History Center The Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the largest history museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. Named after U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III (1938–1991) from Pennsylvania, it i ...

References

External links

* 1930 births 2012 deaths American animators American male novelists People from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Walt Disney Animation Studios people 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American novelists American male short story writers Writers from Pennsylvania Art Institute of Pittsburgh alumni 20th-century American male writers Deaths from dementia in Pennsylvania {{US-animator-stub