Michael Richard Lah (September 1, 1912 – October 13, 1995) 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 ...

of Slovene origin. He is best remembered for his work at the

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 ...

, primarily as a member of

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 ...

's animation unit. He first worked 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 ...

shorts before going to work on Droopy/Tex Avery shorts.

Early life and career

Lah was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He worked briefly at Walt Disney Studios before joining the

Harman-Ising Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were an American animation team and company known for founding the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios. In 1929, the studio was founded under the name Harman-Ising Productions, producing ''Looney T ...

studio in the mid-1930s. He later worked for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

as an animator and director, remaining until the studio closed in 1957. During his MGM tenure, he animated for both the Hanna-Barbera and

units as well as co-directing at various times with

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. ...

and Avery. He was promoted to the post of full-time director after Hanna and Barbera were made studio producers. After he left MGM, he briefly rejoined Hanna-Barbera at their television cartoon studio as an animator on ''

The Huckleberry Hound Show ''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and the second series produced by the studio following '' The Ruff and Reddy Show''. The show first aired in syndication on Septembe ...

'' and various other shows, then joined Quartet Films, a commercial animation studio that created television commercials for

Kelloggs Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets convenience foods and snack f ...

and Green Giant Foods. Some characters that Lah designed include Tony the Tiger, the Jolly Green Giant, Snap, Crackle and Pop, the Hamm's Beer Bear, and the Baltimore Orioles. He was an active member of

ASIFA-Hollywood ASIFA-Hollywood, an American non-profit organization in Los Angeles, California, is a branch member of the International Animated Film Association. Its purpose is to promote the art of film animation in a variety of ways, including its own arc ...

, serving on the board for several years. In 1984, Lah received the

Winsor McCay Award The Winsor McCay Award is given to individuals in recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation in producing, directing, animating, design, writing, voice acting, sound and sound effects, technical work, music, professio ...

for his lifetime of work in the animation field.

Personal life and death

He was married to Alberta Wogatzke, the twin sister of Violet Wogatzke (

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 ...

's wife). Lah died on October 13, 1995, 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, ...

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 ...

References

External links

*
Michael Lah animation sketches from ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
1912 births 1995 deaths American animated film directors Hanna-Barbera people Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people American people of Slovenian descent {{US-animator-stub