William Osborne "Tuck" Tucker III (August 20, 1961 – December 22, 2020)
was an American writer, storyboard artist, animator, songwriter, and director who worked on ''
Hey Arnold!
''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Craig Bartlett for Nickelodeon. It originally aired from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandparents in an inner ...
'' and ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
''. He directed ''
Hey Arnold!: The Movie'' in 2002.
Early life and education
Tucker was born in Lynchburg, Virginia.
He attended
Virginia Episcopal School
Virginia Episcopal School (VES) is a private, co-educational college preparatory, boarding and day school for students in grades 9 - 12, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. The school was first conceived in 1906 by the Reverend Rob ...
and
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...
. He would spend most of his time at home watching cartoons with his father and cites these experiences as being very special to him. He married Connie Dyste in 1990 and had one daughter, Gina Tucker. The family resided in
La Cañada Flintridge. Connie Tucker died of a rare cancer in 2015 and Tucker moved home to Virginia to teach art to students at
Longwood University
Longwood University is a public university in Farmville, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary and colloquially known as Longwood or Longwood College, it is the third-oldest public university in Virginia and one of ...
.
Career
While in animation class, his instructor moved him to
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, ...
after graduation for work at
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 ...
to work on films like ''
The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...
'' as his first animation job. Afterwards, he left to work on shows like ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' from
Fox
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species ...
,
and then going to
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
while switching from storyboard work on ''
Rugrats
''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-d ...
'' and ''
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. It is the fifth Nicktoons, Nicktoon after ''Doug (TV series), Doug'', ''Rugrats'', ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' and ''Rocko's Modern Li ...
'' to directing on ''
Hey Arnold!
''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Craig Bartlett for Nickelodeon. It originally aired from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandparents in an inner ...
''.
After that, he moved on to ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
''. He went from being a storyboard artist on ''
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy film, animated adventure comedy film based on the television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. It was co-written, co-produced, and directed by series creator Stephen Hill ...
'' to being a writer and storyboard director,
and then a supervising storyboard director. During his time on ''SpongeBob'', he won the 38th Annual
Annie Award
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...
in 2011 for Best Music in a Television Production alongside Jeremy Wakefield, Sage Guyton, and Nick Carr.
Afterwards, he went to direct on ''
The Fairly OddParents
''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two Fairy godmother, fairy godparents named List of The Fai ...
'' during
its ninth season.
In January 2015, Tucker began teaching graphic and animation design at Longwood University in
Farmville, Virginia
Farmville is a town in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward and Cumberland County, Virginia, Cumberland counties in the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward County. ...
.
Death
Tucker died in Lynchburg on December 22, 2020, at age 59.
[ "Tuck Tucker died on December 22, 2020, in his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia..."] His cause of death was not publicly disclosed.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Tuck
1961 births
2020 deaths
American television writers
American male television writers
American storyboard artists
Animators from Virginia
Artists from Virginia
American television directors
Film directors from Virginia
American animated film directors
Prop designers
Nickelodeon Animation Studio people
Nickelodeon people
Walt Disney Animation Studios people
Writers from Lynchburg, Virginia
Songwriters from Virginia
Screenwriters from Virginia