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Les Clark

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Les Clark
Born
Leslie James Clark

(1907-11-17)November 17, 1907
Ogden, Utah, U.S.
DiedSeptember 12, 1979(1979-09-12) (aged 71)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
OccupationAnimator
Known forOne of Disney's Nine Old Men
Spouse(s)Miriam Lauritzen (m. ?; div. 1952)
Georgia Vester
​
(m. 1967)​
Children2

Leslie James "Les" Clark (November 17, 1907 – September 12, 1979) was the first of Disney's Nine Old Men. Joining Disney in 1927, he was the only one to work on the origins of Mickey Mouse with Ub Iwerks.

Early life

Les Clark was born in Ogden, Utah in 1907, the eldest of 12 children to James Clark, a carpenter,[1] and Lute Wadsworth.[2] By 1910, the family lived in Salt Lake City[1] and by 1920, they lived in Twin Falls, Idaho.[3] By 1930, they lived in Los Angeles,[4] where he attended Venice High School. During high school, he worked a summer job at an ice cream shop near Walt Disney Studios in Hollywood. Walt and Roy Disney were frequent patrons at the shop, and Walt had once complimented Les on his lettering job of the menus. Eventually, Les got the courage to ask Walt for a job. He recalled Walt's reply:

...[Walt said] 'Bring some of your drawings in and let's see what they look like.' So, I copied some cartoons and showed them to Walt. He said I had a good line, and why don't I come to work on Monday.[5]

Les reported to the studio the Monday after he graduated high school for a temporary position.[6]

He and his wife, Miriam, had a son, Richard,[7] and a daughter, Miriam.

Career at Disney Studio

Les started work at the studio first as a camera operator and doing ink and paint on the animations. He moved on to work under the guidance of Ub Iwerks. During the development of the character Mickey Mouse, Clark was promoted to the position of 'inbetweener' where he worked on a scene for the upcoming Steamboat Willie. Les was then promoted to Animator and was tasked with the iconic scene The Skeleton Dance in Silly Symphony. After Ub Iwerks left Disney, Clark was given the position as lead animator on Mickey Mouse. He continued honing his craft, attending art classes while working at the studio. As he improved, he was given the task of animating The Seven Dwarfs in the upcoming film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in particular, the scene where Snow White dances with each of the seven dwarfs. He would go on to animate the iconic Disney characters Pinocchio, Cinderella, Alice and Tinkerbell.[6]

Animation Style

Les Clark was known in his style of animating for timing his animation to musical scores as well as his ability to convey emotion in his work.[6]

Death

Les Clark died of cancer in Santa Barbara, CA on September 12, 1979.

Filmography

Year Title Credits Characters
1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Animator
1940 Pinocchio Animator
Fantasia Animator - Segments "The Nutcracker Suite" and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
1941 Dumbo Animator
1943 Saludos Amigos (Short) Animator
1945 The Three Caballeros Animator
1946 Make Mine Music Animator
Song of the South Directing Animator
1947 Fun and Fancy Free Directing Animator
1948 You Were Meant for Me Choreographer
Melody Time Directing Animator
1949 So Dear to My Heart Animator
1950 Cinderella Directing Animator
1951 Plutopia (Short) Animator
Alice in Wonderland Directing Animator
1952 The Little House (Short) Animator
1953 Peter Pan Directing Animator
Ben and Me (Short) Animator
1954 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (TV Series) Special Effects - 1 Episode
1955 Lady and the Tramp Directing Animator
1956 - 1958 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (TV Series) Animator - 3 Episodes
1958 Paul Bunyan[8] Director
1959 Sleeping Beauty Sequence Director
Donald in Mathmagic Land Sequence Director
1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians Character Animator
Donald and the Wheel (Short) Animator
1961 - 1970 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Director - 3 Episodes / Sequence Director and 1 Episode
1962 A Symposium on Popular Songs (Short) Animator
1964 The Restless Sea (TV Movie Documentary) Director
1965 Freewayphobia #1 (Short) Director
Steel and America (Short) Director
Donald's Fire Survival Plan (Short) Director
Goofy's Freeway Troubles (Short) Director
1967 Family Planning (Short) Director
1968 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (TV Series) Globe Effects - 1 Episode / Friends of Mickey Mouse - 1 Episode
The Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show Animator
1969 Physical Fitness and Good Health (Short) Director
The Social Side of Health (Short) Director
The Project (Short) Director
The Game (Short) Director
The Fight (Short) Director
Steps Towards Maturity and Health (Short) Director
1970 New Girl (Short) Director
Lunch Money (Short) Director
1973 VD Attack Plan (Short) Director
I'm No Fool with Electricity (Short) Director
1974 Man, Monsters and Mysteries (Short) Director
1980 Mickey Mouse Disco (Short) Animator (archive footage)
1984 DTV: Rock, Rhythm & Blues (Video) Animator (archive footage)
DTV: Pop & Rock (Video) Animator (archive footage)
DTV: Golden Oldies (Short) Animator (archive footage)
2000 Fantasia 2000 Animator - Segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (archive footage)

References

  1. ^ a b 1910 United States Federal Census
  2. ^ Utah, Birth Certificates, 1903-1911
  3. ^ 1920 United States Federal Census
  4. ^ 1930 United States Federal Census
  5. ^ https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/les-clark/
  6. ^ a b c http://www.waltdisney.com/tags/les-clark
  7. ^ 1940 United States Federal Census
  8. ^ Wolfe, Jennifer (2012-12-31). "Animator Lee Hartman Dies at 82". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  • Canemaker, John. (2001). Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation. New York, NY: Disney Editions. ISBN 0-7868-6496-6
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