Ward Kimball- R.I.P.

Horizons1 · #1 07-08-2002, 09:04 PM

Ward Kimball, Academy Award(R)-Winning Disney Animator/Director Who Brought
Life to Mickey Mouse, Jiminy Cricket, The Cheshire Cat, The Mad Hatter And
The Three Caballeros,' Dies at Age 88

BURBANK, Calif., July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Ward Kimball, a pioneering giant of
animation who became one of Walt Disney's trusted "Nine Old Men" and was
closely associated with such memorable characters as Mickey Mouse, Jiminy
Cricket and the Mad Hatter, passed away today (7/8) from natural causes at
Arcadia Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, California. He was 88 years old. The
iconoclastic artist joined the Disney Studios in 1934 and worked there until
his retirement in 1973. He animated or served as directing animator on such
classic films as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Pinocchio," "Fantasia,"
"The Reluctant Dragon," "The Three Caballeros," "Melody Time," "Cinderella,"
"Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan," "Mary Poppins," and "Bedknobs and
Broomsticks." Two of the animated shorts which Kimball created for Disney --
"Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" (1953) and "It's Tough to be a Bird" (1969)
-- won Academy Awards(R). Among his other career highlights, he wrote the
stories for and directed a landmark trio of television shows for the
"Disneyland" show -- "Man in Space," "Man and the Moon," and "Mars and
Beyond" -- which helped to spark interest in space travel....

TiggerRPh · #2 07-08-2002, 09:10 PM

Rest in peace Ward....you're talents will be missed.

kansasteen13 · #3 07-08-2002, 09:13 PM

That is so terribly sad,he was such a great Animator.

[img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img]

JPL · #4 07-08-2002, 09:32 PM

Another sad day for the animation world [img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img]

A little know fact is that Ward designed the scenes in the now retired World of Motion attraction at Epcot I believe it was the last work he did for the Walt Disney Company

ChipDale · #5 07-08-2002, 09:36 PM

How sad - he was a true original. [img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img]

Ian · #6 07-08-2002, 09:41 PM

How sad ... another of the Nine Old Men gone forever ... Hopefully he, Uncle Mark, and Walt are hanging out up in heaven.

R.I.P. Ward ... And thanks for all you gave us. You will be missed. [img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img]

Imagineer · #7 07-08-2002, 09:57 PM

As for me, I too will miss Ward and his genius. I will look to the heaven's to see his brush strokes joining the other great animator's brush strokes in the setting and rising of the sun.

ColorAndLight · #8 07-08-2002, 11:10 PM

God bless you, Mr. Kimball.

Your interviews on a Fantasia behind-the-scenes special produced in the early 90s were very inspiring to me. Now I am chasing my dreams...

Maybe in the tale of the little wooden boy, it will now be your star twinkling in the night sky - in lieu of the blue fairy's. You earned it, and then some.

roses · #9 07-08-2002, 11:59 PM

[img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img] You will be truely missed and thank you so much for all you've done for us.

Disney-4-Me · #10 07-09-2002, 12:10 AM

What a wonderful life! I am sure he is receiving his reward for all of the joy he gave to us and millions of others.

[img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img] God bless.

Tarzan266 · #11 07-09-2002, 09:30 AM

As a HUGE Disney fan, I have always admired the Disney animators that made the magic happen on screen, especially the Nine Old Men who practically perfected the animated art form. Ward Kimball was a great animator and created one of my all time favorite Disney characters - Jiminy Cricket. Kimball's works on film, as well as on TV and in music will live on for generations to come. He truely was an individual and a great contributor to the Walt Disney history. I am going to miss you Ward and thanks for making us all smile. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

Guinness · #12 07-09-2002, 01:25 PM

Godspeed Mr. Kimball for your journey into the hereafter. Though you leave the waking life, you live forever through work that brings happiness to millions.

Goofy Forever · #13 07-09-2002, 09:03 PM

Ward Kimball will truly be missed. But his works and memory will last forever.

NYdaily · #14 07-10-2002, 09:56 AM

so long, mr. kimball -- you will not be forgotten.

POC_Fan · #15 07-11-2002, 05:48 PM

What a loss this is, another true American Icon has left us. Thanks for all the many memories you gave myself and others. You and your talent will never be forgotten. God Speed Mr. Kimball and my you rest in peace.