Research Guru / Moderator
Posted:
Dec 19, 2007, 11:40 PM
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Disney Animation administrator Ed Hansen dies
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Longtime Disney Animation administrator Edward "Ed" Hansen died December 11, Steve Hulett, business representative of The Animation Guild (Local 839 IATSE), announced Wednesday.
His exact age was not disclosed. However, he was 81 or 82 at the time of his death.
Hansen came to Disney in 1952, working in the studio's animation department until his retirement in the late 1980s.
He was an assistant director of the feature films The Aristocats (1970) and Robin Hood (1973), as well as the 1977 featurette The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh. Hansen was production manager for the 1981 feature The Fox And The Hound and the 1983 featurette Mickey's Christmas Carol.
And in 1985, he was production manager of The Black Cauldron.
Though uncredited, Hansen was co-designer and lead mechanical rigger for 1991's Back to the Future... The Ride.
In February 1952, at age 26. Hulett started at Disney as an apprentice inbetweener. That June, he became an inbetweener; in January 1954, he was promoted to breakdown artist. He began work as an assistant director in July 1955.
With the retirement of some of the "Nine Old Men," others -- including Fred Helmich -- were promoted to lead animator positions. Hansen became Helmich's lead assistant, working with him on The Aristocats and Robin Hood.
He was also a longtime assistant to director Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman before being promoted into management in February 1972.
"I always found Ed to be pleasant and straightforward, first to last a loyal company employee," Hulett recalled. "He ran the department as efficiently as he knew how, working to juggle a lot of disparate egos and personalities.
Arguably, said Hulett, Hansen unintentionally paved the way for Pixar's "high road to glory" by laying off John Lasseter from Disney in the early 1980s, thus leaving him available to work for the nascent Bay Area animation studio.
Near the end of Ron Miller's time as Disney chairman, Hansen was promoted to vice-president of animation; for a while, he was co-VP with new Disney employee Peter Schneider.
When Andy Engman retired, Hansen became the new head of animation, responsible for production management of all animation at the studio and the assignment of all creative personnel. He had to keep all production schedules on time and on budget. Hansen did this until his retirement, with the help of a production manager for each project, as well as his scheduling secretary.
Several years later, Hansen began his long retirement in Solvang, California.
In 2005, Hansen received the Golden Award from The Animation Guild.
(This post was edited by eminovitz on Dec 19, 2007, 11:42 PM)
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