Bernard Wolf

Bernard "Berny" Wolf (July 18, 1911 - September 7, 2006) was an American animator and television producer.

Biography Wolf was born in New York City. His career in animation started either in 1924, or 1927. He began work as an inker on Charles Mintz' Krazy Kat silent shorts as an Inker along with Dave Tendlar. The shorts were being distributed by Paramount Pictures at the time. He moved to Inkwell Studios shortly afterwards a predecessor to Fleischer Studios, where he was hired by Max Fleischer as an Inbetweener on Koko the Clown in the silent The Inkwell Imps series. In 1931 he was promoted to the position of Animator and worked with Seymour Kneitel on the Betty Boop cartoons. While much credit has been given to Grim Natwick for her creation, her transformation into the cute cartoon girl was due to the work of Berny Wolf, Seymour Kneitel, Roland Crandall, and Willard Bowsky, who continued working with her after Natwick left in early February 1931 to direct for Ub Iwerks on the west coast. It was at Fleischer Studios that he met Shamus Culhane and Al Eugster, with whom he would maintain a long personal and professional relationship. The three would leave Fleischer to work briefly for Ub Iwerks, where they worked alongside Grim Natwick.

In 1938, Wolf, Eugster and Culhane moved to Walt Disney Studios. After working briefly in the shorts department, Wolf moved on to features. He was one of the animators of Pinocchio and Fantasia (The Pastoral Symphony Segment). His final work at Disney was on Dumbo.

Wolf left Disney after the 1941 strike. He briefly provided uncredited work for Tex Avery at MGM before being drafted during World War II. Wolf was assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit, a group of former Hollywood personnel who created short educational films for the American military. After the war, Wolf worked briefly for animator Rudolf Ising and worked on commercials for companies like FilmFair before forming his own company, Animedia Inc. Animedia produced animation for advertising and commercial films. The company also designed some of the costumes used at Walt Disney World, as well as animating segments for Sesame Street.

Wolf folded Animedia in the 1970s in order to return to animation full-time. He produced several animated features for Hanna-Barbera, including 1987's The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones. He was Producer of Bobby's World for Film Roman, and was an uncredited Animator on Tom and Jerry: The Movie. He retired from animation in the 1990s, but continued to provide freelance animation pre-production for Fred Wolf Films, commercial design, and additionally developed mascots for the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Wolf died in 2006 at the age of 95.

Filmography Year Title Credits Characters Notes 1940 Pinocchio Animator Credited and known as Berny WolfFantasia Animator - Segment "The Pastoral Symphony" Credited and known as Berny Wolf 1941 Dumbo Animator Credited and known as Berny Wolf 1980 Mickey Mouse Disco (Short) Animator Credited and known as Bernie Wolf 1985 Galtar and the Golden Lance (TV Series) Producer 1985–1986 Paw Paws (TV Series) Producer – 21 Episodes 1986 Pound Puppies (TV Series) Associate Producer – 13 Episodes Foofur (TV Series) Associate Producer – 13 Episodes 1986–1987 The New Adventures of Jonny Quest (TV Series) Producer – 13 Episodes The Flintstone Kids (TV Series) Associate Producer – 26 Episodes 1987 The Jetsons (TV Series) Producer – 10 Episodes The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (TV Movie) Producer Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose (TV Movie) Producer The Little Troll Prince (TV Movie) Producer / Story Editor 1985–1987 Snorks (TV Series) Producer – 23 Episodes 1988 Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats (TV Movie) Producer Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (TV Movie) Producer Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf Producer Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears (TV Movie) Producer 1989 The Smurfs (TV Series) Animation Director – 24 Episodes 1989–1990 Paddington Bear (TV Series) Animation Director – 13 Episodes 1990 Garfield's Feline Fantasies (TV Short) Key Animator Jetsons: The Movie Animator Credited and known as Berny Wolf 1989–1990 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (TV Series) Animation Director – 11 Episodes 1990–1991 Garfield and Friends (TV Series) Director – 13 Episodes 1990–1994 Bobby's World (TV Series Short) Director – 17 Episodes 1994 Garfield and Friends Animator – 1 Episode Sonic the Hedgehog (TV Series Short) Animation Timer – 13 Episodes 1996 The Fantastic Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor (TV Series) Sheet Timer – 1 Episode