Bill Littlejohn

William Charles Littlejohn (January 27, 1914 – September 17, 2010) was an American animator and union organizer. Littlejohn worked on animated shorts and features in the 1930s through to the 1990s. His notable works include several earlier Tom and Jerry shorts, the Peanuts television specials, the Oscar-winning short The Hole, and the Oscar-nominated A Doonesbury Special (1977). He was inducted into the Cartoon Hall of Fame and received the Winsor McCay Award and garnered lifetime achievement awards from the Annie Awards and the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Director Michael Sporn has called Littlejohn "an animation 'God'."

Littlejohn co-founded and served as the first president of the Screen Cartoonists Guild Local #852 in 1938. He led the effort to gain recognition for the union at the major Hollywood animation studios. When Walt Disney refused to negotiate with the union and fired 16 pro-union artists, Littlejohn led the union in the 1941 Disney animators strike. The strike lasted nine weeks and resulted in Disney's recognition of the union, substantial salary increases, a 40-hour work week and screen credits. The Disney strike has been recognized as a watershed moment in the movement to unionize the animation industry.

Littlejohn was an active advocate for the art of animation, becoming a co-founder of ASIFA-Hollywood in 1957 and of the International Tournée of Animation in the mid-1960s. He also served on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors representing short films and animation from 1988 to 2001.

Early years Littlejohn was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1914. His father was an engineer for Pitney Bowes who worked an early combination of the adding machine and typewriter. While at MGM, he worked on the Happy Harmonies shorts and the then-new Tom and Jerry series. He also continued to do freelance animation for MGM and Walter Lantz. The strike lasted for nine weeks and ended following pressure on Disney from federal mediators, nationwide boycotts, the Bank of America and Roy Disney. On September 21, 1941, the strike ended and the union was recognized by Disney.

Walt Disney later testified before the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities that he believed that Sorrell was a Communist, but his testimony was based on hearsay, "I believed at that time that Mr. Sorrell was a Communist because of all the things that I had heard ..." Littlejohn recalled Sorrell as follows: "Herb was an ex-fighter and a great champion for the little guy. For that he was called a Communist, which he never was. In fact, the Communist Party/USA disliked him too, because he was his own man and couldn't be controlled."

1950s-1960s In the 1950s, Littlejohn worked at several commercial studios including Playhouse Pictures, Jay Ward Productions, Animation Inc., Fine Arts Films, The Ink Tank, and Bill Melendez Productions. His animated commercial for Uniroyal's "Tiger Paws" tires remains a popular and often-played piece.

Director Michael Sporn has called Littlejohn "an animation 'God'" and cited his work as among the best in American animation. Of his work on the 1964 film Of Stars and Men, Sporn said, "Bill's work on Of Stars and Men has completely entered my vocabulary of great animation. The walk cycles for the many animals are just so majestic and regal that I watch them over and over." Prior to this, it had been almost impossible to see quality animation in the United States. The Tournee became affiliated with the American Film Institute in 1969 and conducted a multi-city tour for many years.

In 1984, Littlejohn and his wife, Fini, helped organize the Olympiad of Animation for the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival.

From 1988 to 2001, Littlejohn was also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors representing short films and animation.

Family Littlejohn was married for 61 years to Fini Rudiger Littlejohn, an actress and artist from Vienna, Austria that did art design for American Airlines and Disney. Fini died in 2004 followed by Littlejohn in September 2010 at age 96. He was survived by two children, Steve and Toni, and three grandchildren.

Awards and tributes In October 1981, ASIFA presented Littlejohn with a special Annie Award, "honoring his 50 years as an animator." He also received the Winsor McCay Award in 1987 and has been inducted into the Cartoon Hall of Fame. In May 1999, the UCLA Film and Television Archive and UCLA Animation Workshop hosted "An Evening With Animator Bill Littlejohn" and presented him with a lifetime achievement award.

Partial filmography Parrotville (1934-1935) The Rasslin' Match (1934) The Lion Tamer (1934) Toonerville Trolley (1936) The Captain and the Kids (1938) Jitterbug Follies (1939) (uncredited) A Rainy Day with the Bear Family (1940) (uncredited) Tom and Jerry (1941-1942, 1944) (uncredited: The Midnight Snack to The Bowling Alley Cat; additional animation: Fine Feathered Friend and Puttin' on the Dog) MGM Cartoons – uncredited: We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1941) Barney Bear – uncredited: The Flying Bear (1941) The Hole (1962) A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1963) (uncredited) Of Stars and Men (1964) The Hat (1964) A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) Zuckerklandl (1968) He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968) Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz (1969) (uncredited) A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969) It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown (1969) The Phantom Tollbooth (1970) Play It Again, Charlie Brown (1971) Snoopy Come Home (1972) You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972) There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown (1973) A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973) It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown (1974) Voyage to Next (1974) It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974) Everybody Rides the Carousel (1975) Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975) WOW Women of the World (1975) You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (1975) Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown (1976) (uncredited) It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (1976) People, People, People (1976) Simple Gifts (1977) Whither Weather (1977) Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977) It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown (1977) A Doonesbury Special (1977) Step by Step (1978) Watership Down (1978) (opening sequence) Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown (1979) (uncredited) You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown (1979) She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown (1980) Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) (1980) Sky Dance (1980) Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown (1980) The Big Bang and Other Creation Myths (1981) Enter Life (1981) It's Magic, Charlie Brown (1981) Heavy Metal (1981) (segment "B-17") Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown (1981) No Man's Valley (1981) Here Comes Garfield (1982) A Charlie Brown Celebration (1982) Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? (1983) The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983, 1985) What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? (1983) Garfield on the Town (1983) The Soldier's Tale (1984) Hello (1984) It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984) Garfield in the Rough (1984) Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown (1985) It's Your 20th Television Anniversary, Charlie Brown (1985) (uncredited) Garfield's Halloween Adventure (1985) You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985) Garfield in Paradise (1986) The Cosmic Eye (1986) (archive footage) Time of the Angels (1987) Garfield Goes Hollywood (1987) A Garfield Christmas Special (1987) (additional animation; uncredited) Madeline (1988) Snoopy: The Musical (1988) Garfield: His 9 Lives (1988) (segment "Stunt Cat"; also co-director) This Is America, Charlie Brown (1988) It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown (1988) The NASA Space Station (1988) Yes We Can (1989) Madeline's Christmas (1990) You Don't Look 40, Charlie Brown (1990) (uncredited) Why, Charlie Brown, Why? (1990) Amazonia (1990) Upside Down (1991) Snoopy's Reunion (1991) Tall Time Tales (1992) Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992) It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown! (1992) Frosty Returns (1992) Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) Seers & Clowns (1994) Garfield and Friends (1994) (3 episodes) My Universe Inside Out (1996) Cloudland (1998) Rainbows of Hawai'i (1998) Our Spirited Earth (2000)