Bud Luckey

William Everett "Bud" Luckey (July 28, 1934 – February 24, 2018) was an American animator, artist, cartoonist, character designer, composer, director, illustrator, musician, singer, songwriter, and voice actor. He worked at the animation studio Pixar, where he worked as a character designer on a number of films, including Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc., while also contributing to Cars and Ratatouille. Also known for his distinctive deep gravelly bass voice, Luckey was known as the voice of Rick Dicker in The Incredibles and its spin-off short Jack-Jack Attack, Chuckles the Clown in Toy Story 3 and the short Hawaiian Vacation, and Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, as well as its television spin-off series The Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, voicing the character for only 5 episodes.

In 2004, Luckey directed and wrote the Pixar short film Boundin', for which he also composed music and performed as the solo singer and narrator. It won the Annie Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

Luckey continued to work as a performer of character voices in both Disney and Pixar films until his retirement in 2014.

During the Korean War, Luckey served in the United States Air Force. He later served as an Artist-Illustrator (a specialty now called "Visual Information Specialist") with the NATO Allied Occupation Forces in Europe and North Africa from 1953 to 1954 and, finally, with the Strategic Air Command from 1954 to 1957.

Career Art school and early career After leaving active Air Force duty and with the benefits of the Korean War G.I. Bill, Luckey attended Chouinard Art Institute (which later merged with the California Academy of Music to form California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts)) from 1957 to 1960.

Luckey also worked with Alex Anderson, who created the characters of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Bullwinkle, and Dudley Do-Right, as well as the more obscure Crusader Rabbit. Anderson was the Vice President of Television at the Guild-Bascom-Bonfigli Agency at that time. He returned to work on one more segment for Sesame Street in 1990 titled "Z – Zebu". Many of Luckey's Sesame Street works were created with his long-time friend and creative collaborator writer / lyricist Don Hadley (1936–2007). John Lasseter credits Luckey with the creation and design of the star of Toy Story, Woody, a cowboy. In 2003, Luckey gained attention for the short film Boundin', which was released theatrically as the opening cartoon for The Incredibles. He also lent his voice to Chuckles the Clown in Toy Story 3 and Hawaiian Vacation.

He was featured in the 2011 film Winnie the Pooh as the voice of Eeyore.

Personal life Luckey was the father of animator/director/producer Andy Luckey, best known as a producer of the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Voice Role Notes 1961 The Alvin Show Animator 1971–90 Sesame Street The Alligator King, Donnie Budd, Penny Candy Man, Narrator, Various characters Animator, composer, singer 1991 Back to the Future: The Animated Series Character designer; 13 episodes 2011–14 The Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Eeyore 5 episodes; final television voice role

Video games