Don Arioli

Don Arioli (September 2, 1936 – October 4, 2005) was an American-Canadian actor and writer, noted for his work in children's television.

Early life Born in Rochester, New York, Arioli served in the United States Marine Corps in early adulthood, drawing a comic strip for the newsletter of the base where he was stationed, before moving to Toronto, Ontario in 1960. He worked as an actor and comedian with the Toronto Workshop Theatre, and was an illustrator for the underground newspaper The Panic Button, until joining the National Film Board of Canada in 1966. He was also noted for the films Propaganda Message and Hot Stuff, for which he won the Canadian Film Award for Best Screenplay (Non-Feature) at the 23rd Canadian Film Awards in 1971. With the NFB he worked principally as a writer and as a voice actor, but also had a number of credits as an animator, including on both entertainment and educational films.

Personal life He was married twice, first to Sandra Beattie and later to NFB colleague Rosemarie Shapley. From his first marriage to Beattie, he was the father of jazz singer Susie Arioli.

In the late 1990s, Arioli and Shapley moved to Devon, England, where Arioli continued to do animation work for the BBC. He died of prostate cancer in Devon on October 4, 2005.