John Lounsbery

John Mitchell Lounsbery (March 9, 1911 - February 13, 1976) was an American animator and director employed by Walt Disney Productions. He is best known as one of Disney's Nine Old Men, of which he was the shortest lived as well as the first to die.

Life and career He was born on March 9, 1911, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Colorado. He attended East Denver High School and the Art Institute of Denver. While attending the ArtCenter College of Design in Los Angeles, an instructor sent him to interview with Walt Disney.

Lounsbery was hired by Disney on July 2, 1935, beginning as an uncredited assistant animator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). He went on to work on numerous short features in the 1940s while continuing to serve as part of the animating team on nearly all of Disney's most famous feature-length animated films. In the 1970s, he was promoted to director and directed the short film Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974) and co-directed The Rescuers (1977).

Lounsbery died on February 13, 1976, at age 64. At the time of his death, he was working on The Rescuers and still directing at the Walt Disney Studios. He was named a Disney Legend in 1989 and was buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Filmography Year Title Credits Characters Notes 1940 Pinocchio Animator Fantasia Animator - Segment "Dance of the Hours" 1941 Dumbo Animation Director 1943 Victory Through Air Power (Documentary) Animator 1944 The Three Caballeros 1945 The Legend of Coyote Rock (Short) Canine Patrol (Short) 1946 Make Mine Music Song of the South Directing Animator 1947 Fun and Fancy Free 1948 Melody Time So Dear to My Heart Animator 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Directing Animator 1950 Cinderella 1951 Alice in Wonderland 1952 Lambert the Sheepish Lion (Short) Animator 1953 Peter Pan Directing Animator Ben and Me (Short) Animator 1955 Lady and the Tramp Directing Animator 1955 - 1982 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) Animator / Director - 13 Episodes 1959 Sleeping Beauty Directing Animator 1960 Goliath II (Short) 1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians Aquamania (Short) Animator 1963 The Sword in the Stone Directing Animator 1964 Mary Poppins Animator 1966 Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (Short) 1967 The Jungle Book Directing Animator 1968 Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (Short) Animator 1970 The Aristocats Directing Animator 1971 Bedknobs and Broomsticks Animator 1973 Robin Hood Directing Animator 1974 Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (Short) Director 1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Animator / Director The Rescuers Director