John Sutherland

John Elliot Sutherland (September 11, 1910 – February 17, 2001) was an American film producer.

Biography Sutherland was born on September 11, 1910, in Williston, North Dakota. His father, Ronald Duffas Sutherland, was a bank president overseeing several in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. However, the Dust Bowl caused the banking industry to collapse with a number of loan failures. His family moved to Great Falls, Montana to California. There, in 1937, Sutherland graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor's degree in politics and economics. While working as director of UCLA's drama and debate department, he met Walt Disney through a mutual acquaintance. Disney hired him on September 12, 1938, as an assistant director on Bambi (1942). Shortly after, Alfred P. Sloan pledged a grant through the Sloan Foundation to Harding College (now Harding University) in Searcy, Arkansas with the goal of producing a series of short films that exemplified the American way and free enterprise.

Aside from the Sloan Foundation, Sutherland Productions contracted with other industrial corporations to sponsor their short films, including General Electric, United Fruit, American Telephone & Telegraph, Du Pont Motors, and the New York Stock Exchange. In 1952, MGM replaced their sales manager W. F. Rodgers with Charles M. Reagan, who declined to distribute their latest films Dear Uncle (1952) and The Devil and John Q (1952). Despite multiple re-edits, Benson blamed Sutherland claiming he had made the shorts more political than educational. Subsequently, Sutherland and Arnold J. Zurcher, the executive director for the Sloan Foundation, negotiated over the cost of future films but it ended in a stalemate.

Throughout the 1950s, John Sutherland Productions had attracted top animation talents, including Frank Armitage, Victor Haboush, Bill Melendez, Maurice Noble, Bill Scott, Frank Tashlin, and Carl Urbano.

During the 1960s, Sutherland founded Sutherland Learning Associates. In 1972, Sutherland produced The Most Important Person short films for the Head Start program that later aired on CBS's Captain Kangaroo. A spin-off series titled The Kingdom of Could Be You also aired on the program. In 1991, Sutherland closed down his studio. His final project was a proposed series of films about gaining confidence through knowledge. The project was funded but was never completed.

Selected filmography Live-action Theatrical Too Many Winners (1947) Lady at Midnight (1948) Television The Most Important Person (1972−1975)

Animation Theatrical Bambi (1942) as Adult Bambi The Cross-Eyed Bull (1945) (Daffy Dittys short) The Flying Jeep (1945) (Daffy Dittys short) The Lady Said No (1946) (Daffy Dittys short) Choo Choo Amigo (1946) (Daffy Ditties short) Pepito's Serenade (1946) (Daffy Ditties short) The Traitor Within (1946) The Fatal Kiss (1947) (Daffy Ditties short) Chiquita Banana (1947−1949 commercial shorts) Make Mine Freedom (1948) Going Places (1948) Why Play Leap Frog? (1949) Meet King Joe (1949) Albert in Blunderland (1950) Inside Cackle Corners (1951) Fresh Laid Plans (1951) Career for Two (1951) Duck and Cover (1952) What Makes Us Tick (1952) Dear Uncle (1952) The Devil and John Q (1952) A Is for Atom (1953) It Never Rains Oil (1953) It's Everybody's Business (1954) Man-Made Miracles (1954) Destination Earth (1956) Bananas? Si, Señor! (1956) The Living Circle (1956) Breath of Life (1956) Living Unlimited (1956) Your Safety First (1956) The Dragon Slayer (1956) The Littlest Giant (1957) Working Dollars (1957) The Story of Creative Capital (1957) Fill 'Er Up (1959) Rhapsody of Steel (1959) Curtain Time (1960) Tomorrow and Mr. Jones (1960) A Missile Named Mac (1962) The Owl Who Gave a Hoot (1967) Television The Most Important Person (1972−1975)