Herman Schultheis

Herman Schultheis (11 February 1900 – disappeared 21 May 1955) was a Walt Disney Studios photographer and technician in the Special Effects Department best known for his work on the feature films Fantasia, Pinocchio, Dumbo and Bambi.[2][3]

Herman Schultheis
Born(1900-02-11)February 11, 1900[1]
Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
DisappearedMay 21, 1955 (aged 55)
Petén, Guatemala
StatusMissing for 65 years, 8 months and 17 days
EducationPh.D. in mechanical and electrical engineering.
OccupationTechnician
EmployerWalt Disney Studios
Spouse(s)
Ethel Wisloh
​
(m. 1936)​

Career

Schultheis emigrated to New York City from his native Germany in 1927 working jobs in sound-recording. He then went to Los Angeles in 1937. In February 1939, Schultheis joined Walt Disney in Special Effects department. He left Walt Disney in June 1940.[4]

Disappearance

On 20 May 1955, Schultheis disappeared near Petén while on a trip to the Mayan temples at Tikal in Guatemala.[5][6]

Schultheis notebook

Schultheis documented advanced special effect techniques used in Disney films in a notebook titled Special Effects.[4] It is on display at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California.[7] His notebook, once offered to Disney for the sum of $400 in 1939 (equivalent to $7,352 in 2019), was discovered by Disney historian Howard Lowery hidden away in a Murphy bed in his Los Angeles residence upon his widow's death in the early 1990s.[8]

John Canemaker's book, The Lost Notebook: Herman Schultheis and the Secrets of Walt Disney’s Movie Magic is a partial reproduction of the notebook. Canemaker called Schultheis' book "the Rosetta Stone of Disney animation."[4]

See also

References
  1. Mills, Chris (21 January 2013). "Herman J. Schultheis (1900 - 1955) - Find A Grave Memorial". Find a Grave. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  2. Canemaker, John (11 March 2014). The Secrets of Disney's Visual Effects: The Schultheis Notebooks Hardcover. Walt Disney Family Foundation Press. p. 256. ISBN 978-1616286125.
  3. Rice, Christina (2 May 2012). "The Los Angeles of Herman Schultheis: One Photographer's Look at a Depression-Era City". Huffington Post. Huffington Post. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  4. "Herman J. Schultheis and His Lost (And Found) Notebook". d23. The Walt Disney Company. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  5. Jacobs, Horace (July 1955). "Schultheis Disappears in Guatemala Mystery" (PDF). Librazette. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  6. "Preview: "The Lost Notebook: Herman Schultheis & the Secrets of Walt Disney's Movie Magic". cartoonbrew. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  7. "The Schultheis Notebook - Second Story". archive.secondstory.com. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  8. "Michael Sporn Animation – Splog » Search Results » Schultheis". www.michaelspornanimation.com. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
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