James Algar
James Algar (June 11, 1912 – February 26, 1998)[1] was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer.[2] He worked for the Walt Disney Productions for 43 years and received the Disney Legends award in 1998.[3] He was born in Modesto, California and died in Carmel, California.
James Algar | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 11, 1912 Modesto, California, United States |
| Died | February 26, 1998 (aged 85) Carmel, California, United States |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, film producer |
| Years active | 1934–1977 |
Controversy
Algar directed an Oscar-winning documentary White Wilderness, which contains a scene that supposedly depicts a mass lemming migration, and ends with the lemmings leaping into the Arctic Ocean. In 1982, the CBC Television news magazine program The Fifth Estate broadcast a documentary about animal cruelty in Hollywood called "Cruel Camera", focusing on White Wilderness, as well as the television program Wild Kingdom. Bob McKeown, the host of the CBC program, discovered that the lemming scene was filmed at the Bow Rivernear downtown Calgary, and not in the Arctic Ocean as implied by the film. McKeown interviewed a lemming expert, who claimed that the particular species of lemming shown in the film is not known to migrate, much less commit mass suicide.[4][5]
Selected filmography
- Fantasia (1940 – director)
- Victory Through Air Power (1943 – director)
- Seal Island (1948 – director)
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949 – director)
- In Beaver Valley (1950 – director)
- Nature's Half Acre (1951 – director)
- The Olympic Elk (1952 – director and writer)
- Bear Country (1953 – director and writer)
- Prowlers of the Everglades (1953 – director and writer)
- The Living Desert (1953 – director and writer)
- The Vanishing Prairie (1954 – director and writer)
- The African Lion (1955 - director and writer)
- Secrets of Life (1956 – director and writer)
- White Wilderness (1958 – director and writer)
- Grand Canyon (1958 – director)
- Jungle Cat (1960 – director and writer)
- Ten Who Dared (1960 – producer)
- The Legend of Lobo (1962 – director, producer and writer)
- The Incredible Journey (1963 – writer)
- The Gnome-Mobile (1967 – producer)
- The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures (1975 – director, producer and writer)
References
- Staff (March 22, 1998). "James Algar dies at 85". Variety. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- "James Algar". NY Times. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
- Disney Legends – James Algar
- "Did Disney Fake Lemming Deaths for the Nature Documentary 'White Wilderness'?". Snopes.com. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
- "Cruelty to Animals in the Entertainment Business : Cruel Camera - Watch Orginal Video : the fifth estate : CBC News". June 15, 2013. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
