Norm Ferguson (animator)

William Norman Ferguson (September 2, 1902 – November 4, 1957) was an animator for Walt Disney Studios and a central contributor to the studio's stylistic development in the 1930s. He is most frequently noted for his contribution to the creation of Pluto, one of the studio's best-known and most enduring characters, and is the artist most closely associated with that character. He is also credited for developing Peg-Leg Pete and the Big Bad Wolf.[1] Ferguson, known at the studio as "Norm" or "Fergy", was the primary animator of the witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first in a long line of great Disney feature villains. He was also a sequence director on the film.

Norm Ferguson
Born
William Norman Ferguson

(1902-09-02)September 2, 1902
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 4, 1957(1957-11-04) (aged 55)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationAnimator
EmployerWalt Disney Animation Studios (1929-1953)
Spouse(s)Gladys F. (m. 1924) (1 child)

Career

After starting at the studio in 1929 as a cameraman, Ferguson switched to the animation department and rose rapidly, despite a lack of formal art training. His early animation of the dog who would become Pluto drew strong response at the studio and on-screen for giving the character a personality and apparent inner life that was considered a great step forward for the young art form of animation. Animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston paid extensive tribute to Ferguson's work in their 1981 book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, calling his famous "flypaper sequence" from the 1934 short Playful Pluto- in which the dog is stuck to a piece of flypaper- a "milestone in personality animation...through it all, his reaction to his predicament and his thoughts of what to try next are shared with the audience. It was the first time a character seemed to be thinking on the screen, and, though it lasted only 65 seconds, it opened the way for animation of real characters with real problems."

He is remembered for having worked "rough" and "loose", in animation terms, with a focus on feeling, action, and the character's personality rather than detail, structure, or formal draftsmanship. Fellow animator Fred Moore is quoted as having said of Ferguson, "He doesn't know that you can't raise the eyebrows above the head circle, so he goes ahead and does it and it gives a great effect." Animator Shamus Culhane remembered Ferguson as having produced a high volume of work- about 18 feet a week as opposed to the more average ten at the Disney Studios at the time. (A "foot" of animation- a measurement based on film footage- is sixteen frames).

Norm Ferguson served as a sequence director or directing animator on many of the classic Walt Disney features films from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 through the 1950s, including Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland.

Ferguson, who later in life suffered from diabetes, left the Disney Studios with his health and career in decline in about 1953. Immediately after a brief, unsuccessful stint with Shamus Culhane Productions, described by Culhane in his 1986 book Talking Animals And Other People, Ferguson died as a result of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California in 1957.[2]

Ferguson posthumously received the industry's Winsor McCay Award in 1987 and was posthumously inducted as a Disney Legend by the studio in 1999, along with fellow animator Hamilton Luske (also posthumous), among others. The two men are the subjects of chapter five in Thomas and Johnston's Disney Animation: The Illusion Of Life, titled Cartoon Comes Of Age- Norm Ferguson and Ham Luske.

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Role Notes
1937Snow White and the Seven Dwarfssupervising animator
1940Pinocchiosupervising animator and sequence director"J. Worthington Foulfellow" and "Gideon"
1940Fantasiasupervising animator and director"Dance of the Hours" segment
1941The Reluctant DragonHimself
1941Dumbodirecting animator and sequence director
1942Bambisupervising animator
1942Saludos Amigossupervising animator and supervising directorPedro, El Gaucho Goofy, Aquarela do Brasil
1944The Three CaballerosDirector and production supervisor
1950Cinderelladirecting animator
1953Alice in Wonderlanddirecting animator
1953Peter Pandirecting animator

Short films

Year Title Role Notes
1926School DaysAnimator
1927Horses, Horses, HorsesAnimator
1929Mickey's Choo-ChooAnimator
1930Cannibal CapersAnimator
Frolicking FishAnimator
The Gorilla MysteryAnimator
Arctic AnticsAnimator
Midnight in a Toy Shop Animator
NightAnimator
The Chain GangAnimator
Pioneer DaysAnimator
The Fire FightersAnimator
Monkey MelodiesAnimator
The PicnicAnimator
WinterAnimator
Playful PanAnimator
1931Traffic TroublesAnimator
The Birthday PartyAnimator
Mother Goose MelodiesAnimator
Blue RhythmAnimator
The CastawayAnimator
Birds of a FeatherAnimator
The Moose HuntAnimator
The Delivery BoyAnimator
The Beach PartyAnimator
Mickey Cuts UpAnimator
Mickey's Orphans Animator
The Barnyard BroadcastAnimator
1932The Whoopee PartyAnimator
Trader MickeyAnimator
The Duck HuntAnimator
Flowers and TreesAnimator
The Mad DogAnimator
Babes in the WoodsAnimator
Mickey's NightmareAnimator
King NeptuneAnimator
Bugs in LoveAnimator
The Klondike KidAnimator
Santa's WorkshopAnimator
Mickey's Good DeedAnimator
1933Puppy LoveAnimator
Mickey's Pal PlutoAnimator
Birds in the SpringAnimator
The Pet StoreAnimator
Ye Olden DaysAnimator
Father Noah's ArkAnimator
Three Little PigsAnimator
Old King ColeAnimator
1934Shanghaied Animator
The Big Bad WolfAnimator
Playful PlutoAnimator
Gulliver MickeyAnimator
Orphan's BenefitAnimator
Mickey's Steam RollerAnimator
1935Who Killed Cock Robin?Animator
The Golden TouchAnimator
Pluto's Judgement DayAnimator
On IceAnimator
1936Mother PlutoAnimator
Moving DayAnimator
Alpine ClimbersAnimator
Mickey's Polo Team Animator
Mickey's Grand OperaAnimator
Donald and PlutoAnimator
Three Little WolvesAnimator
Mickey's ElephantAnimator
1937Pluto's Quin-puplets Animator
Moose HuntersAnimator
1938The Fox HuntAnimator
1939The Practical PigAnimator
The PointerAnimator
Beach PicnicAnimator
Society Dog ShowAnimator
Officer DuckAnimator
Aladdin and His Wonderful LampAnimation director
1940Bone TroubleAnimator
1941Pluto's PlaymateAnimator and director
1949Popeye's PremiereAnimator
1951PlutopiaAnimator
R'coon DawgAnimator
Cold TurkeyAnimator
1952Pluto's PartyAnimator
1953 The Simple ThingsAnimator
1954Social LionAnimator
1958To Itch His OwnAnimator

TV series

Year Title Role Notes
1956DisneylandAnimatorEpisode: Where Do the Stories Come From?

References

  1. Steve Watts, The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life, University of Missouri Press, pg. 132
  2. Michael Barrier interviews Corny Cole Archived 2016-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
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