{{Short description|American animator (1914–2016)}} '''Willis Acton Pyle''' (September 3, 1914 – June 2, 2016) was an American animator known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios, including ''Pinocchio'' (1940), ''Fantasia'' (1940), and ''Bambi'' (1942), as well as UPA's ''Mr. Magoo'', where he co-created the iconic character, and the short film, ''Gerald McBoing-Boing'' (1950), which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1951.<ref name=thr>{{cite news|first=Mike |last=Barnes |title=Willis Pyle, Famed Animator on 'Pinocchio' and 'Mr. Magoo,' Dies at 101 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/willis-pyle-dead-pinocchio-magoo-900742 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2016-06-08 |access-date=2016-06-28}}</ref><ref name=telegraph>{{cite news|title=Willis Pyle, animator – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/06/27/willis-pyle-animator--obituary/ |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=2016-06-27 |access-date=2016-06-28}}</ref><ref name=guardian>{{cite news|first=Anthony |last=Hayward |title=Willis Pyle obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/jun/21/willis-pyle-obituary |work=The Guardian |date=2016-06-21 |access-date=2016-06-28}}</ref> Pyle later enjoyed a long career as a freelance animator on such projects as the animated film, ''Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure'' (1977), ''Halloween Is Grinch Night'' (1977), several ''Peanuts'' television specials, and ''Cathy's Valentine''.<ref name=thr/>
The son of a farmer, Willis Pyle was born on September 3, 1914, near Lebanon, Kansas.<ref name=thr/><ref name=telegraph/> He was raised in a sod house in Colorado.<ref name=telegraph/> Pyle's brother was actor Denver Pyle, who was best known for his starring role as Uncle Jesse on CBS television series, ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', from 1979 until 1985.<ref name=thr/> However, Pyle was not the nephew of, nor related to, journalist Ernie Pyle.<ref name=thr/>
Pyle enrolled as an art student at the University of Colorado Boulder, while working as a commercial illustrator for Gano-Downs department store in Denver, when he found an employment poster for animators at Walt Disney Studios.<ref name=thr/> Pyle left from Colorado in 1937<ref name=coloradan>{{cite news|first=David|last=Barnes |title=The Man Who Shaped Pinocchio |url=http://www.colorado.edu/coloradan/2010/06/01/man-who-shaped-pinocchio |work=Coloradan Alumni Magazine |date=2010-06-01 |access-date=2016-06-28}}</ref> and relocated to Los Angeles and was initially hired by Disney as an office boy in 1937.<ref name=thr/> His first feature film was ''Pinocchio'' in 1940, in which he worked as an assistant animator under Milt Kahl, one of Disney's Nine Old Men.<ref name=thr/> In a 2010 interview with the ''Coloradan Alumni Magazine'', explained how he animated ''Pinocchio'', "The character had to act — raise its eyebrows, turn and jump and react to other characters. And the way you could do it was by looking at yourself in a mirror to see what that expression looked like."<ref name=thr/><ref name=coloradan/> Pyle also worked as an assistant animator on ''Fantasia'' in 1940 and ''Bambi'' in 1942.<ref name=thr/>
Shortly after completing work on ''Bambi'', Pyle left Disney to briefly take a position as an animator at Walter Lantz Productions, where he worked on ''Woody Woodpecker'' short films.<ref name=thr/> He then served as part of the United States Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, based in Culver City, California, during World War II.<ref name=thr/> Willis Pyle next worked as an illustrator for ''Vogue'' magazine following his time with the U.S. Army Air Force.<ref name=thr/>
Willis Pyle next joined United Productions of America (UPA), where he helped create one of UPA's best known characters, Mr. Magoo.<ref name=thr/> His work at the studio was noticed by Ted Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, who hired Pyle as an animator on his 1950 UPA animated short film, ''Gerald McBoing-Boing'', which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1951.<ref name=thr/>
Pyle's career as a freelance animator spanned several decades. His credits included the 1977 animated film, ''Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure'', as well as several Charlie Brown animated specials.<ref name=thr/> (Pyle and ''Peanuts'' animator Bill Melendez had originally worked together on ''Gerald McBoing-Boing'').
Pyle later donated a portion of his archives and papers to the Lilly Library at Indiana University Bloomington.<ref name=thr/>
Willis Pyle died at his penthouse apartment on Broadway in Manhattan, New York City, on June 2, 2016, at the age of 101.<ref name=thr/> He was predeceased by his wife, Virginia Morrison, whom he married in 1946.<ref name=telegraph/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0701515|name=Willis Pyle}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyle, Willis}} Category:1914 births Category:2016 deaths Category:American animators Category:American men centenarians Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people Category:University of Colorado Boulder alumni Category:Artists from Manhattan Category:People from Smith County, Kansas