Richard Williams, who gave life to Roger Rabbit, dies at 86



[ad_1]

When the Times reviewed a new copy in 2016, Glenn Kenny compared it to Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons" – "a breathtaking masterpiece that can never be seen under his own eyes. ideal shape ".

Williams was the author of The Animator's Survival Kit (2001). The book, "a set of methods, principles, and formulas," included an entire chapter on "Races, Jumps, and Jumps." It has become an essential reference of the industry, in printed form and as a cabinet of 16 DVDs. The film historian Kevin Brownlow described it as "very captivating, even for a layman".

Mr. Williams' career advice was sometimes less than idealistic. "Persist," he has already told an audience. "Do not stop, because they will stop you if they can."

Richard Edmund Williams was born March 19, 1933 in Toronto, where he was raised by his mother, illustrator Kathleen (Ball) Williams, and his second husband, commercial artist Kenneth Williams.

He liked to say that his mother was his inspiration, but she insisted that it was Walt Disney. In an interview with the Museum of Modern Art in 2016, Mr. Williams quoted him, saying, "You saw 'Snow White' when you're 5 and you're never again the same."

At age 15, he escaped from his home and went to California hoping to meet Disney, but his mother insisted that he come back. He took classes at the Ontario College of Art and, at age 16, earned his living as an illustrator. Then he had a change of heart.

Deciding that this art was his true calling, Mr. Williams spent two years painting in Ibiza, Spain. He also played in a jazz band there. (This passion has lasted, as a cornetist he has led several groups.) When he returned to animation, he worked for an animation studio in London and then opened the his.

[ad_2]

Source link