Jack Hannah
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (February 2022) |
John Frederick Hannah (January 5, 1913 – June 11, 1994) was an American animator, writer and director of animated shorts.
Jack Hannah | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Frederick Hannah January 5, 1913 Nogales, Arizona, U.S. |
| Died | June 11, 1994 (aged 81) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) |
| Alma mater | California Institute of the Arts |
| Occupations | Animator, writer, director of Disney |
| Years active | 1933–1984 |
Biography
Hannah was born on January 5, 1913, in Nogales, Arizona. He moved to Los Angeles in 1931 to study at the Art Guild Academy. One of his first jobs was designing movie posters for Hollywood theaters. In 1933, during the Great Depression, Hannah dropped off his portfolio at Walt Disney Studios, and soon afterward was hired as an in-between and clean-up artist, working on Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Silly Symphony cartoons.
Hannah's career as an animator commenced with the short Modern Inventions (released on May 29, 1937). After thirteen films in that capacity, he was assigned to the story department writing cartoon short continuities, beginning with Donald's Nephews (released on April 15, 1938). He received writing credit on 21 Disney cartoon shorts.
In 1942 he collaborated with Carl Barks on the first two comic books Barks worked on, Pluto Saves the Ship and Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold. Hannah in subsequent years did a handful of other Donald Duck comic book stories[1] but, unlike Barks, he stayed at the studio and eventually was given a chance to be a director. The short Donald's Off Day (released on December 8, 1944) was the first of 94 films he would direct. These include most of the shorts featuring Donald Duck in the post-war era along with all starring Chip 'n Dale and Humphrey the Bear; he also directed some shorts starring Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Pluto and some minor Disney characters such as Lambert the Sheepish Lion.
After Disney stopped producing animated shorts, Hannah did 14 episodes of the Walt Disney anthology television series (composed of footage from the classic cartoons along with new linking material) and fulfilled his ambition to direct live-action by handling Walt Disney's introductions for the episodes. Hannah hoped to segue into a career in live-action but "Walt had me pegged as an animation director so he balked at the suggestion. We had a few heated discussions and I became aware that I had come to an impasse."[2]
Hannah then went to Walter Lantz Productions and directed a number of films featuring Woody Woodpecker and some minor characters. Besides directing shorts, Hannah also was assistant director for the television series The Woody Woodpecker Show, which began airing on October 3, 1957. "I did more or less the same thing that I did with Walt Disney in directing live-action except Lantz was better at taking direction."[2] His last directing effort was the short Charlie's Mother-In-Law (released on April 16, 1963). He retired shortly thereafter.
In 1975, Hannah was one of the co-founders, along with T. Hee, of the Character Animation program at the California Institute of the Arts.
Hannah was honored as a "Disney Legend" in 1992. Jack Hannah is often credited with developing, if not creating, the personality of the animated version of Donald Duck. It is for this reason Disney historian Jim Korkis has dubbed him "Donald Duck's Other Daddy." Despite that, Hannah has often been noted for being responsible for Donald's most formulaic period, where constantly paired Donald with pint-sized antagonists. The most famous of these antagonists are Chip 'n Dale, but other characters included Spike the Bee, Bootle Beetle and a colony of ants. These vermin became the focus of their shorts, relegating Donald to a supporting foil role with a consequent personality diminution.
Hannah died from cancer in Burbank, California on June 11, 1994, at age 81.
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Credits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | Servants' Entrance | animator | |
| Gulliver Mickey | animator | ||
| 1936 | Toby Tortoise Returns | animator | |
| Donald and Pluto | animator | ||
| The Country Cousin | animator | ||
| 1937 | Don Donald | animator | |
| Woodland Café | animator | ||
| Modern Inventions | animator | ||
| The Old Mill | animator | ||
| Donald's Ostrich | animator | ||
| 1938 | Self Control | animator | |
| Donald's Better Self | story and animation | ||
| Donald's Nephews | story and animation | ||
| Donald's Golf Game | animator | ||
| Good Scouts | animator | ||
| 1939 | Sea Scouts | animator | |
| Donald's Penguin | animator | ||
| Donald's Lucky Day | story and animation | ||
| The Hockey Champ | story and animation | ||
| Donald's Cousin Gus | story | ||
| Beach Picnic | story | ||
| 1940 | Mr. Duck Steps Out | story | |
| Donald's Vacation | story and animation | ||
| Window Cleaners | story | ||
| Fire Chief | story | ||
| 1941 | Timber | story | |
| Golden Eggs | story | ||
| Early to Bed | story | ||
| Truant Officer Donald | story | ||
| Old MacDonald Duck | story | ||
| Chef Donald | story | ||
| 1942 | Sky Trooper | story | |
| The Army Mascot | story | ||
| Donald Gets Drafted | story | ||
| Donald's Snow Fight | animator | ||
| Bellboy Donald | story | ||
| Donald's Garden | animator | ||
| Out of the Frying Pan and into the Firing Line | animator | ||
| 1943 | Home Defense | story | |
| The Old Army Game | story | ||
| 1944 | Trombone Trouble | story | |
| The Plastics Inventor | story | ||
| Commando Duck | story | ||
| Donald Duck and the Gorilla | story | ||
| Donald's Off Day | director | ||
| 1945 | The Eyes Have It | director | |
| No Sail | director | ||
| 1946 | Double Dribble | director | |
| Squatter's Rights | director | ||
| A Knight for a Day | director | ||
| Lighthouse Keeping | director | ||
| Frank Duck Brings 'em Back Alive | director | ||
| 1947 | Clown of the Jungle | director | |
| Bootle Beetle | director | ||
| Straight Shooters | director | ||
| Chip an' Dale | director | ||
| Foul Hunting | director | ||
| 1948 | They're Off | director | |
| Daddy Duck | director | ||
| Inferior Decorator | director | ||
| Soup's On | director | ||
| Three for Breakfast | director | ||
| Tea for Two Hundred | director | ||
| 1949 | All in a Nutshell | director | |
| Slide, Donald, Slide | director | ||
| Honey Harvester | director | ||
| Donald's Happy Birthday | director | ||
| Winter Storage | director | ||
| The Greener Yard | director | ||
| Sea Salts | director | ||
| Toy Tinkers | director | ||
| 1950 | Trailer Horn | director | |
| Hook, Lion and Sinker | director | ||
| Lion Around | director | ||
| Bee at the Beach | director | ||
| Out on a Limb | director | ||
| Crazy Over Daisy | director | ||
| 1951 | Chicken in the Rough | director | |
| Dude Duck | director | ||
| Test Pilot Donald | director | ||
| Corn Chips | director | ||
| Lucky Number | director | ||
| Out of Scale | director | ||
| Bee on Guard | director | ||
| 1952 | Two Chips and a Miss | director | |
| Lambert the Sheepish Lion | director | ||
| Donald Applecore | director | ||
| Let's Stick Together | director | ||
| Uncle Donald's Ants | director | ||
| Trick or Treat | director | ||
| Pluto's Christmas Tree | director | ||
| 1953 | Don's Fountain of Youth | director | |
| The New Neighbor | director | ||
| Canvas Back Duck | director | ||
| Rugged Bear | director | ||
| Working for Peanuts | director | ||
| 1954 | The Flying Squirrel | director | |
| Social Lion | director | ||
| Grin and Bear It | director | ||
| Dragon Around | director | ||
| Spare the Rod | director | ||
| 1955 | No Hunting | director and voice (of Moose) | |
| Bearly Asleep | director | ||
| Beezy Bear | director | ||
| Up a Tree | director | ||
| 1956 | In the Bag | director | |
| 3D Jamboree | director | the "Working for Peanuts" short | |
| Hooked Bear | director | ||
| 1959 | Bric's Stew | story | |
| 1960 | Donald Duck and his Companions | story and animation | |
| Southern Fried Hospitality | director | ||
| Hunger Strife | director | ||
| Freeloading Feline | director and story | ||
| 1961 | Doc's Last Stand | director | |
| Woody's Kook-Out | director | ||
| Gabby's Diner | director | ||
| Tin Can Concert | director and story | ||
| Tricky Trout | director | ||
| Voo-Doo Boo-Boo | director | ||
| Franken-Stymied | director | ||
| Bear and the Bees | director | ||
| Clash and Carry | director | ||
| Mackerel Moocher | director | ||
| Eggnapper | director | ||
| Poop Deck Pirate | director | ||
| 1962 | Greedy Gabby Gator | director | |
| Corny Concerto | director | ||
| Punchy Pooch | director | ||
| Mother's Little Helper | director | ||
| Rocket Racket | director | ||
| Fowled-Up Birthday | director | ||
| Pest of Show | director | ||
| Rock-a-Bye Gator | director | ||
| Fish and Chips | director | ||
| 1964 | Jungle Medics | director and story |
TV series
- Disneyland (1954–79)
- The Donald Duck Story (director and story; 1954)
- Adventures of Mickey Mouse (director; 1955)
- At Home with Donald Duck (director; 1956)
- The Great Cat Family (segment director; 1956)
- Where Do the Stories Come From? (director; 1956)
- On Vacation (director; 1956)
- A Day in the Life of Donald Duck (director;1956)
- Duck for Hire (director; 1957)
- Donald's Award (director; 1957)
- All About Magic (sequence director; 1957)
- Your Host, Donald Duck (director;1957)
- From All of Us to All of You (director; 1958)
- Four Tales on a Mouse (director: Christmas sequence; 1958)
- Donald's Weekend (director; 1958)
- Highway to Trouble (director;1959)
- Duck Flies Coop (director; 1959)
- Two Happy Amigos (director;1960)
- This Is Your Life Donald Duck (director;1960)
- Kids Is Kids (segment director; 1961)
- A Square Peg in a Round Hole (segment director; 1963)
- The Ranger of Brownstone (sequence director; 1968)
- Baseball Fever (director; 1979)
- The Woody Woodpecker Show (1957–58)
- Matty's Funday Funnies (TV Series) (1962; story)
References
External links
- Jack Hannah at Inducks
- Jack Hannah at IMDb
- Jack Hannah Remembers Pirate Gold at Mouse Planet
- Donald Duck's Other Daddy (Part One)
- Jack Hannah at Library of Congress Authorities, with 3 catalog records