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Mel Shaw
Mel Shaw
Born	Melvin Schwartzman; December 19, 1914; Brooklyn, New York
Died	November 22, 2012 (aged 97); Reseda, California
Occupations	Animator; design artist; writer; artist;

Mel Shaw (born Melvin Schwartzman; December 19, 1914 – November 22, 2012) was an American animator, design artist, writer, and artist. Shaw was involved in the animation, story design, and visual development of numerous Disney animated films, beginning with Bambi, which was released in 1942.^[1]^[2] His other animated film credits, usually involving animation design or the story, included The Rescuers in 1977, The Fox and the Hound in 1981, The Black Cauldron in 1985, The Great Mouse Detective in 1986, Beauty and the Beast in 1991, and The Lion King in 1994.^[1]^[2] He was named a Disney Legend in 2004 for his contributions to The Walt Disney Company.^[1]

Early life

Shaw was born on December 19, 1914, in Brooklyn, New York.^[2] His mother was an opera singer and his father was a lawyer.^[2] He was the second oldest of four brothers born to his parents.^[2]

Career

Shaw began his career in entertainment industry as a silent film title card creator at Pacific Title and Art, a company owned by film producer, Leon Schlesinger.^[1] He next worked for Orson Welles in the early 1930s, where Shaw helped to create a storyboard The Little Prince, though the proposed Welles film was never created.^[1] Shaw would later join the Harman-Ising Studio, working on the early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, as well as MGM's Happy Harmonies series.

Shaw was personally recruited by Walt Disney to work on the 1942 animated classic, Bambi.^[1]^[2] He left Disney Studios to enlist in the Army Signal Corps, where he served as a combat photographer during World War II.

Shaw returned to Disney's animation department in 1974 at the invitation of Walt Disney Studios.^[1] He returned to work on Disney animated films and mentored a new generation of animators. His last film at Disney was Brother Bear, released in 2003.^[1]

Shaw partnered with former MGM Studios animator Bob Allen to establish a design firm.^[1] Under Shaw and Allen, their company designed Howdy Doody for NBC during the late 1940s.^[1]^[2]

He was among a couple of artists who worked at Disney both during its Golden Age within the late-1930s as well as during the studio's resurgence within the 1990s.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Death

Shaw died from congestive heart failure on November 22, 2012, at the Woodland Care Center in Reseda, California, at the age of 97.^[1] His first wife, Louise, died in 1984.^[2] Shaw's second wife, Florence Lounsbery, who died in 2004, was the widow of Disney animator, John Lounsbery.^[2] They had resided in Acampo, California, for more than twenty years.^[2]

Filmography

We're in the Money (short) (animator - uncredited) - 1933
Tale of the Vienna Woods (short) (story, animator and character layouts - uncredited) - 1934
Toyland Broadcast (short) (animator - uncredited) - 1934
Good Little Monkeys (short) (animator - uncredited) - 1935
Alias St. Nick (short) (animator - uncredited) - 1935
Bottles (short) (animator - uncredited) - 1936
To Spring (short) (animator - uncredited) - 1936
Merbabies (short) (animator - uncredited) - 1938
Fantasia (visual development artwork) - 1940
Dumbo - 1941
Bambi (writer, visual development artwork) - 1942
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (visual development artwork for the Mr. Toad segment) - 1949
Disneyland - (story for the Tricks of Our Trade episode) - 1957
The Rescuers - 1977
Deadman's Curve (TV Movie) (writer: "Baby Talk" song) - 1978
The Fox and the Hound (creative assistant to the producers) - 1981
The Black Cauldron (writer) - 1985
The Great Mouse Detective (writer) - 1986
It's Howdy Doody Time (TV special) (thanks - as Melvin Shaw) - 1987
Beauty and the Beast (production consultant: visual development) - 1991
The Lion King (visual development artist) - 1994
Tarzan (assistant animator) - 1999
Treasure Planet (key animator) - 2002
Brother Bear (character designer) - 2003
Finding Grandma (short) (editor) - 2010