Bernard "Berny" Wolf (July 18, 1911 - September 7, 2006) was an American animator and television producer.
Bernard Wolf | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 18, 1911 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 7, 2006 (aged 95) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Animator |
Biography
editWolf was born in New York City. His career in animation started either in 1924, or 1927. He began work as an inker on Charles Mintz' Krazy Kat silent shorts as an Inker along with Dave Tendlar. The shorts were being distributed by Paramount Pictures at the time. He moved to Inkwell Studios shortly afterwards a predecessor to Fleischer Studios, where he was hired by Max Fleischer as an Inbetweener on Koko the Clown in the silent The Inkwell Imps series. In 1931 he was promoted to the position of Animator and worked with Seymour Kneitel on the Betty Boop cartoons. While much credit has been given to Grim Natwick for her creation, her transformation into the cute cartoon girl was due to the work of Berny Wolf, Seymour Kneitel, Roland Crandall, and Willard Bowsky, who continued working with her after Natwick left in early February 1931 to direct for Ub Iwerks on the west coast.[1] It was at Fleischer Studios that he met Shamus Culhane and Al Eugster, with whom he would maintain a long personal and professional relationship. The three would leave Fleischer to work briefly for Ub Iwerks, where they worked alongside Grim Natwick.
In 1938, Wolf, Eugster and Culhane moved to Walt Disney Studios. After working briefly in the shorts department, Wolf moved on to features. He was one of the animators of Pinocchio and Fantasia (The Pastoral Symphony Segment). His final work at Disney was on Dumbo.
Wolf left Disney after the 1941 strike. He briefly provided uncredited work for Tex Avery at MGM before being drafted during World War II. Wolf was assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit, a group of former Hollywood personnel who created short educational films for the American military. After the war, Wolf worked briefly for animator Rudolph Ising and worked on commercials for companies like FilmFair before forming his own company, Animedia Inc. Animedia produced animation for advertising and commercial films. The company also designed some of the costumes used at Walt Disney World, as well as animating segments for Sesame Street.
Wolf folded Animedia in the 1970s in order to return to animation full-time. He produced several animated features for Hanna Barbera, including 1987's The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones. He was Producer of Bobby's World for Film Roman, and was an uncredited Animator on Tom and Jerry: The Movie. He retired from animation in the 1990s, but continued to provide freelance animation pre-production for Fred Wolf Films, commercial design, and additionally developed mascots for the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Wolf died in 2006 at the age of 95.
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Credits | Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Pinocchio | Animator | Credited and known as Berny Wolf | |
| Fantasia | Animator - Segment "The Pastoral Symphony" | Credited and known as Berny Wolf | ||
| 1941 | Dumbo | Animator | Credited and known as Berny Wolf | |
| 1980 | Mickey Mouse Disco (Short) | Animator | Credited and known as Bernie Wolf | |
| 1985 | Galtar and the Golden Lance (TV Series) | Producer | ||
| 1985–1986 | Paw Paws (TV Series) | Producer – 21 Episodes | ||
| 1986 | Pound Puppies (TV Series) | Associate Producer – 13 Episodes | ||
| Foofur (TV Series) | Associate Producer – 13 Episodes | |||
| 1986–1987 | The New Adventures of Jonny Quest (TV Series) | Producer – 13 Episodes | ||
| The Flintstone Kids (TV Series) | Associate Producer – 26 Episodes | |||
| 1987 | The Jetsons (TV Series) | Producer – 10 Episodes | ||
| The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (TV Movie) | Producer | |||
| Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose (TV Movie) | Producer | |||
| The Little Troll Prince (TV Movie) | Producer / Story Editor | |||
| 1985–1987 | Snorks (TV Series) | Producer – 23 Episodes | ||
| 1988 | Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats (TV Movie) | Producer | ||
| Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (TV Movie) | Producer | |||
| Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf | Producer | |||
| Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears (TV Movie) | Producer | |||
| 1989 | The Smurfs (TV Series) | Animation Director – 24 Episodes | ||
| 1989–1990 | Paddington Bear (TV Series) | Animation Director – 13 Episodes | ||
| 1990 | Garfield's Feline Fantasies (TV Short) | Key Animator | ||
| Jetsons: The Movie | Animator | Credited and known as Berny Wolf | ||
| 1989–1990 | A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (TV Series) | Animation Director – 11 Episodes | ||
| 1990–1991 | Garfield and Friends (TV Series) | Director – 13 Episodes | ||
| 1990–1994 | Bobby's World (TV Series Short) | Director – 17 Episodes | ||
| 1994 | Garfield and Friends | Animator – 1 Episode | ||
| Sonic the Hedgehog (TV Series Short) | Animation Timer – 13 Episodes | |||
| 1996 | The Fantastic Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor (TV Series) | Sheet Timer – 1 Episode |
References
edit- ^ Pointer, Ray(2016). "The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer: American Animation Pioneer", McFarland & Co. Publischers. Pg 116