Eric Cleon Larson was born on September 3, 1905, in Cleveland, Utah, to Peter and Nora Larson. The family moved to Salt Lake City in 1915, where Eric developed an interest in journalism and secretly took drawing lessons. In 1925, he enrolled at the University of Utah, later relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a career in journalism and writing, although he was unsuccessful.
Eric then decided to pursue his passion for art and was offered a job at Walt Disney Productions in 1933 as an in-betweener. He married Gertrude Jannes in the same year, although they remained childless. Animator Hamilton Luske recognized Eric's talent and promoted him to assistant animator, and later mentor.
Eric's career at Disney flourished, with promotions to animator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937),and later animation director for Pinocchio (1940),where he created the beloved character Figaro. He also worked on Fantasia (1940),Bambi (1942),The Three Caballeros (1944),Make Mine Music (1946),and other classic Disney films.
By the 1940s, Eric had become a supervising animator, working on films such as Fun and Fancy Free, Song of the South, and Melody Time. He was part of the Animation Board and was appointed one of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men, a group of trusted associates that included Les Clark, Woolie Reitherman, Ward Kimball, Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, John Lounsbery, and Marc Davis.
Eric continued to work at Disney throughout the 1950s and 1960s, directing animator on films such as Cinderella (1950),Alice in Wonderland (1951),Peter Pan (1953),Lady and the Tramp (1955),and Sleeping Beauty (1959). He was promoted to Sequence Director for Sleeping Beauty and became a Directing Animator for One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).
After Walt Disney's death in 1967, Eric was demoted to character animator, but he continued to work on films such as The Aristocats (1970),Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971),Robin Hood (1973),and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977). He also trained many successful animators, including Andreas Deja, Glen Keane, John Pomeroy, Gary Goldman, Betsy Baytos, and others.
By the 1980s, almost all of the Nine Old Men had retired or passed away, and Eric was the last remaining original member. He remained an animation consultant for films such as The Fox and the Hound (1981),The Black Cauldron (1985),and The Great Mouse Detective (1986). Eric retired in September 1986 and died on October 25, 1988. In 1989, he was posthumously awarded the Disney Recognition of Honor by Roy Disney, Walt's nephew.
