Leslie James "Les" Clark was a renowned American animator from Ogden, Utah, who played a vital role in the Walt Disney Animation Studios from around 1945 to 1977. He was one of the esteemed Nine Old Men, a group of senior animators who supervised the studio during that period.
Clark's journey with Disney began in 1927 when he was hired in a temporary position as a camera operator. He later transitioned to the ink and paint department, where he received training from Ub Iwerks, the senior animator of the studio at the time. Clark's early work included serving as an inbetweener in "Steamboat Willie" (1928),the debut film of Mickey Mouse, and working on "The Skeleton Dance" (1929),the first film in the "Silly Symphony" series.
After Iwerks left the Disney studio in 1930, Clark became the senior animator of the "Mickey Mouse" film series, working under various directors such as Burt Gillett, Wilfred Jackson, and David Hand. To improve his art style, Clark regularly attended art classes.
In 1934, Clark was tasked with animating the Seven Dwarfs in the animated feature film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937),which was the first American feature film and the most ambitious project for the studio at that time. His most significant scene in the film depicted Snow White dancing with each of the Dwarfs.
Clark's next major assignment was the anthology film "Fantasia" (1940),where he was one of the key animators for two segments: "The Nutcracker Suite" and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". The "Sorcerer's Apprentice" was an adaptation of the 1797 German poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which was in turn an adaptation of the Roman story "Philopseudes" ("Lover of Lies") by Lucian. Clark and his fellow animators worked with a redesigned version of Mickey Mouse, provided by Fred Moore, which featured pupils in his eyes and a greater range of expressions.
In the mid-1940s, Clark was promoted to the position of directing animator in Disney's feature films, where he worked on films such as "Song of the South" (1946),"Fun and Fancy Free" (1947),"Melody Time" (1948),"Cinderella" (1950),"Alice in Wonderland" (1951),"Peter Pan" (1953),and "Lady and the Tramp" (1955). Clark also served as a sequence director for "Sleeping Beauty" (1959),which was his last major work in a feature film.
Clark directed the animated short "Paul Bunyan" (1958),which was based on American folklore about a giant lumberjack. The short was nominated for an "Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film", but lost to "Knighty Knight Bugs" by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
During the 1960s, Clark primarily worked on Disney's infrequently released animated short films. He directed the educational short films "Freewayphobia or The Art of Driving the Super Highway" (1965) and "Goofy's Freeway Troubles" (1965),which both featured Goofy as their protagonist. He also directed the educational short film "Donald's Fire Survival Plan" (1966),which focused on fire safety precautions.
Clark retired in the mid-1970s, possibly due to health reasons. His "temporary" assignment for the Disney studio had lasted for over 35 years, making him the studio's longest-serving employee at the time of his retirement. Clark passed away in September 1979 at the age of 71 due to cancer. He was the second of the Nine Old Men to die, following John Lounsbery. In 1989, Clark was posthumously inducted into the hall of fame "Disney Legends".
