Listen Live

Click Here To Listen Live

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE.

Foxy 107.1-104.3 Featured Video
CLOSE

Floyd-Norman-Screenshot

 

Floyd Norman was the first Black animator hired by the Walt Disney Animation Studios, a legacy that will remain cemented in time. He was featured in a documentary, “Floyd Norman: An Animated Life”  in 2016.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM

Norman was born June 22, 1935 in Santa Barbara, Calif., a far cry from the Jim Crow South that he experienced later as a boy. Without the overt racism that was prevalent throughout much of America at the time, Norman grew up in a relatively sheltered environment which fueled his imagination.

In 1956, Norman received a big break in his career when Disney hired him as a part-time animator when he was just 21. Prior to this, Norman worked as a cartoonist’s assistant. The first film Norman worked on was “Sleeping Beauty,” released in 1959. Other early works that employed Norman’s expertise was the original “Jungle Book,” “101 Dalmatians” and other smaller films.

In past interviews, Norman defended the notoriously picky and hands-on Disney, saying that they never once fretted about Norman’s race. The studio was especially patient with Norman, who originally applied to work there fresh out of high school. The company plucked Norman out of the Art Center College of Design and the rest was history.

In 1966, Norman and his partner Ron Sullivan formed Vignette Films and worked on a series of projects including the original 1969 “Fat Albert” special, the animated Soul Train logo and many other projects. The film studio was the among the first to produce pieces on Black history for children. In 1999, Norman and Sullivan created the website, Afro Kids.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER: 

Norman returned to the studio in the ’70’s, but was asked to resign at the turn of the century. Norman’s second wife, Adrienne Brown-Norman, is still a Disney employee and Norman drives her into work everyday as he has for the past 15 years.

This year, Norman was added to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ education and outreach committee. He is also the recipient of the 2002 Winsor McCay Award and the 2007 Disney Legend award, among other honors.

According to reviews of the documentary, the film highlights the troubles Norman’s work obsession caused his first marriage and their children. The documentary, “Floyd Norman: An Animated Life,” can be seen on demand on most streaming sites and on Blu-Ray.

Norman paved the way for future Black Disney animators like Bruce Smith who did “‘The Princess and the Frog” and is the creator of “The Proud Family.” l

PHOTO: Floyd Norman — An Animated Life Vimeo Screenshot)

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM

 

Top 10 Little Known Black History Fact Of The Decade #5: Floyd Norman  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com