Wilfred Emmons Jackson (January 24, 1906 – August 7, 1988) was an American animator, musical arranger and director best known for his work with Walt Disney Productions. Jackson joined Walt Disney Productions in 1928 as a volunteer washing animation cels. He was soon promoted to an animator and was instrumental in developing the Mickey Mousing technique, which synchronized the music and action for Steamboat Willie (1928). He was then made the director for the Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies cartoon series, of which he directed the Academy Award-winning short films: The Tortoise and the Hare (1935), The Country Cousin (1936), and The Old Mill (1937). His feature film directorial debut was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Jackson next worked as a sequence director for Pinocchio (1940) and the Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria segment of Fantasia (1940). He then co-directed several theatrical Disney animated features up to Lady and the Tramp (1955). In 1953, Jackson suffered a heart attack while directing Sleeping Beauty (1959). A year later, after recovering, Disney asked Jackson to produce and direct animated segments for the Disneyland series. After nearly 35 years with Disney, he retired in 1961.

Biography

Early life

Jackson was born in Chicago, Illinois, but his family moved to Glendale, California. At a young age, he attended a screening of Jack and the Beanstalk (1917), starring Francis Carpenter. In 1924, he graduated from Glendale High School in 1924. After graduating, Jackson wanted to attend college, but his parents could not afford it. Wanting to pursue a career in animation, Jackson compromised with his father to attend an art school for two years. To pay for his tuition at Otis Art Institute (now called Otis College of Art and Design), Jackson recalled he "spent a year working at odd jobs, mostly gardening, things like that, and got enough saved up."

Career

Seeking an animation job, Jackson learned that most animation studios were on the East Coast but he was unable to relocate. Through an acquaintance from a close friend, Jackson called Walt Disney at his Hyperion studio, asking to speak with him. He soon arrived at the studio and showed Disney his portfolio. After examining his portfolio, Disney felt Jackson was not ready to be an animator, to which Jackson volunteered to work unpaid for him. Disney agreed, and Jackson was assigned to help John Lott, a studio janitor, wash paint off the animation cels. Several of the Silly Symphony shorts he directed, including The Old Mill (1937), won Academy Awards during the 1930s. In 1937, he made his directorial film debut with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He then directed sequences in many of the major Disney animated features up to Lady and the Tramp in 1955, including all of the animated sequences in Song of the South (1946). He later moved into television, producing and directing for Disney's Disneyland series. After continuing health issues, he retired in 1961.

Personal life and death

Jackson met his wife Jane Ames while studying at the Otis Art Institute. They married on February 23, 1929 and had two daughters, Barbara and Virginia. Jackson died on August 7, 1988 at his home on Balboa Island, at the age of 82.

Filmography