Ken Southworth
Encyclopedia
Ken Southworth was a veteran English
cartoon
animator
and instructor
who worked for a number of major animation studios throughout his career, including Walt Disney Studios
, Hanna-Barbera
, Filmation
, Warner Bros.
, MGM, Walter Lantz
and Clokey Productions. His credits included Disney's Alice in Wonderland
and Legend of Sleepy Hollow
as well as Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones
, The Smurfs and Space Ghost
.
, Lancashire
, England
, on September 22, 1918. He won a scholarship
to the Chicago Art Institute and moved to the U.S. when he was just 10 years old.
Southworth held dual citizenship in both the United States
and the United Kingdom
, but mostly worked in the U.S.
with Alice in Wonderland
(1951) by completing much of the film's rough animation. He also helped animator Frank Thomas
with the Wicked Stepmother character in Cinderella
. Southworth's other contributions while at Disney included The Adventures of Ichabod and Mister Toad, The Three Caballeros
(1944), and Song of the South
, as well as a number of shorts
featuring iconic Disney characters such as Pluto
, Goofy
and Donald Duck
.
Southworth briefly worked at a number of smaller animation studios after working at Disney, including MGM, Rudy Cataldi Productions and Sam Sing Productions. He is reportedly credited for creating the opening title sequence
for Woody Woodpecker
while working for Walter Lantz
.
He later worked for animation powerhouse Hanna-Barbera
for twenty one years.
His credits at Hanna-Barbera included Scooby Doo, Huckleberry Hound
, The Flintstones
, Jonny Quest
, Space Ghost
, Top Cat
, The Smurfs and Swat Kats. He returned to Hanna-Barbera in the mid-1980s in order to teach courses in basic animation. He directed all 100 episodes of Q. T. Hush
, produced by Animation Associates in color, and aired in syndication from September 1960 to February 1961.
Southworth's later work included the Looney Tunes
animation which was featured in the live action
film, Gremlins 2: The New Batch
and the Filmation
movie, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
.
Southworth was also a leading teacher and instructor in the field of animation. Besides Hanna-Barbera, Southworth taught seminars and courses at a number of institutions, including Glendale Animation Studios, the Art Institute of Southern California
, the California State University, Fullerton
, the Detroit Center for Creative Studies and VanArts
.
, on December 6, 2007, at the age of 89 following a series of strokes.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
and instructor
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
who worked for a number of major animation studios throughout his career, including Walt Disney Studios
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
, Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
, Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, MGM, Walter Lantz
Walter Lantz
Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and director, best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.-Early years and start in animation:...
and Clokey Productions. His credits included Disney's Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
and Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a 1949 animated feature produced by Walt Disney. The film was released to theaters on October 5, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures and is the eleventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
as well as Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
, The Smurfs and Space Ghost
Space Ghost
Space Ghost is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions and designed by Alex Toth for CBS in the 1960s. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his sidekick teen helpers Jan, Jace, and Blip the monkey, fought supervillains in outer space...
.
Early life
Ken Southworth was born in FarnworthFarnworth
Farnworth is within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton, 6 miles south-west of Bury , and northwest of Manchester....
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on September 22, 1918. He won a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to the Chicago Art Institute and moved to the U.S. when he was just 10 years old.
Southworth held dual citizenship in both the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but mostly worked in the U.S.
Career
Southworth began working as an animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1944. He assisted legendary animator Milt KahlMilt Kahl
Milton Erwin Kahl was an animator for the Disney studio, and one of Disney's Nine Old Men....
with Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
(1951) by completing much of the film's rough animation. He also helped animator Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas (animator)
Franklin M. "Frank" Thomas was an American animator. He was one of Walt Disney's team of animators known as the Nine Old Men....
with the Wicked Stepmother character in Cinderella
Cinderella (1950 film)
Cinderella is a 1950 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film had a limited release on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. Directing credits go to Clyde Geronimi,...
. Southworth's other contributions while at Disney included The Adventures of Ichabod and Mister Toad, The Three Caballeros
The Three Caballeros
The Three Caballeros is a 1944 American animated feature film, produced by Walt Disney and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on February 3, 1945...
(1944), and Song of the South
Song of the South
Song of the South is a 1946 American musical film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is based on the Uncle Remus cycle of stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The live actors provide a sentimental frame story, in which Uncle Remus relates the folk tales of the...
, as well as a number of shorts
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
featuring iconic Disney characters such as Pluto
Pluto (Disney)
Pluto, also called Pluto the Pup, is a cartoon character created in 1930 by Walt Disney Productions. He is a light brown , medium-sized, short-haired dog. Unlike Goofy, Pluto is not anthropomorphic beyond some characteristics such as facial expression...
, Goofy
Goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...
and Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
.
Southworth briefly worked at a number of smaller animation studios after working at Disney, including MGM, Rudy Cataldi Productions and Sam Sing Productions. He is reportedly credited for creating the opening title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
for Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
while working for Walter Lantz
Walter Lantz
Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and director, best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.-Early years and start in animation:...
.
He later worked for animation powerhouse Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
for twenty one years.
His credits at Hanna-Barbera included Scooby Doo, Huckleberry Hound
Huckleberry Hound
The Huckleberry Hound Show is a 1958 syndicated animated series and the second from Hanna-Barbera following The Ruff & Reddy Show, sponsored by Kellogg's. Three segments were included in the program: one featuring Huckleberry Hound; another starring Yogi Bear and his sidekick Boo Boo; and a third...
, The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
, Jonny Quest
Jonny Quest (TV series)
Jonny Quest – often casually referred to as The Adventures of Jonny Quest – is an American science fiction/adventure animated television series about a boy who accompanies his father on extraordinary adventures...
, Space Ghost
Space Ghost
Space Ghost is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions and designed by Alex Toth for CBS in the 1960s. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his sidekick teen helpers Jan, Jace, and Blip the monkey, fought supervillains in outer space...
, Top Cat
Top Cat
Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. Reruns are played on Cartoon Network's classic animation network Boomerang.-History:...
, The Smurfs and Swat Kats. He returned to Hanna-Barbera in the mid-1980s in order to teach courses in basic animation. He directed all 100 episodes of Q. T. Hush
Q. T. Hush
Q.T. Hush is an American animated cartoon produced in 1960 and appearing in syndication, beginning on 24 September 1960. The show's 100 five-minute episodes, all in color, were directed by veteran animator Ken Southworth, and produced by a company called Animation Associates. The main character was...
, produced by Animation Associates in color, and aired in syndication from September 1960 to February 1961.
Southworth's later work included the Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
animation which was featured in the live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
film, Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American horror comedy film, and the sequel to Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker...
and the Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
movie, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
Pinocchio and the Emperor of The Night is a 1987 animated film that was released on December 25, 1987 by New World Pictures. and is a unofficial sequel to Pinocchio . Created by the now defunct Filmation Studios, the movie underperformed at the box office, having a cost of $10 million but making...
.
Southworth was also a leading teacher and instructor in the field of animation. Besides Hanna-Barbera, Southworth taught seminars and courses at a number of institutions, including Glendale Animation Studios, the Art Institute of Southern California
The Art Institutes
-Fraud lawsuit:In August 2011 Education Management Corporation was investigated and sued by the United States Department of Justice and four states for illegal recruitment practices and fraudulent receipt of $11 billion in federal and state financial aid money....
, the California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...
, the Detroit Center for Creative Studies and VanArts
Vanarts
Vanarts is a private post-secondary school in British Columbia, Canada that was founded in 1995. It was set up by veteran animator Lee Mishkin who was an Oscar Award winning animator/director on the animated short Is it wrong to be right .In early April of 2011 a new one-year diploma program was...
.
Death
Ken Southworth died at his home in Anaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, on December 6, 2007, at the age of 89 following a series of strokes.