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LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Ollie Johnston, the last of the great artists from Walt Disney's golden age of animation that included "Pinocchio," "Peter Pan" and "Bambi," has died at the age of 95, Disney studio said Tuesday.
Johnston died at a retirement home in Sequim, in northwestern Washington state.
"Ollie was part of an amazing generation of artists, one of the real pioneers of our art, one of the major participants in the blossoming of animation into the art form we know today," said Roy Disney, director emeritus and consultant for The Walt Disney Co.
Johnston studied at Los Angeles' Chouinard Art Institute. He was approached by then-fledgling Disney studio in 1935 to work on animated shorts including "Mickey's Garden," "Pluto's Judgement Day" and "Mickey's Rival," the studio said in a statement.
His first feature film was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937. Other collaborations included many of the now classic Disney animated films, including "Fantasia," "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," "Lady and the Tramp," "Sleeping Beauty," "Mary Poppins" and "The Jungle Book."
Johnston retired in January 1978 to devote his time to writing, lecturing and consulting. In 1989, he received a Disney Legends Award, and in 2003, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held a tribute to him.
In November 2005, Johnston became the first animator to be honored with the National Medal of Arts, presented to him by President George W. Bush.
He was the last surviving member of an elite group of Disney animation pioneers known as the "Nine Old Men."
He is survived by his sons, Ken and Rick. His wife of 63 years, Marie, died in May 2005.
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