Franklin Rosborough "Frank" Thomas

 Franklin Rosborough "Frank" Thomas (September 5, 1912 – September 8, 2004)

He was one of Walt Disney's team of animators; known as the Nine Old Men. His work in animated cartoon shorts included "Brave Little Tailor", in which he animated scenes of Mickey Mouse and the king; Mickey and the bear in "The Pointer", and German dialogue scenes in the World War II propaganda short "Education for Death" (shortly before Thomas enlisted in the Air Force). During World War II he was assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit where he made training films. In feature films, among the characters and scenes Thomas animated were the dwarfs crying over Snow White's "dead" body, Pinocchio singing at the marionette theatre, Bambi and Thumper on the ice, Lady and the Tramp eating spaghetti, the three fairies in Sleeping Beauty, Merlin and Arthur as squirrels and the "wizard's duel" between Merlin and Madam Mim in The Sword in the Stone (in which he was paired with animator Milt Kahl to great effect), King Louie in The Jungle Book (the song number "I Wan'na Be Like You" featuring King Louie and Baloo the Bear re-teamed him with Kahl), the dancing penguins in Mary Poppins, and Winnie The Pooh and Piglet in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. Thomas was directing animator for several memorable villains, including the evil stepmother Lady Tremaine in Cinderella, the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, and Captain James Hook in Peter Pan. He retired from Disney on January 31, 1978. Thomas' last appearance in an animated film before his death was in The Incredibles (directed by Brad Bird), although he voiced a character, rather than animating one. Thomas died in La Cañada Flintridge, California on September 8, 2004 at age 92.