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Marc Davis
Born	(1913-03-30)March 30, 1913 Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Died	January 12, 2000(2000-01-12) (aged 86) Glendale, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Kansas City Art Institute
Occupation	Animator, imagineer
Years active	1937–1978
Known for	One of Disney's Nine Old Men
Spouse(s)	Alice Estes Davis (m. 1956)
Awards	Winsor McCay Award, 1982 Disney Legends, 1989

Marc Fraser Davis (March 30, 1913 – January 12, 2000) was a prominent American artist and animator for Walt Disney Studios. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, the famed core animators of Disney animated films, and was revered for his knowledge and understanding of visual aesthetics. After his work on One Hundred and One Dalmatians he permanently retired from animation.^[1]

Walt Disney once said of Davis, "Marc can do story, he can do character, he can animate, he can design shows for me. All I have to do is tell him what I want and it's there! He's my Renaissance man." ^[2][3]

Early Life

Davis was born in Bakersfield, CA on March 30, 1913, to a jewish family. The family moved a lot, so Davis was in 26 schools before he was in high school. As a child, schoolyard bullies were an impetus for Davis' to start drawing. He found when he drew that the other kids wanted his art, and the bullies wouldn't beat him up.^[4]
Davis studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. As a student, he spent his days sketching zoo animals; in the evening, he studied animal anatomy at the public library. ^[5]

Disney animator

Marc Davis began his Disney career in 1935 as an animator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was responsible for many Disney characters, becoming so regarded for his work on female characters that he was called "ladies' man".^[6]

The ones he mainly designed and animated are :

• 
  Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)


• 
  Bambi, Faline, Thumper, female rabbit, Flower and female skunk from Bambi (1942)


• 
  Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear from Song of the South (1946)


• Bongo, butterfly, and yawning trees from Fun and Fancy Free (1947)


• 
  Mr. Toad, Cyril Proudbottom, Rat, Mole, Angus MacBadger, Mr. Winkie and the weasels from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)


• 
  Cinderella, Stepsisters (tearing Cinderella's dress apart), Prince Charming, the King (close up of hands and bookends) and the Grand Duke (close up of hands and bookends) from Cinderella (1950)


• 
  Alice and the eyeglasses creature from Alice in Wonderland (1951)


• 
  Tinker Bell and Mrs. Darling from Peter Pan (1953)


• 
  Aurora, Maleficent, Diablo the Raven, Prince Phillip (a few scenes), King Stefan, and Queen Leah from Sleeping Beauty (1959)


• 
  Cruella de Vil and Anita from 101 Dalmatians (1961)

Walt Disney Imagineering

Davis, a brilliant draftsman, also designed the characters for many Disneyland rides and show animatronics:

• 
  The Jungle Cruise (1955)


• 
  Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland (1960)


• 
  The Enchanted Tiki Room (1963)


• Ford's Magic Skyway (1964)


• 
  Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (1964)


• 
  The Carousel of Progress (1964)


• 
  It's a Small World (1964)


• 
  Pirates of the Caribbean (1967)


• 
  The Haunted Mansion (1969)


• 
  The Country Bear Jamboree (1971)


• 
  America Sings (1974)


• 
  Western River Expedition (never built)

Personal life

As a professor at the Chouinard Art Institute Davis first met Alice Estes as a student there in 1947. After her graduation, they married in June 1956, and remained so for 44 years until his passing in 2000. ^[7][8]

Awards and Honors

In 1982, Davis was the recipient of the Winsor McCay Award. ^[9]
In 1985, Davis was the recipient of the Golden Award for 50 years of service from the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists.^[10][11]
In 1989, he was inducted as a Disney Legend.^[12] In 1993, Davis was the recipient of the DFC Disney Legend Award given by the Disneyana Fan Club.^[13] He was also the recipient of the much-coveted Mousecar (the Disney equivalent of an Oscar).^[14]
Davis, along with his wife Alice, received the honor of having their names on side-by-side windows on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland. Marc's reads: “Far East Imports – Exotic Art – Marc Davis – Proprietor”.^[7]

Legacy

Starting in 1994, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has annually presented the Marc Davis Lecture on Animation series featuring noted creators and luminaries in the industry. ^[5][15][16]

Davis died on January 12, 2000.^[17] That same month, the Marc Fraser Davis Scholarship Fund formally was established at the California Institute of the Arts.

In 2014, the Walt Disney Family Museum presented the exhibition Leading Ladies and Femmes Fatales: The Art of Marc Davis. ^[18][19][20]

In October of 2014, Marc Davis: Walt Disney's Renaissance Man .mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2emISBN 978-1423184188, a hardcover book focused on Davis' art and career, was published by Disney Editions. ^[21][22][23]

References

External links

• 
  Marc Davis on IMDb


• LaughingPlace.com - Memories of Marc Davis


• 
  Disney Family Album video: Marc Davis on YouTube