Clyde Geronimi

Clito "Clyde" Geronimi (June 12, 1901 – April 24, 1989), known as Gerry, was an American animation director. He is best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions. Geronimi was born in Chiavenna, Italy, immigrating to the United States as a young child. Geronimi's earliest work in the animation field was for the J.R. Bray Studios, where he worked with Walter Lantz. Upon the dissolution of the Bray Studio in 1928, Geronimi followed Lantz to his own studio, Walter Lantz Productions, producing Cartoons for Universal Pictures. Geronimi left Lantz in 1931 to join Walt Disney Productions, where he remained until 1959. Geronimi started off in the shorts department as an animator, eventually becoming a director. His 1941 short, Lend a Paw, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.Geronimi moved into directing feature-length animated films after the end of World War II, mainly working for Walt Disney Productions. He was one of the directors on Bambi, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians.After Geronimi left Disney in 1959, he worked in television for a number of years (mostly at UPA), including directing many episodes of the 1967 animated Spider-Man series. He retired from animation sometime in the late 1960s, and provided illustrations for children's books.Geronimi received the 1978 Winsor McCay Award from the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, for his lifetime of contributions to the animation field. The award was presented by his long-time friend and colleague Walter Lantz. Geronimi was also posthumously inducted as a Disney Legend on July 14, 2017.In 2019, Sleeping Beauty was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".Geronimi died on April 24, 1989 at his home in Newport Beach, California, aged 87.