Brice Mack
| Brice Mack | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Brice Harvey Mack June 2, 1917 Manila, Philippines |
| Died |
January 2, 2008 (aged 90) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Director |
| Children | Kevin Mack |
Brice Harvey Mack (June 2, 1917 – January 2, 2008) was a background painter and director, known for his extensive work at Disney in the 1940s and 1950s as a background painter. He was hired for story writing at Disney in the 1950s, and worked on illustrating children's books based on the studio's films.
His first credited appearance was as the background artist for the Rite of Spring sequence in Fantasia. He worked on Song of the South, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp. He also went to work on Walt Disney's television series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color as a background painter and writer in the late 1950s. His last credit for Disney was in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. In the 1950s he became the president of ERA Productions, a small studio which was staffed with animators who had mostly come from Disney after leaving during the strike of 1941, producing and directing animated and live action commercials for the Peterson Company, as well as work for Disney. He later went on to form Unicorn Productions, with which he continued to work on commercials, films and theme park rides, continuing to consult for Disney into the early 1990s, when he retired.
His feature work includes directing the 1978 live action horror film Jennifer, written by Steve Krantz. Other director credits include Rooster: Spurs of Death (1983), Swap Meet (1979), and Half a House (1979). He was the executive in charge of production for Ruby and the producer of Mara of the Wilderness.
Mack was survived by his wife, Ginni, three sons and three grandsons. His son Kevin Mack is an Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor.
Awards
Brice Mack was awarded the Golden Motion Picture Cartoonist award in 1987.
Filmography
| Film | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasia | 1940 | Backgrounds for Rite of Spring Sequence. |
| Song of the South | 1946 | Backgrounds |
| Fun and Fancy Free | 1947 | Backgrounds |
| Melody Time | 1948 | Backgrounds |
| Pecos Bill | 1948 | Short |
| Johnny Appleseed | 1948 | Short |
| So Dear To My Heart | 1948 | Short |
| Pluto's Fledging | 1948 | Short |
| The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | 1949 | Backgrounds for both segments |
| Pluto's Surprise Package | 1949 | Short |
| Pluto's Sweater | 1949 | Short |
| Bubble Bee | 1949 | Short |
| Sheep Dog | 1949 | Short |
| Cinderella | 1950 | Backgrounds |
| Wonder Dog | 1950 | Short |
| Alice in Wonderland | 1951 | Backgrounds |
| Peter Pan | 1953 | Backgrounds |
| Little Toot | 1954 | Short |
| Lady and the Tramp | 1955 | Backgrounds |
| Beezy Bear | 1955 | Short |
| Film (after years at Disney) | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mara of the Wilderness | 1965 | Produced with company Unicorn Films. Starred Adam West |
| Half A House | 1975 | Directed; received an Academy Award nomination for best song[1] |
| Jennifer | 1978 | Directed |
| Swap Meet | 1979 | Directed |
| Rooster: Spurs of Death | 1983 | Directed |
Writer: Two Gun Goofy (1952) Teachers Are People (1952) How To Be A Detective (1952) Father's Day Off (1953) For Whom the Bulls Toil (1953) Father's Weekend (1953) Donald's Diary (1954) Casey Bats Again (1954)
References
- Ball, Ryan (2008-01-16). "Disney Background Painter Mack Dies at 90". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- "Animation vet Brice Mack dies at 90". Variety. Reed Elsevier. 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-01-23.