Ben Sharpsteen

Benjamin Luther "Ben" Sharpsteen was an American film animator, director, and producer for Disney, where remained for 33 years from 1929 to 1962 when he formally retired, but returned on occasion for a few projects. He won two Academy Awards for his work on the True-Life Adventures documentaries Ama Girls and White Wilderness.

Born in 1895 in the state of Washington, Sharpsteen worked as an inker for Hearst International. He subsequently enjoyed tenures at various animation studios, including Fleischer and Paramount before settling at Disney. While there, he started as an animator for many Silly Symphonies before becoming a director for shorts and later films, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pniocchio, and Dumbo. Upon becoming a supervisor, he oversaw productions, like Melody Time, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, and Alice in Wonderland before becoming involved with the Disney anthology series from 1954 and received much acclaim for his contributions to the True-Life Adventures series.

Outside of Disney, Sharpsteen created a museum documenting the history of California's first millionaire, Sam Brannan, and the history of the Upper Napa Valley as well as more on Sharpsteen's life and work at the Sharpsteen Museum located in Calistoga, California.

He died in Sonoma County, California. In 1998, Sharpsteen was posthumously named a Disney Legend.

Filmography[]

Year	Film	Position
1929	When the Cat's Away	animator
1929	The Karnival Kid	animator - uncredited
1929	Mickey's Choo-Choo	assistant animator - uncredited
1929	The Plowboy	animator - uncredited
1929	Jungle Rhythm	animator
1930	Cannibal Capers	animator - uncredited
1930	Frolicking Fish	animator - uncredited
1930	The Fire Fighters	animator - uncredited
1930	Arctic Antics	animator
1930	Midnight in a Toy Shop	Animator - uncredited
1930	The Shindig	Animator - uncredited
1930	The Chain Gang	Animator - uncredited
1930	Monkey Melodies	Animator - uncredited
1930	The Gorilla Mystery	Animator - uncredited
1930	The Picnic	Animator - uncredited
1930	Winter	Animator - uncredited
1930	Pioneer Days	Animator - uncredited
1930	Playful Pan	Animator - uncredited
1931	The Birthday Party	Animator - uncredited
1931	Birds of a Feather	Animator - uncredited
1931	Traffic Troubles	Animator - uncredited
1931	Mother Goose Melodies	Animator - uncredited
1931	The China Plate	Animator - uncredited
1931	The Cat's Out	Animator - uncredited
1931	Egyptian Melodies	Animator - uncredited
1931	Fishin' Around	Animator - uncredited
1931	The Beach Party	Animator - uncredited
1931	Mickey Cuts Up	Animator - uncredited
1931	Mickey's Orphans	Animator - uncredited
1932	The Duck Hunt	Animator - uncredited
1932	Mickey in Arabia	Animator - uncredited
1932	Just Dogs	Animator - uncredited
1932	Mickey's Nightmare	Animator - uncredited
1932	Trader Mickey	Animator - uncredited
1932	The Whoopee Party	Animator - uncredited
1932	Touchdown Mickey	Animation supervisor - uncredited
1932	The Klondike Kid	Animator - uncredited
1932	Babes in the Woods	Animator - uncredited
1932	Santa's Workshop	Animator - uncredited
1932	Mickey's Good Deed	Animator - uncredited
1933	Building a Building	Animator - uncredited
1933	The Mad Doctor	Animator - uncredited
1933	Birds in the Spring	Animator - uncredited
1933	Mickey's Mellerdrammer	Animator - uncredited
1933	Ye Olden Days	Animator - uncredited
1933	Father Noah's Ark	Animator - uncredited
1933	Mickey's Gala Premier	Animator - uncredited
1933	Mickey's Mechanical Man	Animator - uncredited
1933	Old King Cole	Animator - uncredited
1933	Puppy Love	Animator - uncredited
1933	Lullaby Land	Animator - uncredited
1933	Giantland	Animator - uncredited
1933	The Night Before Christmas	Animator - uncredited
1934	Shanghaied	Animator - uncredited
1934	The Grasshopper and the Ants	Animator - uncredited
1934	Funny Little Bunnies	Animator - uncredited
1934	Gulliver Mickey	Animator - uncredited
1934	The Hot Chocolate Soldiers	Animator - uncredited
1934	Hollywood Party	Animator - uncredited
1934	The Wise Little Hen	Animator - uncredited
1934	The Flying Mouse	Animator - uncredited
1934	Peculiar Penguins	Animator - uncredited
1934	Mickey Plays Papa	Animator - uncredited
1934	Two-Gun Mickey	Director - uncredited
1935	Mickey's Service Station	Director - uncredited
1935	The Cookie Carnival	Director - uncredited
1935	Mickey's Fire Brigade	Director - uncredited
1935	On Ice	Director - uncredited
1935	Cock o' the Walk	Director
1935	Broken Toys	Director - uncredited
1936	Moving Day	Director - uncredited
1936	More Kittens	Director
1936	Mickey's Circus	Director - uncredited
1936	Donald and Pluto	Director - uncredited
1937	The Worm Turns	Director
1937	Don Donald	Director -uncredited
1937	Moose Hunters	Director -uncredited
1937	Hawaiian Holiday	Director - uncredited
1937	Clock Cleaners	Director - uncredited
1937	Pluto's Quin-puplets	Director - uncredited
1937	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	Sequence Director Post-Production Coordinator - uncredited
1938	Mickey's Trailer	Director - uncredited
1938	Polar Trappers	Director - uncredited
1938	The Fox Hunt	Director
1940	Pinocchio	Supervising Director
1940	Fantasia	Production Supervisor Producer - uncredited Segment Director - uncredited
1941	Dumbo	Supervising Director
1947	Fun and Fancy Free	Production Supervisor
1948	Melody Time	Production Supervisor
1948	Seal Island	Production Supervisor
1949	The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad	Production Supervisor
1950	Cinderella	Production Supervisor
1950	In Beaver Valley	Production Supervisor
1951	Alice in Wonderland	Production Supervisor
1951	Nature's Half Acre	Production Supervisor
1952	The Olympic Elk	Production Supervisor
1952	Water Birds	Director
1953	Bear Country	Associate Producer
1953	The Alaskan Eskimo	Associate Producer
1953	Prowlers of the Everglades	Associate Producer
1953	The Living Desert	Associate Producer
1954-1972	The Magical World of Disney	Himself: "The Disneyland Story" Producer Director Sequence Director Production Supervisor
1954	The Vanishing Prairie	Associate Producer
1954	Siam	Producer
1955	Switzerland	Director
1955	The African Lion	Associate Producer
1955	Men Against the Arctic	Associate Producer
1956	The Blue Men of Morocco	Associate Producer
1956	Secrets of Life	Producer
1956	Sardinia	Director
1956	Samoa	Director
1957	Lapland	Director
1958	Portugal	Producer
1958	Ama Girls	Producer
1958	White Wilderness	Producer
1959	Mysteries of the Deep	Production Associate Director
1960	Islands of the Sea	Production Associate Director
1970	Dad, Can I Borrow the Car?	Production Supervisor
1975	The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures	Producer
1980	Mickey Mouse Disco	Director
2000	Fantasia 2000	Production Supervisor - Segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"