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Ward Kimball

Bandleader / Screenwriter / Television Director / Film Director | * 03/04/1914 († 88, 07/08/2002) | Minneapolis, Minnesota (United States of America (USA))
Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honored with two Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film. Outside of his job as an animator, Kimball was a railroad enthusiast as well as a talented jazz trombonist. He founded and led the seven-piece Dixieland band Firehouse Five Plus Two, in which he played the trombone. ()

While Kimball was a brilliant draftsman, he preferred to work on comical characters rather than realistic human designs. Animating came easily to him and he was constantly looking to do things differently. Because of this, Walt Disney called Ward a genius in the bookThe Story Of Walt Disney. While there were many talented animators at Disney, Ward's efforts stand out as especially unique.Kimball created several classic Disney characters including the Crows inDumbo; Tweedledum and Tweedledee, theMad Hatterand theCheshire CatfromAlice in Wonderland; the Mice and Lucifer the Cat fromCinderella; andJiminy CricketfromPinocchio. He also animated the famous "Three Caballeros" musical number from the Disney film of the same name.In 1953, Kimball became a director and was responsible for the Academy Award-winning shortToot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, and three Disney television shows about outer space that put the United States into the space program. He received anAcademy Awardfor the shortanimated cartoonIt's Tough to Be a Bird.Ward Kimball was profiled by theAcademy Award-winning producerJerry Fairbanksin hisParamount Picturesfilm short seriesUnusual Occupations.This35mmMagnacolorfilm short was released theatrically in 1944 and focused on Kimball's backyard railroad and full sized locomotive.Kimball was also ajazztrombonist. He founded and led the seven-pieceDixielandbandFirehouse Five Plus Two, in which he playedtrombone. The band made at least 13LP recordsand toured clubs, college campuses and jazz festivals from the 1940s to early 1970s. Kimball once said that Walt Disney permitted the second career as long as it did not interfere with his animation work.Kimball continued to work at Disney up until the early 1970s, working on theDisney anthology television series, being one of the writers forBabes in Toyland, creating animation forMary Poppins, directing the animation forBedknobs and Broomsticks, and working on titles for feature films such asThe Adventures Of Bullwhip GriffinandMillion Dollar Duck. His last staff work for Disney was producing and directing the Disney TV showThe Mouse Factory. He continued to do various projects on his own, even returning to Disney to do some publicity tours. Additionally, Kimball worked on an attraction for Disney'sEPCOT CentercalledThe World Of Motion.

Photo of Ward Kimball
Most frequent genres for this person: Animation | Kids & Family | Comedies

Known for these Movies & Shows

Awards & Nominations for Ward Kimball

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film Disney Legends Winsor McCay Award Inkpot Award Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film
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Movies with Ward Kimball as Actor(16)

as Self (Archival Footage)2022 Mickey: The Story of a Mouse
as Self - Disney Animator (archive footage)2019 Apollo: Missions to the Moon
as Self (archive footage)2009 Waking Sleeping Beauty
as Ward Kimball (archive footage)2007 The Pixar Story
as Self (archive footage)2005 From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella
as Self (Archive Footage)2005 The Cinderella That Almost Was
as Bird Fancier1969 It's Tough to Be a Bird
as himself1951 Operation Wonderland
as Himself - Firehouse Five Plus Two1950 One Hour in Wonderland
as Ward (voice) (uncredited)1941 The Nifty Nineties
as Ward Kimball1941 The Reluctant Dragon

Movies with Ward Kimball as Crew(64)

Visual Effects/Animation Director1971 Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Directing/Director1970 Dad... Can I Borrow the Car?
Production/Producer1970 Dad... Can I Borrow the Car?
Directing/Director1969 It's Tough to Be a Bird
Production/Producer1969 It's Tough to Be a Bird
Writing/Writer1969 It's Tough to Be a Bird
Directing/Director1968 The Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show
Directing/Director1968 Escalation
Visual Effects/Animation1968 Pacifically Peeking
Visual Effects/Animation1963 Fly With Von Drake
Writing/Writer1961 Babes in Toyland
Directing/Director1959 Eyes in Outer Space
Directing/Director1955 Man and the Moon
Production/Producer1955 Man and the Moon
Writing/Writer1955 Man and the Moon
Directing/Director1955 Man in Space
Production/Producer1955 Man in Space
Writing/Writer1955 Man in Space
Visual Effects/Animation1953 Peter Pan
Visual Effects/Animation Director1953 Peter Pan
Directing/Director1953 Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
Visual Effects/Animation1953 Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
Directing/Director1953 Melody
Visual Effects/Animation1953 Melody
Visual Effects/Animation1951 Alice in Wonderland
Visual Effects/Animation Director1950 Cinderella
Visual Effects/Animation1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Visual Effects/Animation Director1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Visual Effects/Animation1948 Melody Time
Visual Effects/Animation1948 Pecos Bill
Visual Effects/Animation Director1947 Fun and Fancy Free
Visual Effects/Animation1946 Willie the Operatic Whale
Visual Effects/Animation1946 Peter and the Wolf
Visual Effects/Animation1945 Hockey Homicide
Visual Effects/Animation1944 The Pelican and the Snipe
Visual Effects/Animation1944 The Three Caballeros
Visual Effects/Animation1943 Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi
Visual Effects/Animation1943 The Spirit of '43
Visual Effects/Animation1943 Reason and Emotion
Visual Effects/Animation1943 Chicken Little
Visual Effects/Animation1943 Victory Vehicles
Visual Effects/Animation1942 How to Play Baseball
Visual Effects/Animation1941 The Nifty Nineties
Visual Effects/Animation1941 Dumbo
Visual Effects/Animation1941 The Reluctant Dragon
Visual Effects/Animation1941 The Little Whirlwind
Visual Effects/Animation1940 Pinocchio
Visual Effects/Animation Director1940 Pinocchio
Visual Effects/Animation1940 Fantasia
Visual Effects/Animation1939 The Autograph Hound
Visual Effects/Animation1938 Mother Goose Goes Hollywood
Visual Effects/Animation1938 Ferdinand the Bull
Visual Effects/Animation1937 Woodland Café
Visual Effects/Animation1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Visual Effects/Animation Production Assistant1936 Elmer Elephant
Visual Effects/Animation1936 More Kittens
Visual Effects/Animation1936 Toby Tortoise Returns
Visual Effects/Animation1935 Pluto's Judgement Day
Visual Effects/Animation Production Assistant1935 The Tortoise and the Hare
Visual Effects/Animation Production Assistant1934 The Goddess of Spring
Visual Effects/Animation1934 Orphan's Benefit
Visual Effects/Animation Production Assistant1934 The Hot Choc-late Soldiers
Visual Effects/Animation Production Assistant1934 Mickey Plays Papa
Visual Effects/Animation1934 The Wise Little Hen

TV Shows/Series with Ward Kimball as Crew(2)

Creator/Creator1972 The Mouse Factory

Full Name: Ward Kimball
Born: Wednesday, 03/04 1914 (March) in Minneapolis, Minnesota (United States of America (USA))
Died: Monday, 07/08 2002 (July) in Los Angeles (aged: 88)
Zodiac sign: Pisces (Chinese zodiac sign: Tiger)
Languages: English (EN)
Educated at: Covina High School, Santa Barbara School of the Arts, Santa Barbara High School
Employer: The Walt Disney Company
Member of: Firehouse Five Plus Two
Spouses (current/former): Betty Kimball
Children: John Kimball
Student of: Hamilton Luske
Other names for Ward Kimball (nicknames, foreign languages etc.):
"Ward Walrath Kimball"
Ward Kimball frequently works together with these people:
Walt Disney (60x, Crew)
Ollie Johnston (23x, Crew)
Milt Kahl (23x, Crew)
Les Clark (22x, Crew)
Frank Thomas (20x, Crew)
John Lounsbery (20x, Crew)
Hamilton Luske (18x, Crew)
Eric Larson (17x, Crew)
Marc Davis (17x, Crew)
Wilfred Jackson (16x, Crew)
Annette Funicello (7x, Actress)
WatchPlayStream ID: PEOPLE:242014, Added: 08/07/2018, Last updated: 03/14/2024