Don Lusk

Donald Ross Lusk was born on October 28, 1913, in Burbank, a suburb of Los Angeles, California to Perceval Knox Lusk and Louise Opie Ross Parrish, who were married in 1908 in California.^[5] He served in the United States Marine Corps for three years, during World War II, in its newly created Animation Unit.^[1][6]

Lusk was hired by The Walt Disney Company in 1933 as an Inbetweener.^[7] His first film as an animator was 1938's Ferdinand the Bull adapted from 1936's The Story of Ferdinand by author Munro Leaf.^[8] He worked on Pinocchio, Fantasia (The Nutcracker Suite and The Pastoral Symphony Segments), Bambi, Song of the South, Melody Time, So Dear to My Heart, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and One Hundred and One Dalmatians.^[9][10]

Lusk left Disney in 1960, but continued to work as an animator during the 1960s and 1970s. During the early 1960s, he worked at Walter Lantz Productions under Jack Hannah's unit. Aside from animation, Lusk also directed multiple cartoon films and series, including the Peanuts TV specials and movies and for the Hanna-Barbera studio. His work at the latter included The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Tom and Jerry.^[11]

In the early 1990s, Lusk retired after a career which spanned some 60 years.^[12]

Lusk married Marge Lusk, who worked in the Personnel Department of Disney Studios in Burbank. The couple had two children. He died on December 30, 2018, in San Clemente, California, aged 105.^[1] Long time friend, Navah-Paskowitz Asner, announced the news of his death on social media.^[7]