Harry Reeves

Harold Epperson "Harry" Reeves was an American animator and screenwriter, who worked at Disney Studios for three decades.
Born to William Reeves, a meat salesman, and Nettie Epperson in 1906, Reeves hitchhiked from his home for a short trip to southern California, where he fell in love with show business. After graduating from Wiley High School, he concentrated on honing his artistic skills at John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis for a few years before moving on to the National Academy of Design and Columbia University in New York.
While serving as a barker at a Broadway theater in 1929, he met three animators from Pat Sullivan Cartoon Studios, producer of Felix the Cat shorts and soon got a job with them. He met and worked under pioneer film animator Otto Messmer, creator of Felix. The studio was reluctant to make cartoons with voices, so Reeves left in November of 1930 for Disney Studios. He earned $60 a week as an "apprentice cartoon animator" and worked on the Silly Symphonies with Ben Sharpsteen and David Hand. In 1934, he became an "animator and apprentice story writer" and finally, in July 1937, he became a story director for three Donald Duck shorts: Good Scouts (1938), Donald's Lucky Day (1939), and The Autograph Hound (1939). He also worked on shorts for Mickey Mouse and Pluto. During World War II, he teamed up with Homer Brightman to help conceive Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, First Aiders, Make Mine Music, Canine Casanova, and Canine Patrol.
Later in life, Reeves then amassed a large fortune as a real estate developer. On his 65th birthday, February 9, 1971, a home he was building in Selmar was destroyed in the San Fernando earthquake. Though his family didn't yet reside in the home, he had established a studio of his Disney art and other memorabilia there. While sorting through the rubble to salvage his collection four days later, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
He was survived by his wife and daughter, who attended Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College; his brother Roy, a printer with the Terre Haute Tribune-Star for many years; his sister-in-law Edith (Bogard) Reeves; and his nephew Ron, former vice president for development and external affairs at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
==Filmography==
Year	Film 	Position
1931	The Busy Beavers 	animator
1931	The Cat's Out 	animator - uncredited
1931	Blue Rhythm 	animator - uncredited
1931	Egyptian Melodies 	animator - uncredited
1931	The Clock Store 	animator - uncredited
1931	The Spider and the Fly 	animator
1931	The Fox Hunt 	animator - uncredited
1931	The Beach Party 	animator - uncredited
1932	The Bird Store 	animator - uncredited
1932	The Duck Hunt 	animator - uncredited
1932	The Bears and Bees 	animator
1932	Just Dogs 	animator - uncredited
1932	King Neptune 	animator - uncredited
1932	The Klondike Kid 	animator - uncredited
1932	Santa's Workshop 	animator - uncredited
1933	Birds in the Spring 	animator - uncredited
1933	Mickey's Mellerdrammer 	animator - uncredited
1933	Father Noah's Ark 	animator - uncredited
1938	Donald's Better Self 	writer - uncredited
1938	Donald's Nephews 	story - uncredited
1938	Good Scouts 	writer
1938	Donald's Golf Game 	story - uncredited
1939	Donald's Lucky Day 	story - uncredited
1939	Donald's Cousin Gus 	story - uncredited
1939	The Autograph Hound 	writer - uncredited
1940	Mr. Duck Steps Out 	story - uncredited
1940	Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip 	story - uncredited
1940	Fire Chief 	uncredited
1941	Seven Wise Dwarfs 	story - uncredited
1942	Donald's Snow Fight 	story - uncredited
1942	Donald Gets Drafted 	story - uncredited
1942	Donald's Gold Mine 	writer
1942	Saludos Amigos 	story: "El Gaucho Goofy""Aquarela do Brasil"
1942	Bellboy Donald 	writer
1943	Donald's Tire Trouble 	writer
1944	The Three Caballeros 	writer - uncredited
1944	How to Play Football 	story
1944	First Aiders 	story
1945	The Clock Watcher 	story
1945	Canine Casanova 	story
1945	Canine Patrol 	story
1945	Make Mine Music 	writer
1946	Pluto's Kid Brother 	story
1946	In Dutch 	story
1946	Squatter's Rights 	writer
1946	The Purloined Pup 	story
1946	Dumbell of the Yukon 	story
1946	Lighthouse Keeping 	story
1947	Fun and Fancy Free 	story
1948	Melody Time 	story
1949	The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad	story: "The Wind in the Willows"
1949	Toy Tinkers 	story
1950	Cinderella 	story
1955	The Magical World of Disney 	"The Adventures of Mickey Mouse" - story
==Gallery==
Harry reeves (middle) in story session.JPG
Harry reeves clowing around Carl barks in background.jpg|Reeves clowning around while Carl Barks leads a storyboard
==External links==
*Indiana Memory: Harry Reeves
*
Category:Males
Category:1900s births
Category:1970s deaths
Category:Deceased
Category:People from Indiana
Category:American people
Category:Animators
Category:Screenwriters
Category:Silly Symphonies
Category:Mickey Mouse
Category:Donald Duck
Category:Pluto
Category:Saludos Amigos
Category:The Three Caballeros
Category:Make Mine Music
Category:Fun and Fancy Free
Category:Melody Time
Category:The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Category:Cinderella
Category:Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios