Art Babbitt

Arthur Harold Babitsky, better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator at the Disney Studio. He created and established the character of Goofy in his Analysis of the Goof, in which he explained Goofy's personality, appearance, movements and mannerisms. Babbitt also served as the lead animator of Mr. Stork from the 1941 film Dumbo.
==Feud with Disney==
Babbitt was one of the main leaders of the Disney animators' strike of 1941, during the production of Dumbo. One of the studio's higher-paid animators, Babbitt sympathized with low-ranking employees, who made as little as $12 a week. Babbitt joined the Screen Cartoonist's Guild, a trade union made up of animators from various Hollywood animation studios, demanding better working conditions and pay. Until then, Walt Disney had thought of his animation staff as family and felt personally betrayed by striking animators, particularly Babbitt. Disney fired Babbitt on May 27, 1941, which prompted 200 animators to strike the following day.
Five weeks later, the strike was resolved with the assistance of the National Labor Relations Board, who found in the Guild's favor. Disney agreed to become a union shop, and has remained so ever since. Babbitt, by now an enemy of Walt, was rehired and fired several times. Babbitt worked a final stint at Disney following his service as a Marine in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of World War II, but he was so unhappy with his life at Disney by now that he left shortly thereafter to join United Productions of America.
Walt's nephew, Roy Edward Disney, contacted Babbitt in 1991 and the two ended the long-standing feud. Nine Old Men members Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston spoke at Babbitt's funeral in 1992. Babbitt was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 2007.
==Personal life==
He married three times. His first marriage, to Marjorie Belcher (the live-action reference for Snow White, who would later become Marge Champion), lasted from 1937 to 1940. His second marriage was to Annemarie Dinah Gottlieb, a Holocaust survivor, and lasted from 1949 to 1963. His third marriage, to Barbara Perry in 1967, lasted from 1967 until his death in 1992. He received over 100 awards for his achievements in animation.
==Characters animated==
Film 	Character
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	The Evil QueenDopey
Pinocchio 	Geppetto
Fantasia 	Hop Low and MushroomsZeus and Vulcan
Dumbo 	Mr. StorkRingmaster
Fun and Fancy Free 	Bongo
==Gallery==
Profile - The Evil Queen.jpeg|The Evil Queen
Dopey.jpg|Dopey
Profile - Gepetto.jpeg|Geppetto
Fantasia-disneyscreencaps com-6941.jpg|Zeus
Fantasia-disneyscreencaps.com-7235.jpg|Vulcan
Dumbo-disneyscreencaps.com-658.jpg|Mr. Stork
Profile - The Ringmaster.jpeg|Ringmaster
Fun-disneyscreencaps com-1076.jpg|Bongo the Bear
File:Donald Duck Iconic.png|Donald Duck
File:Goofy transparent.png|Goofy
File:Doc-(Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs).jpg|Doc
==External links==
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Category:Animators
Category:Disney Legends
Category:Males
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios
Category:1900s births
Category:1990s deaths
Category:Goofy
Category:Annie Award Winner
Category:Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Category:Pinocchio
Category:Fantasia
Category:Dumbo
Category:Fun and Fancy Free
Category:Deceased
Category:People from Nebraska
Category:American people
Category:Jewish people