Producer of over 300 cartoons ("Krazy Kat" and "Scrappy" were two of their early series), first at the Charles Mintz Studio, then at Screen Gems in 1934 and Columbia as the animation studio's work was folded into the larger studio. The studio continued to produce cartoons for Columbia until it closed in 1946; its last cartoon releases appeared in 1949. As was inevitable in the early days of animation, many of the pioneers crossed paths. Walt Disney, who had worked for an advertising firm in Kansas City, started making animated shorts in the early 1920s. In 1923, the 22-year-old headed west with $40 in his pocket and million-dollar dreams in his head. "I'm going to direct great Hollywood motion pictures," he told a fellow passenger on the trip west.

Oswald in 1929

Disney quickly set up an animation studio. He then hooked up with Mintz, who was at that time a New York-based film distributor. Mintz, acting as middleman between Disney and the large Hollywood studios, encouraged Disney to create a new character, one that could appear in recurring pieces. So Disney drew up a black bunny, and dubbed it Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. When Oswald's first picture, TROLLEY TROUBLES (1927), proved a success, Mintz commissioned more. One day, Disney noticed that a drug store was selling Oswald chocolate bars. Someone was using Disney's creation to support a merchandising initiative. Such tie-ins were on the agenda when Disney traveled to New York in February 1928. Because of the films' success, Disney was going to ask Mintz for a raise, from $2,200 per film to $2,500. Instead, Mintz proposed to cut Disney's pay. When Disney balked, Mintz informed him that under the contract Disney had signed, Mintz's production company owned the rights to Oswald. What's more, Mintz told the stunned would-be mogul, he had already offered jobs to several of Disney's top animators, and could easily make more Oswald films without his participation. Disney's instinct was to refuse, but his brother Roy convinced him to go along. "Do it and come up with another character and we'll save the studio," Roy said. So Disney, swallowing his pride, boarded a train back to California. And as the sleeping cars rolled through the plains, his anger turned into resolve. He began to work on a new creation. Since another rabbit was out of the question, he turned to something slightly smaller: a mouse.  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1934: HOLIDAY LAND - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1937: THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL - Producer 2 nominations