The last surviving member of the famed nine old men passed away last night at the age of 95. I used to walk the halls of the old animation buildings on the Disney lot back when I worked at Feature Animation, I used to just go there during lunch so I could feel as though I was really a part of that world. Ollie and Frank and all the guys from back then that really crafted the art, nine old men or not, they created something that means the world to me.

I choke back some tears today, silly I know since I never had the pleasure of meeting the man. It’s just that I never really had an idol, someone whom I aspired to be, the only dream I ever had was to be a traditional animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation so I suppose Ollie is the closest thing to an embodiment of an idol for me, he and all those men and women from the days when animation was just finding it’s feet, and just knowing that he was still around kinda kept it all alive inside me.

I probably could have become a Disney Animator if I hadn’t of gotten in my way so many times, and when I finally did make it to Disney well they weren’t buying as many pencils then. I am sad today not just for the obvious reason that this great man, this wonderful artist has passed, but also for how the finality his passing throws into stark relief how I let go of my dream. I gave up, that’s nobody’s fault but my own, sure there were factors outside of my control but I do believe that within me there is and has been the ability to overcome those obstacles. A realization that perhaps comes too late for me.

So today I fight back the tears for the passing of the man and the dream but I still smile at having had the chance to experience what he had to offer and to have that to share with my children, to have walked the halls he walked, to dream the dream he made possible. That smile is one I will always have and that was his gift to me, and Ollie, I thank you for it. 

You will be missed, often and forever.