{"id":567990,"date":"2023-03-30T04:29:27","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T01:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/leo-d-sullivan-pioneering-black-animator-dies-at-82\/"},"modified":"2023-03-30T04:29:27","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T01:29:27","slug":"leo-d-sullivan-pioneering-black-animator-dies-at-82","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/leo-d-sullivan-pioneering-black-animator-dies-at-82\/","title":{"rendered":"#Leo D. Sullivan, Pioneering Black Animator, Dies at 82"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Leo D. Sullivan, the groundbreaking Black animator who contributed to the iconic opening for Soul Train<\/em> and to cartoons featuring Fat Albert, Transformers and My Little Pony during his 50-year-plus career, has died. He was 82.<\/p>\n

\n Sullivan died Saturday of heart failure at West Los Angeles Medical Center, his wife, Ethelyn, told The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n The Emmy-winning Sullivan also was a writer, producer, director, layout artist and storyboard artist at studios including Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., Filmation, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, DIC Entertainment and Marvel Productions.<\/p>\n

\n He and onetime Disney animator Floyd Norman were among the co-founders of Vignette Films in the 1960s. Their company produced educational films about such Black heroes as George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington and was behind a 1969 Bill Cosby special,\u00a0Hey! Hey! Hey! It\u2019s Fat Albert<\/em>, for NBC.<\/p>\n

\n The duo also teamed on AfroKids.com, whose mission it is to build self-esteem and reconnect children to their cultural heritage by teaching life lessons, family values, respect and responsibility. (Sullivan was featured prominently in the 2016 documentary Floyd Norman: An Animated Life<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

\n A native of Lockhart, Texas, Leo Dan Sullivan settled in Los Angeles in 1952. His father was in the military, and his family moved around a lot. He began his career running errands for Bob Clampett in the \u201950s before becoming an animation cel polisher on the producer\u2019s Beany and Cecil<\/em> cartoons.<\/p>\n

\n Sullivan helped animate the original locomotive and graphics <\/a>that were used to open each episode of the Don Cornelius-hosted music show Soul Train<\/em>, which premiered in syndication in 1971.<\/p>\n

\n Sullivan also worked on I Am the Greatest!: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali<\/em>, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle<\/em>, BraveStarr<\/em>, The Flintstones<\/em>, Flash Gordon<\/em>, Pac-Man<\/em>, Scooby-Doo<\/em>, SuperFriends<\/em>, The Incredible Hulk<\/em> and Tiny Toons<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n Twice honored by the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Sullivan produced commercials for Jamaican ad agencies; managed supervisors for animation studios in Asia; published a video game<\/a> that honored the heroic Tuskegee Airmen; developed and animated a character named Walt for the California Science<\/a> Center exhibit BodyWorks; and taught classes in 2D and digital animation at the Art Institute of California-Orange County in Santa Ana.<\/p>\n

\n He recently launched a multimedia<\/a> foundation to train underserved youth in new media technology<\/a>, with an emphasis on animation and games.<\/p>\n

\n In addition to his wife, survivors include son Leo Jr. and daughter Tina.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n