Melvin Shaw

Mel Shaw (December 19, 1914 – November 22, 2012) was an American animator, design artist, writer, and artist. Shaw was involved in the animation, story design, and visual development of numerous Disney animated films, beginning with Bambi, which was released in 1942. His other animated film credits, usually involving animation design or the story, included The Rescuers in 1977, The Fox and the Hound in 1981, The Black Cauldron in 1985, The Great Mouse Detective in 1986, Beauty and the Beast in 1991, and The Lion King in 1994. He was named a Disney Legend in 2004 for his contributions to the Walt Disney Company.

Shaw was born Melvin Schwartzman on December 19, 1914, in Brooklyn, New York. His mother was an opera singer and his father was a lawyer. He was the second oldest of four brothers born to his parents.

Shaw began his career in entertainment industry as a silent film title card creator at Pacific Title and Art, a company owned by film producer, Leon Schlesinger. He next worked for Orson Welles in the early 1930s, where Shaw helped to create a storyboard The Little Prince, though the proposed Welles film was never created.

Shaw was personally recruited by Walt Disney to work on the 1942 animated classic, Bambi. He left Disney Studios to enlist in the Army Signal Corps, where he served as a combat photographer during World War II.

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