Tony Anselmo
| Tony Anselmo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Anthony Anselmo February 18, 1960 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California Institute of the Arts |
| Occupation | Voice actor, animator |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Known for | The voice of Donald Duck |
| Notable work | Mickey Mouse franchise |
| Awards | Disney Legend Award (2009) |
Anthony "Tony" Anselmo (born February 18, 1960) is an American voice actor and animator. Since 1985, he has been the official character voice of Donald Duck.
Anselmo was born on February 18, 1960 in Salt Lake City, UT. His grandfather had emigrated there from Italy in the 1920s to work in the Bingham Canyon Mine.
Anselmo formed an early fascination with all things Disney sparked by a screening of Mary Poppins at the age of four. Anselmo says, “I remember leaving the theater and asking, ‘How did they do this? Who did that?’ and so on…So a seed was planted there, and from that time on I never wanted to be a fireman, an astronaut, or anything else. I wanted to work for Disney.”
Anselmo’s family moved to Sunnyvale, in northern California, when he was seven, and he continued to actively study Disney and animation. He began drawing, utilizing the famed Preston Blair art book, Advanced Animation [1], built a light table of his own, and began creating animation with a Super 8 camera.
He attended Marian A. Peterson High School in Sunnyvale, and his artistic efforts there showed a natural talent for draftsmanship. He began to cultivate that talent with night art classes at local colleges, and began regular correspondence with the artists who animated the Disney films, including Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Eric Larson, and Milt Kahl.
Anselmo says, “Ollie wrote a lot and sent me drawings, advising me to learn quick sketch, life drawing, and design.”
He was also nurturing another interest that seemed unimportant at the time. “I was always doing voices,” Anselmo says, “imitating the teachers and so on. I was the class clown.”
With the support and encouragement of his Disney Animation correspondents, Anselmo was able to attend California Institute of the Arts on a Disney Family Fellowship. Anselmo says, “The Disney family’s support meant so much to me. If it hadn’t been for their help, that dream would have died then and there.”
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