2011 in animation is an overview of notable events, including notable awards, list of films released, television show debuts and endings, and notable deaths.
Events
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Specific date unknown
Awards
Films released
Television series debuts
Television series endings
Television season premieres
Television season finales
Births
February
May
September
Deaths
January
- January 2: Peter Hobbs, French-American actor (voice of Jerry in Heavy Traffic, American General in The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, General in Wizards), dies at age 92.
- January 6: Aron Kincaid, American actor (voice of Killer Croc in ', Sky Lynx in The Transformers, the Nerdator in the Freakazoid! episode "Nerdator", Fritter O'Way in the DuckTales episode "Down and Out in Duckburg"), dies at age 70.
- January 11: Tony Geiss, American author, songwriter (Sesame Street), producer and screenwriter (Sesame Street, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, Between the Lions, Play with Me Sesame), dies from complications after a fall at age 86.
- January 13: Jack LaLanne, American fitness & nutrition guru and motivational speaker (voiced himself in The Simpsons episode "The Old Man and the 'C' Student"), dies from pneumonia at age 96.
- January 26: Clément Sauvé, Canadian comic book artist and character designer ('), dies from cancer at age 33.
- January 27:
- Boyd Kirkland, American television director (', ', '), dies at age 60.
- Charlie Callas, American actor and comedian (voice of Elliott in Pete's Dragon), dies at age 86.
February
- February 10: Bill Justice, American animator (Walt Disney Animation Studios), dies at age 97.
- February 12: Kenneth Mars, American actor (voice of King Triton in The Little Mermaid franchise, Tuskernini in Darkwing Duck, Professor Screweyes in We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, Grandpa Longneck in The Land Before Time franchise, Beethoven in the Animaniacs episode "Roll Over, Beethoven", Dr. Gunter Hunterhanker in the Freakazoid! episode "Candle Jack"), dies at age 75.
- February 21: Dwayne McDuffie, American comic book writer, television producer and writer (Warner Bros. Animation), dies from complications from emergency heart surgery at age 49.
- February 22: Jean Dinning, American singer (sang "Blame It on the Samba" in Melody Time), dies at age 86.
March
April
May
- May 10: Norma Zimmer, American actress (voice of White Rose in Alice in Wonderland), dies at age 87.
- May 16: Bill Skiles, American comedian (voice of Monkeys in The Jungle Book), dies at age 79.
- May 20: Randy Savage, American professional wrestler and actor (voice of Thug in Bolt, Sasquatch in The X's, Rasslor in the Dexter's Laboratory episode of the same name, Leonard Ghostal in the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "Piledriver", Master Sergeant Emily Dickinson Jones in the Duck Dodgers episode "Back to the Academy", Biker in the Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? episode "Family Vacation", Gorilla in the King of the Hill episode "Bill, Bulk and the Body Buddies"), dies at age 58.
- May 21: Bill Hunter, Australian actor (voice of Phillip Sherman in Finding Nemo, Bubo in '), dies from liver cancer at age 71.
- May 25: Lillian Adams, American actress (voice of Rosa in Heavy Traffic, Italian Woman in Hey Good Lookin'), dies at age 89.
June
- June 18: Clarence Clemons, American musician and actor (voice of the Narrator in The Simpsons episode "Grift of the Magi"), dies from a stroke at age 69.
- June 23:
- Peter Falk, American actor (voice of Bailey in Hubert's Brain, Don Feinberg in Shark Tale), dies from pneumonia at age 83.
- Fred Steiner, American conductor, orchestrator, film historian, arranger and composer (The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends, Tiny Toon Adventures), dies from a stroke at age 88.
- June 25: Alice Playten, American actress (voice of Gloria in Heavy Metal, Baby Lickety-Split and Baby Moondancer in Generation 1 of My Little Pony, Poindexter in ', Beebe Bluff in Doug), dies at age 63.
July
- July 5: Gordon Tootoosis, Saskatchewan actor (voice of Kekata in Pocahontas, Mushom in Wapos Bay, Gordy in Open Season), dies from pneumonia at age 69.
- July 12: Sherwood Schwartz, American television writer and producer (creator of The Brady Kids, The New Adventures of Gilligan and Gilligan's Planet, co-wrote the song "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle" which was used on Rugrats Go Wild and the Robot Chicken episode "Suck It", and "The Brady Bunch Theme" which was parodied as the "T.U.F.F. and D.O.O.M. Theme" in the T.U.F.F. Puppy episode "Share-A-Lair"), dies at age 94.
- July 15: Michael Magee, Canadian actor, singer and author (voice of Cyril Sneer in The Racoons), dies at age 81.
- July 23: Toyoo Ashida, Japanese film director and character designer (Fist of the North Star, Vampire Hunter D, The Mysterious Cities of Gold) and producer (Studio Live), dies at age 67.
- July 29: Dominique Benicheti, French film director and producer, dies at age 68.
- July 31: Carl Steven, American former child actor (voice of Pigpen and Franklin in Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown, Woody in Happily Ever After, Jamie Bingham in Fluppy Dogs, Fred Jones in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo), dies from a drug overdose at age 36.
August
September
- September 4: Dave Hoover, American comics artist and animator (Wanderers, Starman, Captain America), dies at age 56.
- September 14: Kevyn Wallace, American animator (Rocko's Modern Life), background artist (Freakazoid!, The Proud Family Movie, The Simpsons Movie) and layout artist (Bebe's Kids, Earthworm Jim, Walt Disney Animation Studios), dies in a car accident at age 48.
- September 18: Tom Daly, Canadian film producer (My Financial Career), dies at age 93.
- September 19: Earl Kress, American animation historian, storyboard artist (The Kwicky Koala Show, The Addams Family) and screenwriter (Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, The Fox and the Hound, Hanna-Barbera, The Transformers, The Berenstain Bears, Ghostbusters, Warner Bros. Animation, Mother Goose and Grimm, Disney Television Animation, The New Woody Woodpecker Show, Winx Club, The X's, Monster Allergy, Geronimo Stilton), dies from liver cancer at age 60.
October
November
- November 4: Sarah Watt, Australian film director and animator (The Way of the Birds), dies from cancer at age 53.
- November 7: Joe Frazier, American professional boxer (voiced himself in The Simpsons episodes "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" and "Homer's Paternity Coot"), dies from liver cancer at age 67.
- November 18: Mark Hall, English animator and film producer (Cosgrove Hall Films, Danger Mouse), dies from cancer at age 75.
- November 30: ZdenÃÂk Miler, Czech animator, film director, and illustrator (The Little Mole), dies at age 90.
December
- December 1:
- Shingo Araki, Japanese film and television director (Mushi Production, Toei Animation, Tokyo Movie Shinshia) and producer (co-founder of Toei Animation), dies at age 72.
- Bill McKinney, American actor (voice of Jonah Hex in the ' episode "Showdown"), dies at age 80.
- Alan Sues, American actor and comedian (voice of Sir Leonard Looney in ', Scratcher in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July), dies at age 85.
- December 2: Bruno Bianchi, French animator and comics artist (Inspector Gadget, DIC Entertainment, SIP Animation), dies from cancer at age 56.
- December 5: Dan Mills, American animator (Beany and Cecil, Linus the Lionhearted, Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Freddie as F.R.O.7, Asterix Conquers America, The Pagemaster, Cats Don't Dance, Family Guy) and storyboard artist (', Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II), dies at age 80.
- December 7:
- Harry Morgan, American actor and director (voice of Carolinus in The Flight of Dragons, Bill Gannon in The Simpsons episode "Mother Simpson"), dies from pneumonia at age 96.
- Ricky Garduno, American animator and storyboard artist (áMucha Lucha!, Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island, The Buzz on Maggie, ', Making Fiends, Family Guy), commits suicide at age 35.
- December 15: Merlee Shapiro, Canadian actress (voice of the Storyteller in Caillou), dies at an unknown age.
- December 30: Ronald Searle, English illustrator, cartoonist and comics artist (The Happiest Days of Your Life, Energetically Yours, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Monte Carlo or Bust! and Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done), dies at age 91.
See also
References
External links