Joaquin Rudolfo Zamora (March 26, 1910 – July 29, 1989) was a Mexican-American animator[1] and a prolific animation director. His credits include The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, The Biskitts, Peanuts, and many others.
Rudy Zamora | |
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Born | Joaquin Rudolfo Zamora March 26, 1910 |
Died | July 29, 1989 | (aged 79)
Occupation(s) | Animator, animation director |
Years active | 1927–1987 |
Zamora was born in Mexico City, Mexico, but raised in the United States.[2] As a young adult, he read a help wanted ad in the local newspaper seeking a male animator at Pat Sullivan's studio. Despite Zamora having no prior experience in the field, he was intrigued and applied. His test entailed tracing a photo of Felix the Cat, and Zamora was hired after placing second among three men.[2] Zamora was still employed at Pat Sullivan's in 1928.[3]
He was hired as an inbetweener at Fleischer Studios in 1930,[4] and eventually became an animator there. Shamus Culhane described Zamora as "the star" among the new batch of animators at Fleischer.[5]
Following his stint at Fleischer, Zamora worked at Walt Disney Productions during the early 1930s, with Ed Benedict as his assistant.[6] While there, Zamora animated on Silly Symphony cartoons, including The China Plate (1931).[6] Zamora had a reputation for spending too much time playing practical jokes as opposed to working, and for this reason was fired by Walt Disney in 1932.[7]
By the 1940s he was an animator at Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, working on short films during World War II.[8] In 1944, he was one of several animators of the Woody Woodpecker short The Barber of Seville.[9] This cartoon was later chosen as one of The 50 Greatest Cartoons in 1994.[10] Throughout the 1960s, Zamora served as director for Rocky & Bullwinkle and Peabody's Improbable History, also overseeing Mexican animators who worked on the series overseas.[11]
At the twilight of his career, Zamora was a director at Hanna-Barbera. He helmed episodes of Richie Rich,[12] The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show[13] and Laverne & Shirley, an animated adaptation of the sitcom.[14] Zamora directed a Christmas episode of The Smurfs that aired in 1983.[15] Zamora's last credit was the 1987 television film Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose.