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Draft:Frank Kelling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Frank Kelling
Born
Francis Bernard Kelling

(1904-11-11)November 11, 1904
St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
DiedMarch 23, 1949(1949-03-23) (aged 44)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active1931–1949
Employer(s)Walt Disney Productions (1931-1932, 1935–1937)
Ted Eshbaugh (1932-1933)
Walter Lantz Productions (1934)
Fleischer Studios (1938–39)
Scientific Films, Inc. (1940–1942)
Fletcher Smith (1944-1946)
Frank Kelling Productions (1946-1949)
SpouseJean Margaret Boone

Francis Bernard Kelling[1] (November 11, 1904 – March 23, 1949) was an American animator, animation director, and film producer. He is best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions and Fleischer Studios.

Career

[edit]

Frank Kelling was born in St. Joseph, Missouri[1] to William Bernard and Francis Marion Seiver Kelling.[2] Before entering the animation field, he worked as an electrician in Los Angeles with his brother, William, in 1930.[3] Kelling's first known works in the industry were at Walt Disney's studio in 1931, where he animated on Mickey Mouse[4][5] and Silly Symphony cartoons as trained under animator David Hand.[6] He later animated at Ted Eshbaugh's studio, where he is credited on the 1933 short The Snowman,[7] and then subsequently worked for Walter Lantz Productions,[8] animating on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons.[9][10] Kelling returned to Disney in 1935 where he continued animating on both of their main series of animated shorts[11][12][13][14] and contributed to their first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, working on the Evil Queen's old peddler disguise with animator Norm Ferguson.[15]

In the late 1930s, Kelling migrated to Miami, Florida to work for the new Fleischer Studios location. He was among many West Coast animators[15] hired by Max Fleischer to improve their animated output and compete with Disney.[16] At Fleischer, Kelling animated on cartoon shorts like Betty Boop's So Does an Automobile,[17][18] and served as an animation director on their first feature-length cartoon, Gulliver's Travels.[19][20] Kelling left Fleischer and returned to Los Angeles in 1940 to work at Scientific Films, Inc. for filmmaker Jerry Fairbanks.[1] There he served as the head of their animation department,[21] and contributed animation to early entries of the live-action-animation hybrid comedy shorts, "Speaking of Animals", created by cartoon director Tex Avery.[22]

Afterwards, Kelling spent the rest of his career in commercial studios. He continued his role as head of animation for Fletcher Smith Studios in late 1944,[23] and was a business partner.[24] Kelling and the studio's staff experimented with various film mediums, particularly implementing a hybrid of film slides and camera animation, in a series of animated 16mm films for Pictorial Films.[25] In 1946, Kelling sold his interest in Fletcher Smith Studios and went into business for himself as Frank Kelling Productions, producing commercial and industrial films,[26] with his brother, William S. Kelling, serving as vice president.[24] Kelling died on March 23, 1949, of heart failure.[2]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1931 The Beach Party Junior animator Uncredited
1932 Flowers and Trees Junior animator Uncredited
1933 The Snowman Animator
1934 Toyland Premiere Animator
1935 Music Land Animator Uncredited
1936 Orphan's Picnic Animator Uncredited
1936 Mickey's Circus Animator Uncredited
1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Assistant animator Uncredited
1939 So Does an Automobile Animator
1939 Gulliver's Travels Director of animation
1941 Speaking of Animals Down on the Farm Animator
1941 Speaking of Animals in the Zoo Animator

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "California, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS2B-6W3Q-8?view=explore : Jul 8, 2026), image 865 of 1051; National Personnel Records Center (St. Louis, Missouri). Image Group Number: 103892810
  2. ^ a b "Frank Bernard Kelling". Find a Grave. February 9, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "California, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R4J-QRL?view=explore : Jul 8, 2026), image 580 of 1111; United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Image Group Number: 004950137
  4. ^ Perk, Hans (August 14, 2007). "Prod. CM19 - The Beach Party". A. Film L.A. Google. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  5. ^ Webb 2011, p. 34.
  6. ^ Merritt 2016, pp. 112–113.
  7. ^ Stanchfield, Steve (November 7, 2013). "Work-In-Progress: Restoring Eshbaugh Films in Color" (JPG). Cartoon Research (Restored titles of Ted Eshbaugh's "The Snowman" are seen in the screenshots, confirming Kelling's credit. It is included in the second image attached in the post.). Archived from the original on May 11, 2026. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
  8. ^ Sporn, Michael (November 6, 2009). "Ed Benedict – Animafilm Intvw". Michael Sporn Animation (The second image attached to the post, a photograph of the Walter Lantz studio personnel Frank B. Kelling is listed, first from the top left, further proving his employment at said studio.). Archived from the original (JPG) on January 12, 2026. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
  9. ^ Motion Pictures, 1912-1939 1951, p. 876.
  10. ^ Webb 2011, p. 363.
  11. ^ Perk, Hans (March 25, 2012). "Prod. UM39 - Orphan's Picnic". A. Film L.A. Google. Archived from the original on February 4, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  12. ^ Baxter, Devon (August 15, 2022). "Animator Breakdown: "Mickey's Circus" (1936)". Cartoon Research. Jerry Beck. Archived from the original on June 9, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  13. ^ Webb 2011, p. 226.
  14. ^ Merritt 2016, pp. 166–167.
  15. ^ a b Perk, Hans (November 11, 2009). "Prod.2001-Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs(XXI)". A. Film L.A. Google. Archived from the original on May 26, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  16. ^ Barrier, Michael (1999). Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016: Oxford University Press. pp. 292–293. ISBN 978-0-19-516729-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  17. ^ Motion Pictures, 1912-1939 1951, p. 788.
  18. ^ Webb 2011, p. 328.
  19. ^ Webb 2011, p. 146.
  20. ^ ""Gulliver's Travels"". The Film Daily. 76 (121): 9. December 21, 1939 – via Library of Congress.
  21. ^ International Motion Picture Almanac. New York: Quigley Publishing Company. 1941. p. 1049.
  22. ^ "Speaking of Animals". Shields Pictures. Archived from the original on September 10, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  23. ^ O'Connor, Richard (February 8, 2011). "Top Cel Vol 1, #24: 12/20/44". Asteriskpix. Google. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  24. ^ a b Coelln, Jr., O.H., ed. (February 1947). "Frank Kelling Productions Is Formed in Los Angeles Area". Business Screen Magazine. 8 (1). 157 E. Eric Street, Chicago, IL: Business Screen Magazines, Inc.: 55. LCCN 42046963//r862 – via Prelinger Library.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  25. ^ Reef, Betty (October 1946). Whiting, John R. (ed.). "Hybrid in Home Movieland". Popular Photography. 19 (4). Photographs by Walter Steinhard. Ziff-Davis Publishing Company: 89, 100, 102 – via Internet Archive.
  26. ^ "Frank Kelling Productions". Televiser Magazine. 4. Television Publications: 36. 1947.

Sources

[edit]
  • Webb, Graham (2011). The Animated Film Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to American Shorts, Features and Sequences, 1900-1999. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-4985-9.
  • Motion Pictures, 1912-1939. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Library of Congress, Washington 25, D.C.: Library of Congress. 1951. LCCN 51-60018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  • Merritt, Russell; Kaufman, J.B. (2016). Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series (1st ed.). 1101 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201: Disney Editions. ISBN 978-1-4847-5132-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
[edit]


Category:1904 births Category:1949 deaths Category:20th-century American artists Category:American animated film directors Category:Animators from Missouri Category:Film directors from Missouri Category:Fleischer Studios people Category:People from St. Joseph, Missouri Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people Category:Walter Lantz Productions people

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