The Washington Post - 20.08.2019

B6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, AUGUST 20 , 2019

BY HARRISON SMITH

Richard Williams, an Oscar-
winning animator who seemed to
imbue his ink and pencil crea-
tions with real flesh and fur, no
more so than in “Who Framed
Roger Rabbit,” an eye-popping
merger of live action and anima-
tion, died Aug. 16 at his home in
Bristol, England. He was 86, and
still working seven-hour days
with a 2B or 3B pencil in hand.
The cause was cancer, said his
daughter Natasha Sutton Wil-
liams.
An illustrator’s son, Mr. Wil-
liams was raised in Canada and
spent most of his career in Lon-
don, where he specialized in the
lavish hand-drawn animation
style made famous by Walt Dis-
ney Studios, which he visited at
15 after making a five-day bus trip
from Toronto.
Mr. Williams purportedly
slipped out of a tour group and
made his way onto the lot, where
he asked animators about their
craft before getting booted by
security. “Learn to draw,” one
animator told him — advice he
took to heart, later decamping to
the Spanish island of Ibiza to
spend two years sketching circus
performers and honing his skills
as a painter.
“I’m in the same business as
Goya and Rembrandt,” he later
said. “I may be rotten at it with
nothing of the same quality and
talent, but that’s my business.”
Mr. Williams went on to serve
as a bridge between hand-drawn
animation at Disney or Warner
Bros. and the digital revolution
wrought by studios such as Pixar
— where animators reportedly
attended his master-class work-
shops in the mid-1990s, seeking
insight into his methods and
technique.
On Twitter, Oscar-nominated
animator Don Hertzfeldt called
him “our Michelangelo.” In an
email, Hertzfeldt explained that
Mr. Williams “was a master of
space and movement whose tech-
nical abilities were simply unpar-
alleled in modern hand-drawn
animation.”
At his production company in
England, Mr. Williams hired Dis-
ney veterans such as Milt Kahl
(“Pinocchio”), Art Babbitt (who
developed the character Goofy)
and Grim Natwick (“Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs”), as well as
Warner Bros. animator Ken Har-
ris, the model for Wile E. Coyote.
He animated roughly 2,500 com-
mercials — “from cereal to baby’s
diapers to Shell oil,” his daughter
said — while also juggling film
commissions and his own artistic
work.
Early on, he was enlisted to
design animated title sequences
or special effects for movies in-
cluding “What’s New Pussycat?”
(1965), “A Funny Thing Hap-
pened on the Way to the Forum”
(1966), “Casino Royale” (1967),
“The Return of the Pink Panther”
(1975) and “The Pink Panther
Strikes Again” (1976).
For “The Charge of the Light
Brigade” (1968), director Tony
Richardson’s dramatization of a
Crimean War blunder by the
British army, Mr. Williams de-
signed interpolative animated se-
quences modeled after satirical
Victorian cartoons. “It’s too bad
Richardson didn’t leave the

Charge itself to Williams,” wrote New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael. Mr. Williams won his first Oscar for “A Christmas Carol” (1971), a Charles Dickens adaptation that aired on ABC before moving to theaters, and shared an Emmy with two producers for “Ziggy’s Gift” (1982), a Christmas short featuring the bulbous com- ic strip character created by Tom Wilson. But it was “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988) that secured his reputation for artistic brilliance and technical innovation. Direct- ed by Robert Zemeckis and star- ring Bob Hoskins as a Los Ange- les detective, the film featured live action and cartoon characters side by side, marrying hard- boiled detective fiction with Loo- ney Tunes-style animation. The film was a dramatic departure from animation milestones such as “Mary Poppins” (1964) and “Anchors Aweigh” (1945), in which Gene Kelly dances with Jerry the cartoon mouse, said animation historian Charles Sol- omon. “Roger Rabbit,” he wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “dis- plays the most inventive, effec- tive integration of animation and live action ever attempted,” with shadows cast by animated characters who prance across the set amid camera pans and zooms. Mr. Williams, who served as director of animation, oversaw a team of at least 340 people, including two of his children, and created characters including Roger Rabbit and his voluptuous (and human) wife, Jessica, who Mr. Williams said was inspired by 1940s film stars Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake and Lauren Bacall. Created in collaboration between Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, the film was a critical and commercial hit. Mr. Williams shared the Oscar for best visual effects with Ken Ral- ston, Ed Jones and George Gibbs, and also received a special achievement Oscar for his animation direction. He later recalled that while accepting the awards, he was thinking mainly of his next proj- ect — “The Thief and the Cob- bler,” loosely inspired by Persian miniatures and “One Thousand and One Nights,” which he began in the mid-1960s and had long promised would be “more fully animated than any animated movie ever.” For years, the movie appeared to be his version of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “Dune” or Terry Gil- liam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” films that languished in development limbo for years amid creative and financial diffi- culties. But Mr. Williams and his studio reportedly received $14 million from Warner Bros. after the release of “Roger Rab- bit” and seemed poised to com- plete the film around the time Disney released “Aladdin.” Instead, Mr. Williams was forced to close his studio and lay off his staff in 1992, when a completion bond firm took control of the movie after it fell over budget and behind schedule. A heavily edited version was released by Miramax in 1995 under the name “Arabian Knight,” al- though Mr. Williams said he nev-

er saw it. “There are incredible sequences in ‘The Thief and the Cobbler’ that are actually difficult for me to watch, because as an animator it pains me deeply to know how many years of foresight, exper- tise, sacrifice, and raw work must have been required,” said Hertzfeldt. “And it all flies by in seconds. Yet on the screen there was never any trace of struggle or compromise... only grace and flawlessness. I don’t know how he did it.” Richard Edmund Williams was born in Toronto on March 19,

His parents divorced when
he was young; his mother was a
commercial artist, and his stepfa-
ther organized business deals at
the firm where she worked.
“When I was 5 I saw ‘Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs’ and
my mother said it poleaxed me,”
Mr. Williams told the Sydney
Morning Herald in 1998. But his
interest in animation waned as a
student at the Ontario College of
Art (now the Ontario College of
Art and Design University),
where he burst into tears while
visiting a Rembrandt exhibition.
“This was the real thing,” he
recalled saying.
He traveled to Spain and then
on to London, where he shuffled
between animation studios and
developed what became his first
film, “The Little Island” (1958), an
allegory about three men —
Truth, Beauty and Good — who
clash on a desert island. It won a
BAFTA for best animated film.
His other movies included
“Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical
Adventure” (1977), which he di-
rected on commission and later
regretted. “The lesson I learned
was the Golden Rule,” he said.
“Whoever has the gold makes the
rules.”
Mr. Williams’s marriages to
Lois Catherine Steuart and Mar-
garet French ended in divorce. In
1990, he married producer and
director Imogen Sutton. They col-
laborated on animation work-
shops that were later adapted
into a manual, “The Animator’s
Survival Kit” (2001), as well as a
16-volume DVD set and iPad app.
In addition to his wife, survi-
vors include two children from
his first marriage, Alex Williams
and Claire Williams; two from his
second, Timothy Williams and
Holly Williams; two from his
third, Natasha Sutton Williams
and Leif Sutton Williams; a
brother; and seven grandchil-
dren.
With his wife, Mr. Williams
shared an Oscar nomination for
his last film, “Prologue” (2015).
The animated short was intended
as the first installment of a fea-
ture-length adaptation of the Ar-
istophanes play “Lysistrata,” in
which women withhold sex in an
attempt to end the Peloponne-
sian War.
In interviews, he often joked
that the working title was “Will I
Live Long Enough to Finish It?”
“My older friends are all dead,” he
told the Globe and Mail in 2002.
“It’s the doing of it that matters.
Like [Robert] Altman, who didn’t
get paid a cent for ‘Gosford Park’
and got nothing at the back end.
And I thought, he knows, he
knows. Do it for the love of it;
that’s all there is.”
[email protected]

obituaries

RICHARD WILLIAMS, 86

Oscar winner created ‘Roger Rabbit’

DICK DARRELL/TORONTO STAR

Animator Richard Williams, shown at work in 1973, served as a link between the hand-drawn
animation at Disney or Warner Bros. and the digital innovation of studios such as Pixar.

IN MEMORIAM

JANICE ELIZABETH GALLOWAY 11/15/1948 ~ 8/20/2005 Mom, we love you and mss you very much. We will all see you soon in God’s glory. Love, Karen, Reggie, Clarence & Family

GALLOWAY

WILLIE MAE GRAY May 15, 1938 - August 20, 1997 Gone but not forgotten. With Love, Cheryl and Family

GRAY

PORTIA M. LEDWELL It's been 20 years, Tuesday, August 20, 2019.

LEDWELL

ELLYN DUGGAR VOSS 10/29/1935 ~ 8/20/2015 It's hard to believe you've been gone for four years but your love and spirit are with us always. Thank you for your example and your love, until we meet again, Your Family

VOSS

DEATHNOTICE

KEVIN ALLEN On Sunday, August 11, 2019. He is survived by son Kevin Pheiffer; daughter Dannielle Allen, mother Julia K. Allen; sister Deborah Allen; brother Keith Allen; dear cousin Mary Bennett; a host of nieces; nephews; other relatives and friends. Visitation 10 a.m. until time of Service 11 a.m. on Tuesday, August 20, at New Solid Rock Ministry Inc., 6737 Annapolis Rd., Landover Hills, MD. Interment Fort Lincoln Cemetery. Services by Pope Funeral Home.

ALLEN

ELIZABETH DORIS ASHOOH On August 17, 2019. Beloved sister, aunt, and cousin of many here and in her native Manchester, NH, where she was born, June 8, 1929, and raised. After graduating from Central High School in 1947 and working for many years in Manchester, Elizabeth moved to Northern Virginia in 1964, where she lived in Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax with her lifelong friend and cousin, Elsie B. Ashooh (deceased August 3, 2019), most recently at Goodwin House Alexandria. Betty worked for 28 years at the American Enterprise Institute, where she was a copy and production editor of Public Opinion magazine and for AEI Books. A founding member of Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek Catholic Church in McLean, VA, she devoted countless hours each year as a member of the Ladies Guild and to assisting with the Fall Food Festival and the Lebanese Holiday Sweets Sale fundraisers. Elizabeth will be remembered at Holy Transfiguration at a 10:30 a.m. visitation, followed by an 11:30 a.m. liturgy on Wednesday, August 21, 2019. Visitation and liturgy will then occur at Our Lady of the Cedars Melkite Catholic Church in Manchester, NH, on Friday, August 23, 2019, with interment following at Saint Joseph’s Cemetery, in Bedford, NH. http://www.demainefuneralhomes.com

ASHOOH

ROBERT JOSEPH BERENS "Bob" Robert "Bob" Joseph Berens, 96, died peacefully surrounded by his family on August 16, 2019 at Green Spring Village, Springfield, VA. Robert was born in Dunlap, Iowa, one of five children to Mary (Bentlage) and Joseph Berens. Robert was raised on a farm in Neola, Iowa, during the Great Depression. He joined the Army at the young age of 17 and was a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He served 32 years, rising in rank from infantry recruit to full Colonel. During this time, Robert earned a Master's degree in Journalism. After retiring from the Army, he taught college level written communications, wrote articles for professional magazines, and published one novel and four nonfiction books including a collection of his amazing life experiences. After graduating from the State University of Iowa in 1949, he married his college sweet- heart, Betty-Lou Ehlke.They were married over 59 years, traveling the world throughout their time together. Robertissurvivedbythreedaughters,Barbara Berens Oxley (John), Phoenix, AZ, Leslie Berens, Falls Church, VA, Jeanne Berens Mitchell (Tom), Colorado Springs, CO; 11 grandchildren; and 47 great-grandchildren. We love you, Daddy; we will see you again! A memorial mass will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. at Saint Bernadette's Catholic Church on Thursday, August 22, 2019 with a reception to follow from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m at Demaine Funeral Home,Springfield,VA. Please view and sign the guestbook at Demaine Funeral.

BERENS

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DEATH NOTICE

AVON R. BLEVINS (Age 93) On Saturday, August 17, 2019 Avon Blevins passed away. Devoted husband of Vivian (Walls) Blevins for 70 years. Beloved father of Phillip Blevins (Mary), Patty Blevins Bortz; devoted grandfather of Christie Gardner (Justin), Cathy Lilly (Stephen), Stephanie Bortz Scott (Allyn); four great-grandsons; many nephews and nieces. Survived by siblings, Carroll Blevins,Clara Jean Barker,Eddie Blevins, and Earl Scott Blevins. Mr. Blevins was born in Woodbay, WV grew up in Southwest, VA and spent most of his life in Fairfax, VA. He was an ardent outdoorsman and loved to hunt and fish. He proudly served in the U.S. Navy on the U.S.S. O’Brien in WWII from Omaha Beach to Okinawa. After WWII, he transferred to the Navy Seabees and retired after 30 years including active duty and reserve time as a Chief Petty Officer/Chief Construction Mechanic (CMC). He also retired from a long career working at DC Transit which became the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Visitation will be Tuesday, August 20, 2019 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home, 9902 Braddock Road, Fairfax, VA 22032 where the Funeral Service will also be held on Wednesday,August 21 at 10 a.m.

BLEVINS

DEATH NOTICE

ALFRED JOSEPH CLARK "Hap" On Saturday, August 17, 2019. The beloved husband of Betty Anne Clark who survives him along with several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, three sis- ters and one brother. Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Chesapeake, 90 Ritchie Hwy., Pasade- na, MD 21122. Online condolences may be offered at: KalasFuneralHomes.com

CLARK

JAMES R. ESCHBACHER The members of the Retired Fire- fighters Association, regret to announce the passing of James R. Eschbacher on August 13, 2019 after a long illness. James Eschbacher was appointed to the DCFD July 31, 1960 and retired on July 30, 1980 from E-19. The funeral has already taken place. Thomas Scherer, President

ESCHBACHER

MARIAN R. GOLDBERG (Age 83) On Monday, August 19, 2019 of Arlington, VA. Beloved wife of the late Daniel Goldberg; cherished mother of Lois Essex and Hilary Reid (Chip); sister of Diana Rubin; grandmother of Robert Essex, Jacob Essex, Ethan Essex, Maggie Reid, Sara Reid and Jason Reid; great- grandmother of Silas Essex. She will truly be missed by many. Funeral service will be held at Temple Rodef Shalom, 2100 Westmoreland St. Falls Church, VA 22043, on Wednesday, August 21, 2019, at 11:30 a.m. Interment King David Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s at http://www.stjude.org http://www.jeffersonfuneralchapel.com

GOLDBERG

DAVID TAYLOR JONES and Meritorious Honor awards. During retirement, David Jones enjoyed a prolific second career as a writer and editor. He wrote hundreds of articles, columns and monographs in Canadian and U.S. newspa- pers and journals, including Hill Times, Policy Options, Embassy, Ottawa Citizen, Washing- ton Quarterly, American Diplomacy, Orbis, Epoch Times, the Foreign Service Journal, and the Penn Gazette as well as articles for the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He produced the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing weekly newsletter for eight years, edited numerous sections of the annu- al State Department Human Rights Report, edited the International Religious Freedom report and co-authored an analysis of the Clinton administration Middle East Peace Process for the State Department Historian. He also authored or co-authored several books, including Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs: Cana- da, the USA and the Dynamics of State, Industry and Culture,Alternative NorthAmer- icas: What Canada and the United States Can Learn from Each Other, The Reagan- Gorbachev Arms Control Breakthrough, For- ever Tandem and David versus David: We Agree to Disagree. He relished writing every word. Aside from his professional life, David was known for many things - his love of reading (topping out at 5250 on his list of books read), travel, vanilla ice cream, “granny” cookies, baseball,a desire to wear all the PennAlumni regalia at Homecoming, and a regrettable habit of punning at every opportunity. He was grateful for every day. Mr. Jones is survived by his wife, Teresa Jones; his three daughters, Martha, Lisa, and Margaret Jones; his two grandsons, David and Alexander Marshalleck and his sister Elizabeth Pendley. The family of David Jones wishes to extend our sincere thanks to all those who sent their prayers and sympathies. A memorial service will be scheduled at the Ft. Myer chapel in the coming months. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Class of 1963 University of Pennsylvania fund or the American Cancer Society in memory of David. David will be laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, where he and Teresa spent hundreds of hours walking and enjoying the grounds. Funeral arrangements will be scheduled by National Funeral Home in Falls Church,VA

David Taylor Jones, 77, of Arlington, VA, passed away on August 6, 2019 in Philadel- phia, surrounded by his wife and daughters. Mr. Jones was born in Scranton, PA to William Taylor Jones and Martha Evans Jones on December 22, 1941. He left Scranton to matriculate at the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained a Bachelor and master’s degrees in international Relations and was a fraternity brother at Pi Kappa Alpha. How- ever, more importantly, at Penn he met Teresa Tie-Liang Chin, who would become his life-long partner. David and Teresa were married in Philadelphia on December 12, 1964, shortly before David's departure to Korea for a tour as a Second Lieutenant in the intelligence branch of the Army. Two years later, David left active duty to pursue his passion for international relations by entering the Foreign Service. However, he stayed in the Army Reserve for more than 20 years and was awarded The Joint Service Commendation Medal for distinguished service when he retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1992. David found his experience in the Army invaluable to his diplomatic mission. Throughout his 34-year State Department career, David specialized in politico-military issues, including arms control. Following assignments to Paris, NATO/Brussels, and to the Greek Base Negotiations, he played a key role in the negotiation and ratification of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, acting as Special Assistant to Ambassador Glitman for the INF negotiations in 1987, and as Deputy Director of the INF Treaty Ratification task force in 1988. Subsequently, upon promotion to the Senior Foreign Ser- vice, David became the Foreign Affairs Advi- sor (POLAD) to two Army Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1992, for which he was presented the Meritorious Civilian Service Award by the Department of the Army. He was then awarded the Una Chapman Cox fellowship, which he used to write and publish “The Politico-Military Function and the Depart- ment of State: The Future of Foreign Policy Advisors (POLADS) in the 21st Century”. His final assignment was a four year posting as Political Minister Counselor at the U.S. Ottawa Embassy, which sparked a deep abiding interest in Canadian/U.S. relations. Not only did David enjoy the intellectual challenge of the work, but he was passionate about serving his country in both the Army and the Foreign Service,and he treasured the friendships that emerged during his assignments. Over his Foreign Service career, David was recognized by several State Department Superior Honor

JONES

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DEATH NOTICE

JUDITH SHAPIRO GREENLEIGH Judith Shapiro Greenleigh passed away on August 18, 2019 after a heroic battle with cancer. Judy leaves behind her beloved husband of 57 years, Stephen H. Greenleigh; her loving children, Andrea Jill Greenleigh and David Greenleigh and his wife, Suzanne Greenleigh; two grandchildren, Lily Greenleigh and Evan Greenleigh and her sister, Lynn Shapiro. She leaves behind a host of family and friends who she loved spending time with. Judy was preceded in death by her parents, Julius and Bernice Shapiro. Judy grew up in Roanoke, Virginia and grad- uated from Jefferson High School. She was very popular and loved her high school days enjoying her time in the L.G. sorority. In later years, she loved seeing her former classmates at the class reunions. She briefly attended the University of Alabama where she appeared in the University of Alabama calendar. Judy lived and worked in New York for a short time, which is where she met her husband. She spent the past 57 years living in the Washington, DC area where she worked at a credit union, volunteered for the Jewish Council on Aging’s Family Thrift Shop and was a devoted mother. She was excited to be a grandmother and looked forward to any time that she was able to spend with her grandchildren, who she loved dearly. Judy was an avid reader, an accomplished knitter and enjoyed needlepoint,spending time at the Delaware Beaches with family and friends, traveling with her sister, taking cruises and dining out with her friends even though she was a wonderful cook. She maintained her quirky sense of humor and quick wit. She will be missed tremendously by all who knew her.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, August 21 at 12:30 p.m. at Washington Hebrew Congregation at 3935 Macomb Street, NW, Washington, DC. Burial to follow at King David Memorial Gardens at 7482 Lee Highway, Falls Church, VA 22042. Family will be receiving immediatelyafterthecemeteryatthehomeof David and Suzanne Greenleigh. Services will be at 7 p.m. that evening. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to Casey House or Washington Hebrew Congregation.

GREENLEIGH

JOHN J. GROLIG The members of the Retired Fire- fighters Association of Washing- ton, DC, regret to announce the passing of John J. Grolig on August 17, 2019. Brother Grolig was appointed January 16, 1964 to Engine 3 and retired October 1, 1984 as Wagon Driver at Engine 3. Thomas Scherer, President

GROLIG

JOHN J. GROLIG (Age 77) On Saturday, August 17, 2019 of Rockville, MD. Beloved husband to Judith L. Grolig for 57 years; father of Kevin Grolig and Jeffrey Grolig; dear grandfather to Kristen K. Grolig, Ashley P. Grolig, Kelsey L. Grolig, James “Jake” Grolig, and Amanda J. Grolig. He was predeceased by his parents John and Arla Grolig. He is also survived by many other loving relatives and friends. John, who retired from the DC Fire Depart- ment in 1984 after 20 years of service, could captivate any audience with stories of his time as a wagon master for Engine Company 3. He was known by his friends and family for his charisma, his easy to crack tough exterior, and his often irreverent humor. He spent the last years of his life lovingly caring for his wife Judy as she battles against Alzheimer’s Disease, always keeping his signature humor about him. He passed peacefully with his family and one of his many life-long friends by his side. The family will receive friends at PUMPHREY’S COLONIAL FUNERAL HOME, 300 W. Mont- gomery Ave. Rockville, MD on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 from 3 to 6 p.m. A funeral service will be offered at First Baptist Church Rockville, 55 Adclare Rd, Rockville, MD 20850 on Thursday, August 22, 2019 at 10 a.m. Interment at Parklawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation. Please view and sign the family guestbook at http://www.pumphreyfuneralhome.com

GROLIG

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