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A Year in Comics - April 29th

Posing for his creator, Scooby Doo makes an unexpected second appearance in this series...

Iwao Takamoto was born on April 29th 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Born to Japanese immigrants from Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, Takamoto graduated aged 15 from the Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles in 1940. However, one year later, in December 1941, the life of the Takamoto family changed forever, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Considered to be enemy aliens and potential Japanese saboteurs by virtue of their descent, the Takamotos were among 120000 Japanese Americans placed in internment camps between February 19th 1942 and March 20th 1946. Effectively an American Prisoner of War, despite having been born as an American citizen, Iwao Takamoto spent 'his' war in the Manzanar internment camp.

It was during his internment that Iwao Takamoto received basic illustration training from two fellow internees, who also advised him to seek employment with one of the animation companies. After his release in 1945, Takamoto managed to get himself hired by the Walt Disney Studios, where he eventually became an animator and character designer. Among the films he worked on at the Walt Disney Studios were Cinderella, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

In 1961, Takamoto left Disney and joined Hanna-Barbera , where he would end up working at several positions. Like at Disney, Takamoto worked as a character designer for Hanna-Barbera, creating characters such as Astro, Scooby Doo and Penelope Pitstop. He also worked as a producer, director, and eventually also as the Vice-President of Creative Design, overseeing H-B's many merchandising lines and its Animation Art Department's design work. After Time-Warner merged with H-B owner Turner Broadcasting in 1996, Takamoto became the Vice-President of Special Projects for Warner Brothers Animation

Awarded multiple times for his work in animation, Iwao Takamoto passed away aged 81 on January 8th 2007.

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150th entry of ?

<- Back to April 28th ----- other April 29th entry
----- Forward to April 30th ->

Description
A Year in Comics - April 29th

Posing for his creator, Scooby Doo makes an unexpected second appearance in this series...

Iwao Takamoto was born on April 29th 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Born to Japanese immigrants from Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, Takamoto graduated aged 15 from the Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles in 1940. However, one year later, in December 1941, the life of the Takamoto family changed forever, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Considered to be enemy aliens and potential Japanese saboteurs by virtue of their descent, the Takamotos were among 120000 Japanese Americans placed in internment camps between February 19th 1942 and March 20th 1946. Effectively an American Prisoner of War, despite having been born as an American citizen, Iwao Takamoto spent 'his' war in the Manzanar internment camp.

It was during his internment that Iwao Takamoto received basic illustration training from two fellow internees, who also advised him to seek employment with one of the animation companies. After his release in 1945, Takamoto managed to get himself hired by the Walt Disney Studios, where he eventually became an animator and character designer. Among the films he worked on at the Walt Disney Studios were Cinderella, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

In 1961, Takamoto left Disney and joined Hanna-Barbera , where he would end up working at several positions. Like at Disney, Takamoto worked as a character designer for Hanna-Barbera, creating characters such as Astro, Scooby Doo and Penelope Pitstop. He also worked as a producer, director, and eventually also as the Vice-President of Creative Design, overseeing H-B's many merchandising lines and its Animation Art Department's design work. After Time-Warner merged with H-B owner Turner Broadcasting in 1996, Takamoto became the Vice-President of Special Projects for Warner Brothers Animation

Awarded multiple times for his work in animation, Iwao Takamoto passed away aged 81 on January 8th 2007.

----------

150th entry of ?

<- Back to April 28th ----- other April 29th entry
----- Forward to April 30th ->