View source for Richard Williams (animator)

{{Short description|Canadian-British animator (1933–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Richard Williams
| image              = Richard Williams animator.jpg
| caption            = Williams signing copies of ''[[The Animator's Survival Kit]]'' at the Annecy Film Festival in 2015
| birth_name         = Richard Edmund Lane
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1933|3|19}}
| birth_place        = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2019|8|16|1933|3|19}}
| death_place        = [[Bristol]], England
| nationality        = Canadian, British
| occupation         = Animator, voice actor, painter
| education          = [[Northern Secondary School (Toronto)|Northern Secondary School]]
| alma_mater         = [[Ontario College of Art]]<br />[[Royal College of Art]] <small>(honourary doctorate)</small>
| years_active       = 1957–2019
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Stephanie Ashforth|1953|1956|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Lois Catherine Steuart|1966|1976|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Margaret French|1976|end=divorced}}
* [[Imogen Sutton]]
}}
| children           = 6, including [[Alexander Williams (cartoonist)|Alexander]]
| notable_works      = {{plainlist|
* ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]''
* ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]''
* ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV special)|A Christmas Carol]]''
}}
| awards             = 3 [[Academy Awards]] (1971, 1988)
}}

'''Richard Edmund Williams''' ({{ne}} '''Lane'''; March 19, 1933 – August 16, 2019) was a Canadian-British animator, voice actor, and painter. A three-time [[Academy Award]] winner, he is best known as the animation director on ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' (1988) -- for which he won two Academy Awards—and as the director of his unfinished feature film ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]'' (1993).<ref name=filmr>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/65/Richard-Williams.html |title=Richard Williams Biography (1933–) |publisher=Filmreference.com |access-date=2016-03-02}}</ref> His work on the short film ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV special)|A Christmas Carol]]'' (1971) earned him his first [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Academy Award]]. He was also a film title sequence designer and animator. Other works in this field include the title sequences for ''[[What's New Pussycat?]]'' (1965) and ''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)|A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]'' (1966), title and linking sequences in ''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]'', and the intros of the eponymous cartoon feline for two of the later ''[[The Pink Panther (film series)|Pink Panther]]'' films.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/08/17/richard-williams-who-framed-roger-rabbit-animator-dies-86/2039612001/ Richard Williams, 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' animator, dies at 86 – USA Today]</ref> In 2002 he published ''The Animator's Survival Kit'', an authoritative manual of animation methods and techniques, which has since been turned into a 16-DVD box set as well as an iOS app. From 2008 he worked as artist in residence at [[Aardman Animations]] in Bristol, and in 2015 he received both Oscar and BAFTA nominations in the best animated short category for his short film ''[[Prologue (2015 film)|Prologue]]''.

== Early life==
Williams was born as Richard Edmund Lane<ref>{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380951|title=Williams [né Lane], Richard Edmund}}</ref> in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], the only son of the commercial illustrator Kathleen "Kay" Bell (1909–1998) and Leslie Lane (1905–1993), a [[London]]-born painter and photographic retoucher. Lane left when Williams was a baby, and he was adopted by his stepfather, Kenneth D.&nbsp;C. Williams (1910–2003),<ref name="The Times Obit">Obituary, The Times, 19 August 2019.</ref><ref name=filmr/> an advertising executive who worked for Brigdens, a printing and design company in Toronto.

Williams grew up on Golfdale Road, a suburban street in Toronto, where he and his childhood friend Martin Hunter put on magic shows and comedy acts for the local neighbourhood: "We collected $16.25, wealth beyond the dreams of avarice".<ref>Hunter, Martin, Young Hunting – a memoir, ECW Press, Toronto (2008), 40</ref> Williams' mother Kay was an accomplished illustrator whose work was inspired by [[Arthur Rackham]] and [[Edmund Dulac]].<ref name="Guardian Obit"/> Kay read her son the stories of the [[One Thousand and One Nights|Arabian Nights]], which would later inspire his magnum opus ''The Thief and the Cobbler''. "Kay introduced us to ''The Thief of Baghdad'' with its flying carpets, magical horses and wicked viziers".<ref>Hunter, Martin, Young Hunting – a memoir, ECW Press, Toronto (2008), 38</ref> At the age of five, Kay took her son to see ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' (1937), a film which made a "tremendous impression" on him.<ref name="BristolLive"/> Later he would quote his mother as saying to him, "You saw ‘Snow White’ when you were 5, and you were never the same."<ref name="NYTimesObit"/>

Williams was educated at the [[Northern Secondary School (Toronto)|Northern Secondary School]], Toronto, then known as the Northern Technical School. One of his classmates, Lars Thompson, recalled: "Under the name of Ivan Yurpee, [Dick] played a trumpet in a band of fellow zanies. In class, he would sketch our teachers with an animator's sure touch, and without detection".<ref>''I Remember Richard Williams'', Lars Thompson, Toronto Globe & Mail, 23 August 2019</ref>

At age 15, Williams travelled to Hollywood from Toronto on a five-day bus trip, where he took the Disney studio tour three days running, each day breaking away from the guide to seek out the studio animators and being ejected from the studio lot. He was finally invited to meet the animators, who showed him how the Disney animation process worked, after his mother contacted a friend who worked for Disney.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Animators Survival Kit: Expanded Edition|last=Williams|first=Richard|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|year=2009|isbn=978-0-86547-897-8|pages=25|chapter=Time to Draw}}</ref><ref name="Guardian Obit">[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/20/richard-williams-obituary Obituary at The Guardian 20 August 2019] Retrieved 21 August 2019</ref> "I always wanted, when I was a kid, to get to Disney. I was a clever little fellow so I took my drawings and I eventually got in. They did a story on me, and I was in there for two days, which you can imagine what it was like for a kid."<ref name="BristolLive">[https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/richard-williams-death-bristol-animator-3222063 Obituary of Richard Williams at Bristol Live, Georgina Stubbs and Kate Wilson, 17 August 2019] Retrieved 8 October 2019</ref>

With help from his stepfather, Williams was already earning a living as a commercial artist at age 17,<ref name="NYTimesObit" /> creating advertisements for companies such as Dr. Ballard's Pet Food.<ref name="Advertisements">{{cite book |title=The Animators Survival Kit: Expanded Edition |chapter=''Time To Draw'' |pages=26|isbn=978-0-86547-897-8|last1=Williams |first1=Richard |date=September 25, 2012 |publisher=Macmillan }}</ref> After graduating from high school, Williams enrolled in the advertising program at the [[Ontario College of Art]].<ref name="The Times Obit"/> He did not receive a diploma, however, as he changed his course of study to join the fine arts program after his third year.

==Career==
===1950s: Ibiza, London and ''The Little Island''===
[[File:Rembrandt van Rijn - Self-Portrait - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|Rembrandt van Rijn – inspiration]]
In 1953, Williams saw an exhibition of paintings by [[Rembrandt]] and was "moved to tears".<ref name="Guardian Obit"/> For a time, he "lost all interest in animation".<ref name="Independent">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/richard-williams-dead-roger-rabbit-animator-death-oscar-bristol-a9063741.html Obituary at The Independent] Retrieved 15 October 2019</ref> He left Canada and settled in [[Ibiza]], where he lived for two years and became a painter,<ref name="The Times Obit"/> finding inspiration in the clowns and performers at a local circus. These sketches would eventually become the short film ''Circus Drawings'', completed over 50 years later, in 2010.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/>  While in Ibiza, Williams played in a jazz band; his passion for the [[cornet]] would be an enduring one, and he would lead several bands over the years, inspired by the music of [[Bix Beiderbecke]].<ref name="NYTimesObit"/>

In Ibiza, Williams began to draw storyboards for an animated film about three misguided idealists. In 1955, Williams left Ibiza and moved to England, where he began working at fellow Canadian [[George Dunning]]'s company, T.V. Cartoons Ltd., working mainly on television commercials. He also began developing his  animated short film, ''The Little Island,'' during this period.<ref name="The Times Obit"/> Williams later explained that he was drawn back to the craft of animation because his "paintings were trying to move"<ref name="BristolLive"/> and he "couldn't stand the idea of doing paintings for rich industrialists’ wives, and that whole art world was just repulsive as a way of life".<ref name="BFIobit">[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/comment/obituaries/richard-williams-animation-master-roger-rabbit-thief-cobbler Obituary of Richard Williams at www.bfi.org.uk 21 August 2019] Retrieved 14 October 2019</ref>

In the 1983 [[Thames Television]] documentary ''The Thief Who Never Gave Up'', Williams credited animator [[Bob Godfrey]] with giving him his start in the business: "Bob Godfrey helped me...I worked in the basement and would do work in kind, and he would let me use the camera...[it was] a barter system".<ref name="ThamesDoc">{{cite video | title = The Thief who never gave up | medium = TV documentary | publisher = [[Thames Television]] | location = United Kingdom |date = 1982}}</ref>

In the mid-1950s, fellow Canadian Jacques Konig was studying at the University of London: "Dick did not play his cornet and lead his band just for the love of music, it was a significant and necessary contribution to his income. In my role as student president of the University of London's Chelsea College and Chelsea Arts School (1956–57), I booked his hard-driving traditional jazz band for many of our events, and we knew all his available cash was being used to finance his hand-drawn and highly imaginative short film".<ref>''I Remember Richard Williams'', Jacques Konig, Toronto Globe & Mail, 23 August 2019</ref>

In 1958, Williams completed ''[[The Little Island (film)|The Little Island]]'', the film that launched his career, telling the story of three men on a desert island; each representing a single virtue: truth, beauty, and good.<ref name="NYTimesObit"/> The film won the 1958 [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]] Award for Best Animated Film.<ref>[http://awards.bafta.org/award/1959/film/animated-film 1958 BAFTA Award results]</ref>

===1960s: Richard Williams Animation, film titles, and commercials===
[[File:SohoSquare1992.jpg|thumb|right|Soho Square in 1992. Richard Williams Animation is the green building to the right of the mock Tudor structure.]]
[[File:Turkey In Danger.jpg|thumb|Williams' drawings for ''The Charge of the Light Brigade'' were inspired by contemporary cartoon illustrations]]
The critical and financial success of Williams's next short, ''Love Me, Love Me, Love Me'' (1962), which was narrated by [[Kenneth Williams]], enabled him to establish his own company, Richard Williams Animation Ltd.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191012185824/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6af46497 Love Me Love Me www.bfi.org.uk] Retrieved 12 October 2019</ref> He made the short film ''A Lecture on Man'' that same year.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191013190355/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6aeadb97 A Lecture on Man at www.bfi.org.uk] Retrieved 13 October 2019</ref> Richard Williams Animation Ltd. eventually completed over 2,500 TV commercials, and won numerous awards, at its home at 13 [[Soho Square]] in [[Soho]], London.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/><ref name="ThamesDoc"/>

In 1965, he made the short film ''The Dermis Probe'',<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191012185710/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b70a8e71e The Dermis Probe at www.bfi.org.uk] Retrieved 12 October 2019</ref> and also animated the title sequences to ''[[What's New Pussycat?]]'' (1965).  In 1966, he animated the titles for ''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)|A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]''. Also in 1966 a television documentary, ''The Creative Person'', was made about his life and work. In 1967, he completed the short film ''Sailor and the Devil'', mainly animated by the illustrator [[Errol Le Cain]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180923215138/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7656d7e8 Sailor and the Devil at www.bfi.org.uk] Retrieved 14 Oct 2019</ref> and also animated the title sequence for ''[[Casino Royale (1967 film)|Casino Royale]]''.<ref name="BFIobit"/>

In 1968 his studio won accolades for the animated segments in Tony Richardson's epic feature film about the [[Crimean War]], ''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]'' (1968),<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160811131445/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6feda12b Charge of the Light Brigade www.bfi.org.uk] Retrieved 14 Oct 2019</ref> which Williams described as "the best job I ever had". Film critic [[Vincent Canby]] described Williams' work as “marvellous animated line drawings, done in the style of patriotic mid-19th-century cartoons".<ref name="NYTimesObit"/>

In the mid-1960s, Williams began work on the personal project that he intended to be “the best animated feature ever”, based on the tales of [[Nasreddin|Mulla Nasrudin]], and initially titled ''Nasrudin''. The project evolved over time and in 1973 he would settle on a new story and title, ''The Thief and the Cobbler''.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/>

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Williams hired and brought to London a number of the great Hollywood animators from the 1930s, elderly men who were by then nearing retirement. These included [[Art Babbitt]] (Goofy), [[Grim Natwick]] (Betty Boop), and [[Ken Harris]] (Wile E. Coyote). Babbitt, in particular, gave masterclasses at Williams' studio at [[13 Soho Square]], training a new generation of animators.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/>

Following the 1967 release of Disney's ''[[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|The Jungle Book]]'', Williams first met master animator [[Milt Kahl]], with whom he would become friends. Kahl had animated [[Shere Khan]], the tiger, and Williams knelt down to polish his shoes. But Kahl said to him: “You can stop cleaning my shoes because you draw better than I do; but then you can clean them some more because you can't animate.”<ref name="Guardian Obit"/>

TV commercials provided Richard Williams Animation with its main source of income. Although Williams despised the form, director [[Clive Donner]] persuaded him to raise his game. Following a successful commercial for [[Guinness]] beer, set in London's [[Royal Albert Hall]], which won multiple awards, William's studio became well known for commercials, bringing characters such as [[Cresta (soft drink)|Cresta Bear]] to life.<ref name="BFIobit"/>

===1970s: ''A Christmas Carol'' and ''The Pink Panther''===
In 1971, Williams directed the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV special)|A Christmas Carol]]'', an animated adaptation of [[Charles Dickens]]'s [[A Christmas Carol|1843 novella]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/1973AChristmasCarol 1973 A Christmas Carol: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive]</ref> The design of the film was based upon the original 1843 engravings.<ref name="NYTimesObit"/> ''A Christmas Carol'' was broadcast on U.S. television by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] on December 21, 1971, and released theatrically soon after. In 1972, it won the [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film]].<ref>[https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1973 1973|Oscars.org]</ref>

In around 1973, Williams fell out with his business partners over the feature film ''Nasruddin'', and began to re-imagine the story, which soon morphed into a new tale about a mute thief who is obsessed with stealing three golden balls which protect an ancient city from invasion.<ref name="BFIobit"/> Williams animated many of the scenes himself, and spent years perfecting a single scene in which the villainous vizier ZigZag shuffles a deck of cards.<ref name="BFIobit"/>

In 1975, Williams animated the title credits for [[Blake Edwards]]' ''[[The Return of the Pink Panther]]'',<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180328161805/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6c23d546 Return of the Pink Panther at www.bfi.org.uk] Retrieved 23 August 2019</ref> and in 1976 his studio completed the animated credits for ''[[The Pink Panther Strikes Again]]''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180113031043/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b31837d The Pink Panther Strikes Again at www.bfi.org.uk] Retrieved 14 October 2019</ref> [[Art Babbitt]], who was working for Williams at the time, described his employer's talent: "He's a director, designer, animator, and has a good layman's knowledge of music. He's a dreamer. He has more to learn as far as animation is concerned, but God, he can draw like a bastard".<ref>Letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'', 9 October 2019, from Quentin Falk</ref>

In 1976, Williams did the illustrations for [[Idries Shah]]'s English translation of the stories of Nasrudin, titled ''The Exploits of the Incomparable Mullah Nasruddin''.<ref>[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exploits-Incomparable-Mulla-Nasrudin/dp/B00698X8LA/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=idries+shah+richard+williams&qid=1571066322&sr=8-1 ''The Exploits of the Incomparable Mullah Nasruddin'' by Idries Shah, Illustrated by Richard Williams. Picador (1976) ASIN: B00698X8LA] Retrieved 14 October 2019</ref>

In 1977, Williams directed the full-length animated feature film ''[[Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure]]'' (1977), in which his daughter Claire played the part of Marcella.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076593/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Raggedy Ann & Andy at IMDB] Retrieved 24 August 2019</ref>

===1980s: ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit''===
[[File:Richard Williams Animation 1985.jpg|thumb|Richard Williams Animation in 1985]]
[[File:Richard Williams at the 100 Club with DixSix in 1985.jpg|thumb|Richard Williams at the 100 Club with his band DixSix in 1985]]
{{main|Who Framed Roger Rabbit}}
In 1982, Williams directed ''[[Ziggy's Gift]]'', a television special in which Ziggy takes a job as a sidewalk Santa.<ref name="NYTimesObit"/> The film won an [[Emmy Award]],<ref name="NYTimesObit">[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/18/obituaries/richard-williams-dies.html Obituary of Richard Williams at the NY Times, 18 August 2019] Retrieved 14 October 2019</ref> and in the same year he appeared in a [[Thames Television]] documentary titled ''Richard Williams and The Thief Who Never Gave Up''.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1549024/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_13 Richard Williams and The Thief Who Never Gave Up at IMDB] Retrieved 24 August 2019</ref>

In 1987, Williams embarked on his biggest project to date, becoming animation director on the [[Disney]]/[[Steven Spielberg|Spielberg]] film ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' (1988). Williams was initially reluctant to work on the film: when pitched the idea, Williams said to executive producer [[Steven Spielberg]] and director [[Robert Zemeckis]] "I just hate animation and live-action together; it just doesn't work, it's ugly". As he did not want to move to Los Angeles, production was moved to London.<ref>[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/richard-williams-obituary-sfhp6j9dw Sunday Times Obituary 19 August 2019] Retrieved 13 October 2019</ref>

Disney and Spielberg promised Williams that in return for doing the film, they would help finance and distribute the still-unfinished ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]''. Williams designed the characters for the film, including [[Jessica Rabbit]]. He said of Jessica that she was "the ultimate male fantasy, drawn by a cartoonist. I tried to make her like [[Rita Hayworth]]; we took her hair from [[Veronica Lake]], and Zemeckis kept saying, 'What about the look [[Lauren Bacall]] had?'" Blessed with tremendous energy, Williams barely slept and worked through multiple nights to get the animation finished on time.<ref name="The Times Obit"/>

In 1988, another documentary was released about Williams, titled ''I Drew Roger Rabbit''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191014122159/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b796965fb I Drew Roger Rabbit at www.bfi.org.uk] Retrieved 14 October 2019</ref> In 1989, following the success of ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', Williams won two more [[Academy Award]]s for his work, a joint award for Best Special Effects, shared with [[Ken Ralston]], Ed Jones and [[George Gibbs (special effects artist)|George Gibbs]]<ref name="The Times Obit"/> and a Special Achievement Award.<ref>[https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 1989|Oscars.org] Retrieved 24 August 2019</ref> Williams said "I'm (in) the same business as [[Francisco Goya|Goya]] and [[Rembrandt]]. I may be rotten at it with nothing of the same quality or talent, but that's my business".<ref name="TheWeek"/>

Apart from animation, Williams's great passion was [[Dixieland]] jazz. He led an ensemble in London named ''Dix Six'' that played regular gigs at venues such as the [[PizzaExpress Jazz Club]], The [[100 Club]], and the [[The Biltmore Mayfair, LXR Hotels & Resorts|Britannia Hotel]] in [[Grosvenor Square]].<ref name="The Times Obit"/>

===1990s: ''The Thief and the Cobbler''===
{{main|The Thief and the Cobbler}}
Richard Williams' [[Masterpiece|magnum opus]], a painstakingly hand-animated epic inspired by the [[Arabian Nights]] and with the production title ''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]'', was begun in 1964 and was initially self-funded. As a largely non-verbal feature meant for an adult audience, ''The Thief'' was dismissed at first as unmarketable. After over twenty years of work, Williams had completed only twenty minutes of the film, and following the critical success of ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', Williams sought and secured a production deal with [[Warner Bros.]] in 1988. However, the production went over deadline, and in 1992, with only 15 minutes of footage left to complete, The Completion Bond Company, who had insured Warners' financing of the film, feared competition from the similarly themed Disney film ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]],'' which was scheduled to open on the same day, and seized the project from Williams in [[Camden, London]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Lurio|first=Eric|title=Arabian Knightmare|url=http://www.vmresource.com/thief/lurio.html|access-date=19 August 2019}}</ref>

Completion Bond then had animator Fred Calvert supervise the animation process in Korea. New scenes were also animated to include several musical interludes. Calvert's version was released in [[South Africa]] and [[Australia]] in 1993 as ''The Princess and the Cobbler''. [[Miramax]] (which was owned by Disney at the time) then acquired rights to the project and extensively rewrote and re-edited the film to include continuous dialogue, as well as many cuts to lengthy sequences. Miramax's product was released in [[North America]] in 1995 under the title ''Arabian Knight''. For a long time, Williams preferred not to discuss the film in detail.

Following the collapse of ''The Thief'', Williams closed his company and left the UK for his native Canada, moving with his wife Imogen and their two children to a house in [[Fulford Harbour]] on [[Salt Spring Island]], [[British Columbia]], where the family lived for five years. To earn a living, Williams began to host animation masterclasses, in which he combined his skill as an animator with his talent on the stage, performing around 30 events around the world.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/>

In 1992, Williams was awarded an [[honorary doctorate]] by the [[Royal College of Art]].<ref>[https://www.rca.ac.uk/more/about-rca/our-history/college-honours/honorary-fellows/ RCA official site] Retrieved 7 November 2019</ref> In 1997 Williams moved back to the UK, living first in [[Pembrokeshire]] and later moving to [[Bristol]], where he would remain until the end of his life.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/>

===2000s–2010s: ''The Animator's Survival Kit'' and ''Prologue''===
[[File:Richard Williams at Aardman Animation in 2015.jpg|thumb|Richard Williams at Aardman Animation in 2015, at work on ''Prologue''.]]
The notes for Williams' masterclass formed the basis for a book on the art of animation and, in 2002, [[Faber & Faber]] published Williams' acclaimed animation how-to book, ''[[The Animator's Survival Kit]]'', with an "expanded edition" following in 2009. The book soon became a key reference for animators, both in print and later on as a DVD box set and an iPad application. The historian [[Kevin Brownlow]] described the ''ASK'' as “utterly riveting, even to a layman.”<ref name="NYTimesObit"/>

From 2008, Williams began to work as artist in residence at [[Aardman Animations]] in Bristol, where he worked at one of his original 1938 Disney animation desks.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/> Aardman co-founder [[Peter Lord]] described Williams as exemplifying "pure creativity, he seemed to us to work without compromise and for the sheer love of his chosen art-form. No deadlines, except the ones he set himself, nobody to please or answer to, except himself. [He was] our special guest, our resident celebrity".<ref>[https://www.aardman.com/tribute-animation-master-richard-williams/ Tribute to Richard Williams by Peter Lord] Retrieved 9 October 2019</ref> Even in his 80s, Williams continued to work every day, and do a full day's work. He liked to enter his office at Aardman by the fire escape "just to avoid people".<ref name="NYTimesObit" />

In 2010, Williams completed his 9-minute short film titled ''[[Circus Drawings]]'', first begun in Ibiza in the early 1950s. The silent film, with live accompaniment, premiered at the [[Pordenone Silent Film Festival]] in Italy in September 2010.<ref>{{cite web
  | last = Deneroff
  | first = Harvey
  | title = Richard Williams' Circus Drawings' Silent Premiere
  | url= http://deneroff.com/blog/2010/10/20/richard-williams-circus-drawings-silent-premiere/
  | date = October 20, 2010
  | access-date = December 8, 2010}}</ref>

On December 10, 2013, the director's cut of ''The Thief and the Cobbler'', a [[workprint]] of the film, subtitled "A Moment in Time", was screened in Los Angeles. Williams participated in the event.<ref name="Beck2">{{cite web | last = Beck | first = Jerry | title = Richard Williams to Screen his Director's Cut of "The Thief and the Cobbler" Dec. 10th | url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/animationscoop/richard-williams-to-screen-his-directors-cut-of-the-thief-and-the-cobbler-dec-10th | publisher=Animation Scoop | date =November 19, 2013 | access-date =November 22, 2013}}</ref> However, a final, finished version of the film as Williams had long envisioned would never be completed.

In 2015, his short film ''Prologue'' received both an Oscar nomination<ref>[https://oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2016 2016|Oscars.org]</ref> and a BAFTA nomination in the category of best animated short. ''Prologue'' was the first six minutes of his hand-drawn feature film ''Lysistrata'', based on [[Lysistrata|the ancient Greek comedy]] by [[Aristophanes]], which Williams joked should be sub-titled "Will I Live to Finish It?".<ref name="Guardian Obit"/> Williams described ''Prologue'' as "the only thing so far in my career that I’ve ever really been pleased with."<ref name="NYTimesObit"/> In 2013 Williams told ''The Guardian'', "All I need is some time and five or six assistants who can draw like hell." The film was intended to be "grim but funny and salacious and sexy".<ref name="BFIobit"/> Like his version of ''The Thief and the Cobbler'', ''Prologue'' would never be completed. But, as Williams put it: "it's the doing of it that matters. Do it for the love of it. That's all there is".<ref name="TheWeek">Obituary, ''The Week'', 6 September 2019, page 35</ref>

==Personal life==
Williams married four times. His marriage to Stephanie "Tep" Ashforth in the early 1950s was short-lived; she was reluctant to move to London with him, choosing to remain in Ibiza. In London he met his second wife, Lois Catherine Steuart, daughter of the U.S. diplomat [[George H. Steuart (diplomat)|George Hume Steuart]]; they were married in 1966, and had two children, [[Alexander Williams (cartoonist)|Alexander Williams]], born in 1967, and Claire Williams, born in 1969. Divorce followed in 1976.<ref>{{cite news |title=Richard Williams obituary |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/richard-williams-obituary-sfhp6j9dw |access-date=26 February 2020 |work=The Times |language=en}}</ref>

In 1976 he married a third time, to Margaret French, from Missouri, with whom he had two more children: Timothy Williams, born in 1976, and Holly Williams, born in 1978.

Toward the end of his life, he lived in [[Bristol]] with his fourth wife, [[Imogen Sutton]], with whom he had two more children, Natasha Sutton-Williams and Leif Sutton-Williams.

==Death==
Williams died of cancer on August 16, 2019, at his home in Bristol, England,<ref>{{cite news |title=Roger Rabbit animator Richard Williams dies at 86 |work=BBC News |date=August 17, 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49382175 |access-date=17 August 2019}}</ref> still creating until the very end.<ref name="The Times Obit"/><ref name="Independent"/>

==Filmography==
'''Animated shorts and Features'''
*''[[The Little Island (film)|The Little Island]]'' (1958) (director, writer, producer, animator)<ref name="cartoonresearch.com6">{{cite web|url=http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1958/|title=Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award – 1958 -|website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref>
*''Love Me, Love Me, Love Me'' (1962) (director, producer, animator)<ref name="cartoonresearch.com18">{{cite web|url=http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/cartoons-considered-for-an-academy-award-1973/|title=Cartoons Considered For An Academy Award 1973 -|website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref>
*''A Lecture on Man'' (1962) (director, writer, producer, animator)
*''The Apple'' (1963) (designer, storyboard artist)
*''[[Diary of a Madman (Nikolai Gogol)|Diary of a Madman]]'' (unfinished, [[Kenneth Williams]] narration was broadcast by BBC Radio 4, 1991)
*''[[The Dermis Probe]]'' (1965) (director, editing, script Idries Shah)
*''Sailor and the Devil'' (1965) (producer) 
*''The Ever-Changing Motor Car'' (1965) (writer)
*''I.Vor Pittfalks, the Universal Confidence Man'' (not completed)
*''[[A Christmas Carol (TV special)|A Christmas Carol]]'' (TV movie) (1971) (director, producer) (Oscar win)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl5FOhRoQRg Short Film Winners: 1973 Oscars]</ref>
*''[[Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure]]'' (1977) (director, production supervisor, animator)
*''[[Ziggy's Gift]]'' (TV movie) (1982) (director, producer, voice of Crooked Santa)
*''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' (1988) (animation director, voice of [[Droopy]])
*''[[Tummy Trouble]]'' (1989) (voice of [[Droopy]])
*''[[The Thief and the Cobbler]]'' (1993) (director, screenplay, producer, lead animator, voice of Laughing Brigand)
*''[[Circus Drawings]]'' (2010) (director, animator)
*''[[Prologue (2015 film)|Prologue]]'' (2015) (director, animator) (Oscar nomination)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQJsne3qSrE "Bear Story" winning Best Animated Short Film -Oscars on YouTube]</ref>

===Titles in Live-action films===
*''[[What's New Pussycat?]]'' (1965) (titles)
*''[[The Liquidator (1965 film)|The Liquidator]]'' (1965) (titles)
*''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)|A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]'' (1966) (title designer)
*''[[The Spy with a Cold Nose]]'' (1966) (title designer)
*''[[Casino Royale (1967 film)|Casino Royale]]'' (1967) (titles, montage effects)
*''[[Sebastian (1968 film)|Sebastian]]'' (1968) (titles)
*''[[Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (film)|Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush]]'' (1968) (title designer)
*''[[30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia]]'' (1968) (graphic titles effects)
*''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]'' (1968) (title animation)
*''[[Prudence and the Pill]]'' (1968) (titles)
*''[[Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?]]'' (1969) (animation director: title sequence)
*''[[Every Home Should Have One]]'' (1970) (titles and animated sequences)
*''[[The Return of the Pink Panther]]'' (1975) (title animation)
*''[[The Pink Panther Strikes Again]]'' (1976) (title animation)

==See also==
*[[Independent animation]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exploits-Incomparable-Mulla-Nasrudin/dp/B00698X8LA/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=idries+shah+richard+williams&qid=1571066322&sr=8-1 ''The Exploits of the Incomparable Mullah Nasruddin'' by Idries Shah, Illustrated by Richard Williams. Picador (1976) ASIN: B00698X8LA] Retrieved 14 October 2019
*''[[The Animator's Survival Kit|The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Computer, Stop-motion, Games and Classical Animators]]'', Faber and Faber, 2002 (expanded edition 2009, adding 'Internet' to the subtitle)
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bright-Particular-Stars-Canadian-Performers/dp/1771612169/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=bright+particular+stars+martin+hunter&qid=1579812775&sr=8-1 Hunter, Martin, ''Bright Particular Stars: Canadian Performers'', 15 Aug 2016] Retrieved 23 January 2020

==External links==
*[http://www.theanimatorssurvivalkit.com/ Official website]
*{{IMDb name|id=0931530|name=Richard Williams}}
*[https://www..com/rip/richard-williams-1933-2019-a-director-animator-and-educator-who-pushed-the-art-of-animation-forward-178418.html Obituary] at [[Cartoon Brew]]
*{{Screenonline name|id=868599|name=Richard Williams}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWAwfXsYMrA Richard Williams: Animating Movement] at [[YouTube]]
*[https://www.aardman.com/latest-news/a-tribute-to-animation-master-richard-williams A Tribute to Animation Master Richard Williams] by [[Peter Lord]]
*[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/comment/obituaries/richard-williams-animation-master-roger-rabbit-thief-cobbler Obituary at BFI]
*[https://www.bristol247.com/culture/film/obituary-richard-williams/ Obituary at Bristol24/7]
*[https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/who-framed-roger-rabbit-animator-richard-williams-obituary-873050/ Obituary at Rolling Stone]
*[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/20/richard-williams-obituary Obituary at The Guardian]
*[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/richard-williams-dead-roger-rabbit-animator-death-oscar-bristol-a9063741.html Obituary at The Independent]
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/08/19/richard-williams-london-based-animation-artist-won-two-oscars/ Obituary at The Daily Telegraph]
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/18/obituaries/richard-williams-dies.html Obituary at The New York Times]

{{Richard Williams}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Richard Williams
|list  =
{{Academy Award Best Visual Effects}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Special Effects}}
{{Special Achievement Academy Award}}
{{Winsor McCay Award 1980s}}}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Richard}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
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