Cecil Surry
Encyclopedia
Cecil Hays Surry was a cartoonist at various film studios in the Golden Age of Animation
.
Surry was born to Bert F. and Lydia or Lida B. (Knoblock) Surry in Chelan, Washington
, where his father and uncle owned an orchard. He spent his youth in Washington State; the family moved by 1922 to San Diego. Surry enrolled in the Otis Art Institute and, as a second-year student, won a poster competition sponsored by the Junior League of Los Angeles for the third annual horse show of the Flintridge Riding Club..
By 1931, he got a job at the Walt Disney
studio where he met his future wide Constance Berry . Voters lists show they married sometime between 1932 and 1934 (they also show he switched from being a registered Republican to Democrat before 1946).
Surry was first credited as an animator at the Walter Lantz
studio in the 1933 short Going to Blazes. When fellow Lantz animator Tex Avery
left to take a director's job at Warner Brothers, Surry, Virgil Ross and Sid Sutherland went with him to work in the original Termite Terrace unit with Chuck Jones
, Bob Clampett
, Robert (Bobe) Cannon and assistant animator Elmer Wait. He is credited on only three Warner Bros. cartoons. Surry left to work at the reorganised MGM cartoon studio
where he eventually was placed in the Hanna-Barbera
unit to work on Tom and Jerry
cartoons, including uncredited work on the 1941 short The Night Before Christmas.
In 1950, Surry began work at UPA
. For a brief period in 1952, he returned to the Lantz studio and is credited as animator on three cartoons before returning to UPA, where he remained until his death in Los Angeles at age 49. By an odd coincidence, his only brother, Paul Wilson Surry, also died at the age of 49, in 1962.
Surry worked on two Oscar-winning cartoons, When Magoo Flew (1954) and Magoo's Puddle Jumper (1956).
He was also an artist for Dell Comics
about the time he went to UPA.
The Golden Age of American animation
The Golden Age of U.S. animation is a period in the United States animation history that began with the advent of sound cartoons in 1928 and continued into the early 1960s when theatrical animated shorts slowly began losing to the new medium of television animation.Many memorable characters emerged...
.
Surry was born to Bert F. and Lydia or Lida B. (Knoblock) Surry in Chelan, Washington
Chelan, Washington
Chelan is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,890 at the 2010 census. It sits on the southeast tip of Lake Chelan, where the lake flows into the Chelan River....
, where his father and uncle owned an orchard. He spent his youth in Washington State; the family moved by 1922 to San Diego. Surry enrolled in the Otis Art Institute and, as a second-year student, won a poster competition sponsored by the Junior League of Los Angeles for the third annual horse show of the Flintridge Riding Club..
By 1931, he got a job at the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
studio where he met his future wide Constance Berry . Voters lists show they married sometime between 1932 and 1934 (they also show he switched from being a registered Republican to Democrat before 1946).
Surry was first credited as an animator at the Walter Lantz
Walter Lantz
Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and director, best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.-Early years and start in animation:...
studio in the 1933 short Going to Blazes. When fellow Lantz animator Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
left to take a director's job at Warner Brothers, Surry, Virgil Ross and Sid Sutherland went with him to work in the original Termite Terrace unit with Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
, Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
, Robert (Bobe) Cannon and assistant animator Elmer Wait. He is credited on only three Warner Bros. cartoons. Surry left to work at the reorganised MGM cartoon studio
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio was the in-house division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture studio in Hollywood, California during the Golden Age of American animation, responsible for producing animated short subjects to accompany MGM feature films in Loew's Theaters...
where he eventually was placed in the Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
unit to work on Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
cartoons, including uncredited work on the 1941 short The Night Before Christmas.
In 1950, Surry began work at UPA
United Productions of America
United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio of the 1940s through present day, beginning with industrial films and World War II training films. In the late 1940s, UPA produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures, most notably the Mr. Magoo series. In...
. For a brief period in 1952, he returned to the Lantz studio and is credited as animator on three cartoons before returning to UPA, where he remained until his death in Los Angeles at age 49. By an odd coincidence, his only brother, Paul Wilson Surry, also died at the age of 49, in 1962.
Surry worked on two Oscar-winning cartoons, When Magoo Flew (1954) and Magoo's Puddle Jumper (1956).
He was also an artist for Dell Comics
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
about the time he went to UPA.