Easily one of the biggest names in the Walt Disney Universe is that of a temperamental duck named Donald. Outside of the cartoon world, another Donald has played an instrumental role in building some of the classic features of the Walt Disney Company that we enjoy to this day.
Donald Lusk was born on October 28, 1913 in Los Angeles, California. In 1933, when he was only 20 years old, Lusk was hired by The Walt Disney Company to work as an “inbetweener.” As an inbetweener, Lusk was responsible for filling in the gaps in animation drawings left by other animators. Just a few short years later, Lusk had advanced to animator and contributed to the company’s very first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Lusk proceeded to work on 13 out of the 17 Disney animated features that were released between 1937 and 1961. This included the frisky pets Cleo and Figaro in Pinocchio, the Arabian Nutcracker dance in Fantasia, Alice’s initial tumble into the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland, the colorful fight between Flora and Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty, and the nanny frantically shouting about the stolen puppies in 101 Dalmatians.
Additional animation credits for Lusk included Ferdinand the Bull, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Bambi, Song of the South, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp. During World War II, Lusk was assigned to the training film unit in Quantico, Virginia. While there he worked alongside such animation artists as Carl Fallberg, Tom Codrick, and Pete Alvarado. In 1960, Lusk left Disney and worked for such companies as UPA, Walter Lantz, DePatie-Freleng, and Bill Melendez Productions. At the latter studio, Lusk animated several Peanuts specials and features. Eventually, Lusk transitioned over to Hanna-Barbera, where he directed over 100 episodes of The Smurfs. Along with working on A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures, Yo Yogi!, Gravedale High, Jonny Quest, The Flintstone Kids, Challenge of the GoBots, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Snorks, and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo.
After enjoying a fruitful 60-year carrer, Lusk retired from the animation industry in 1993 at the age of 80. In 2015, he received the Winsor McCay Award from ASIFA-Hollywood for his lifetime contributions to animation. Sadly, on December 30, 2018, the last living Disney Animator of the Golden Age passed away at the age of 105. Lusk was married to Marge Lusk until his death and together the pair had two children, a son Skip and daughter Marilyn. Both survive their father, along with grandchildren Jason and Erica; and great-grandchildren Kyler, Catalina, Conner, and Kayla.
