Ruth Irene Tompson (1910 - 2021)

Born 22 Jul 1910 in Portland, Cumberland, Maine, United States

Ancestors

Died 10 Oct 2021 at age 111 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Ruthie Tompson is Notable.

Ruthie Tompson was a centenarian, living to age 111.

Ruthie was an animation pioneer who started her professional journey in the Inking and painting department at Walt Disney Studios. Over four decades, she worked on various projects, revising the animation cels before they were filmed and planning scenes for features such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1938), "Pinocchio" (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), Sleeping Beauty (1950), Mary Poppins (1964), The Aristocats (1970), and Robin Hood (1973).

Birth and Youth

Ruth was born 22 Jul 1910, at St. Barnabas Hospital in Portland, Maine. She was the daughter of Nahum Ward Tompson and his wife, Athene Agnes (Sterling) Tompson.^[1] Ruthie grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, before moving with her family to Oakland, California at age eight in November 1918.

In 1924, Ruthie's parents divorced and her mother remarried advertising artist John Roberts. The family relocated to Los Angeles to a home located on the same block as the house of Robert Disney, uncle of Walt Disney, and the home where Walt and his brother, Roy Disney, lived when they first came to Los Angeles. Tompson first met the Disneys when she visited her neighbor Robert's new baby. Ruthie's first official affiliation with the The Walt Disney Company, then known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, was an appearance as a child in the studio's Alice Comedies

In 1930, 19-year-old Ruthie was living in Los Angeles with her mother, step-father, and younger sister Dorothy (age 18), in a home at 1738 N. Alexandria Street in Los Angeles.^[2]

Animation Career

Ruthie had attended Hollywood High School, after which she took a job at Dubrock’s Riding Academy in the San Fernando Valley, where Walt and Roy frequently played polo. Remembering Ruthie from when she was younger, Walt offered her a job as an inker and painter, where she helped put finishing touches on the studio’s first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). After working on several other Disney films, Ruthie was promoted to final checker position where she reviewed animation cels before they were photographed onto film.

Ruthie continued working for Disney and was promoted to animation checker during WWII, where she worked on training and education films, for the U.S Armed Forces, starring Disney characters such as Mickey, Donald Duck and Goofy. By 1948, Ruthie was working in the camera department, developing camera moves and mechanics to shoot animation. In 1952, she became one of the first three women admitted into the International Photographers Union, Local 659 of the IATSE. Ruthie continued to work through the studio ranks, eventually becoming the supervisor of the screen planning department.

Retirement and Death

Ruthie retired in 1975 after completing work on The Rescuers, having been with The Walt Disney Company for almost 40 years - though she would return to work in 1978, on Ralph Bakshi’s animated “The Lord of the Rings” and Metamorphoses. She also worked for an in-house television channel at the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) Country House where she lived.

In 2000, Ruthie was honored by the Disney Legends program and received the Disney Legends Award for her work at the Walt Disney Studios. In 2017, she was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for her contributions to the animation industry.

Ruthie passed away 10 Oct 2021, at her home at the Motion Picture and Television Fund in Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. She was 111 years old, qualifying here as a "supercentenarian".

Ruthie never married, nor did she have any children.

Sources

1. ↑ "Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24J-CTX1 : 2 March 2021), Athene Agnes Sterling in entry for Ruth Irene Tompson, Birth 22 Jul 1910; multiple sources, Maine; FHL microfilm 10,202.
2. ↑ 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Ancestry.com (database online with images). California, Los Angeles County, City of Los Angeles, ED 58. sheet 19A, dwelling 309, family 679, household of John E. Roberts [image 35]

See Also:

• Wikipedia contributors, "Ruthie Tompson," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruthie_Tompson&oldid=1195945706 (accessed April 11, 2024).
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/232959388/ruthie-tompson
• Obituary: Remembering Disney Legend Ruthie Tompson. The Walt Disney Company. 11 Oct 2021. (Available at: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/remembering-disney-legend-ruthie-tompson Accessed 18 Oct 2021)