Nick George(1910-1977)

The art of being funny is serious business to Walt Disney story man and sketch artist Nick George. Quiet and unassuming, Nick is a sharp contrast to the wild and woolly characters who often act in real life like Donald Duck does on the screen. In fact, Nick feels that the perfect writing team consist of a broad comic and another writer t to tone down the ideas and make them more adaptable to the screen. Born in San Francisco of Greek parents, Nick George came to Los Angeles in 1931 for a vacation. While in Southern California he applied for a job at Disney's and never got back to San Francisco, except for an occasional vacation. His formal art education included a year at the California School of Arts and Crafts, and three years at the Chouinard Art Institute, two of them while working at Disney's. Nick started in the animation department as an in-betweener and worked up in the ranks to a position of animator. He then transferred to the fast-growing story department, contributing gags and ideas with the Pinocchio story crew. Except for a three-and-a-half hitch in the Marines, he has been in the story department ever since. His main hobby is oil painting-both portraits and landscapes. But most of his time is spent at his San Fernando Valley home with his wife and daughter. A basketball and football player in high school, he has maintained an active interest in all sports. Bringing the famous Disney characters to life with rapid, deft strokes with chalk is nothing new to Nick George, who has long been one of the best sketch artists at the Studio in addition to his regular duties in the story department.