William O. "Bill" Roberts was an animator, director, and illustrator for the Disney Studios whose prominent work came out during the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Kentucky, Roberts found his way to New York where he found work as a magazine illustrator. In early 1930s, he was employed at Disney where he started off as an animator for the Silly Symphonies, such as King Neptune and Father Noah's Ark before working on the Mickey Mouse cartoons.
After the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Roberts was promoted to director status within the division. He would help direct sequences within features, such as Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi, Saludos Amigos, and Fantasia where he collaborated with animator Paul Satterfield on "The Rite of Spring" segment. He was also tasked with directing a series of educational featurettes in the studio, such as Reason and Emotion and The ABC of Hand Tools, which was sponsored through General Motors.
Roberts continued to work for the studio throughout the 1940s and passed away on March 18, 1974. He is interred with his wife, Lillian at Three Rivers Cemetery in Tulare County in California.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | King Neptune | Animator - uncredited |
| Bugs in Love | Animator - uncredited | |
| Babes in the Woods | Animator - uncredited | |
| 1933 | Mickey's Mellerdrammer | Animator - uncredited |
| Father Noah's Ark | Animator - uncredited | |
| Old King Cole | Animator - uncredited | |
| Giantland | Animator - uncredited | |
| 1934 | The Grasshopper and the Ants | Animator - uncredited |
| Camping Out | Animator - uncredited | |
| Gulliver Mickey | Animator - uncredited | |
| Mickey Plays Papa | Animator - uncredited | |
| The Dognapper | Animator - uncredited | |
| 1935 | The Robber Kitten | Animator - uncredited |
| Who Killed Cock Robin? | Animator: "Paul Parrot" - uncredited | |
| Pluto's Judgement Day | Animator | |
| 1936 | Mickey's Polo Team | Animator - uncredited |
| Three Little Wolves | Animator - uncredited | |
| Alpine Climbers | Animator - uncredited | |
| Donald and Pluto | Animator - uncredited | |
| Mother Pluto | Animator - uncredited | |
| 1937 | Magician Mickey | Animator - uncredited |
| Clock Cleaners | Animator - uncredited | |
| Pluto's Quin-puplets | Animator - uncredited | |
| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Animator | |
| 1938 | Mickey's Parrot | Director - uncredited |
| Brave Little Tailor | Director - uncredited | |
| 1939 | Society Dog Show | Director - uncredited |
| 1940 | Pinocchio | Sequence director |
| Fantasia | Director - uncredited: "The Rite of Spring" | |
| 1941 | Dumbo | Sequence director |
| The Art of Skiing | Director - uncredited | |
| 1942 | All Together | Director - uncredited |
| Bambi | Sequence director | |
| Saludos Amigos | Sequence director: "Lake Titicaca" "The Flying Gauchito" | |
| 1943 | The Grain That Built a Hemisphere | Director - uncredited |
| Reason and Emotion | Director - uncredited | |
| The Winged Scourge | Director - uncredited | |
| 1944 | The Three Caballeros | Sequence director: "The Cold-Blooded Penguin" |
| The Amazon Awakens | Director | |
| 1946 | The ABC of Hand Tools | Director |
| 1947 | Fun and Fancy Free | Animation director - "Mickey and the Beanstalk" |
| 1955 | A World is Born | Director - uncredited |
| 1955-1962 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Director: "The Adventures of Mickey Mouse" "Man is His Own Worst Enemy" Segment director: "The Truth About Mother Goose" Sequence director: "Nature's Strangest Oddballs" |
Gallery[]
External links[]
Bill Roberts on IMDb
