William Norman Ferguson was an American animator at the Disney Studios. He was known by the nickname "Fergy" by his colleagues.
Rather than focus on inner emotions, Ferguson was known for using broader movements to suggest acting and personality. This technique of animation led to his creation of the dog in the cartoon Chain Gang, the ancestor of Pluto. Ferguson further influenced the character in his animation of a sequence Playful Pluto - in which Pluto accidentally sits on a sheet of flypaper and tries unsuccessfully to pull it off, resulting in more problems - considered by many to be the first sequence in which a character was thinking onscreen and a milestone in personality animation. He was very fond of vaudeville acts and found many opportunities to use broad gestures in his animation assignments, including the dramatic Witch and the theatrical Honest John.
He also had a small role as himself in Disney's The Reluctant Dragon and accompanied Walt Disney and several other employees to South America on a goodwill tour which inspired Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros.
In 1953, Ferguson, who was starting to suffer from diabetes, left Disney Studios. His health and career fell into decline further afterwards and after aa brief, unsuccessful stint with Shamus Culhane Productions, Ferguson died in Los Angeles, California in 1957.
Character animation[]
| Film | Character |
|---|---|
| The Three Little Pigs | Big Bad Wolf |
| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Witch Raven |
| Pinocchio | |
| Fantasia | |
| Cinderella | |
| Alice in Wonderland |
Gallery[]
Character Gallery[]
Miscellaneous[]
.jpg "Disney staff 1930 (1).jpg (66 KB)")
Kneeling, from left, Sharpsteen, Lundy, Gilson, and Ferguson
.jpg "Disney staff in January 1930 (2).jpg (65 KB)")
Kneeling, from left, Lundy, Charles Byrne, Carlos Manriquez, Norman Ferguson, Merle Gilson, Chuck Couch, Carl Stalling, Johnny Cannon, W. Disney.
.jpg "Disney staff 1931 (1).jpg (65 KB)")
Seated, from left: David Hand, Ted Sears, Lundy, Gillett, W. Disney
.jpg "Disney staff 1931 (2).jpg (64 KB)")
Seated from left: King, Lundy, Sears, Ferguson, de Tremaudan, Jackson, Clark, Gillett, Lewis
