Percival Cooke "Perce" Pearce, Jr. was an American writer and producer, who worked for Disney from 1935 to 1953.
Born in Waukegan, Illinois; Pearce was the son of English immigrants, and his father was a physician. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago, having already started out as a cartoonist at the age of 16. He worked in a newspaper job before joining Walt Disney. He worked as a sequence director for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where he was reputedly the model for Doc. After World War II, Pearce began producing some of Disney's early live-action feature films, like Treasure Island, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, and Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue. Disney trusted him to oversee the production of these films in England and take part in the post-production process.
During Treasure Island, Pearce and associate Fred Leahy were asked to air-mail him specific takes for editing, and after a test screening in early January, he ordered them to cut ten to twelve minutes and provide a more forceful musical score; he also advised them that a more detailed criticism would follow. Two days later, he ordered the editor to fly from England to Los Angeles, apparently so that Walt could oversee the editing himself. For Robin Hood, Disney left much of the final decisions to Pearce, who had laid out every shot in the movie in thumbnail sketches, or storyboards, and sent them on along with photostats and the final script to Walt for approval.
He died in England while on business from coronary thrombosis in 1955.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Sequence Director |
| 1940 | Fantasia | Story Development: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" |
| 1942 | Bambi | Story Direction Mr. Mole - uncredited |
| 1943 | Victory Through Air Power | Story Direction |
| 1946 | Song of the South | Associate Producer |
| 1948 | So Dear to My Heart | Associate Producer |
| 1950 | Cinderella | Writer |
| Treasure Island | Producer | |
| 1952 | The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men | Producer |
| 1953 | The Sword and the Rose | Producer |
| Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue | Producer | |
| 1955 | Mickey Mouse Club | Production Supervisor: "Guest Star Day: Wally Boag" |
