Robert Edward "Bob" Balser (March 25, 1927 â€" January 4, 2016) was an
American animator and animation director. Balser, together with
co-director Jack Stokes, are best known as the animation directors for
the 1968 film, Yellow Submarine, which was inspired by the music of
the Beatles. He also directed the animated "Den" sequence of the 1981
film, Heavy Metal.Balser was born on March 25, 1927 in Rochester, New
York. He moved to Los Angeles with his parents, where he attended high
school and enrolled in classes at the Chouinard Art Institute. He
served in the United States Navy's Office of Strategic Services
(O.S.S.) Office of Research and Inventions in New York City from 1945
to 1946 during the eve of World War II.Following the war, Balser,
using the G.I. Bill, studied at the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA), where he majored in advertising art and earned a
Bachelor of Arts in 1950. During his senior year at UCLA, Balser
signed up for his final required course, an animation class taught by
Bill Shull, an animator for the Walt Disney Company, which sparked his
interest in a career in animation. He decided to take additional
animation classes and created three films as part of his course work:
Old King Cole, Richard Corey, and I Like to See It Lap the Miles. His
three films were later released by the theater arts department of the
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.Balser's career spanned
more than five decades. He began as a freelance animator, working on
television commercials and documentaries. He worked as a layout artist
for Norman Wright Productions during the 1950s. Balser also worked
under Saul Bass, a graphic designer, to help create Bass' seven minute
animated title sequence for the film, Around the World in 80 Days,
released in 1956.
American animator and animation director. Balser, together with
co-director Jack Stokes, are best known as the animation directors for
the 1968 film, Yellow Submarine, which was inspired by the music of
the Beatles. He also directed the animated "Den" sequence of the 1981
film, Heavy Metal.Balser was born on March 25, 1927 in Rochester, New
York. He moved to Los Angeles with his parents, where he attended high
school and enrolled in classes at the Chouinard Art Institute. He
served in the United States Navy's Office of Strategic Services
(O.S.S.) Office of Research and Inventions in New York City from 1945
to 1946 during the eve of World War II.Following the war, Balser,
using the G.I. Bill, studied at the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA), where he majored in advertising art and earned a
Bachelor of Arts in 1950. During his senior year at UCLA, Balser
signed up for his final required course, an animation class taught by
Bill Shull, an animator for the Walt Disney Company, which sparked his
interest in a career in animation. He decided to take additional
animation classes and created three films as part of his course work:
Old King Cole, Richard Corey, and I Like to See It Lap the Miles. His
three films were later released by the theater arts department of the
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.Balser's career spanned
more than five decades. He began as a freelance animator, working on
television commercials and documentaries. He worked as a layout artist
for Norman Wright Productions during the 1950s. Balser also worked
under Saul Bass, a graphic designer, to help create Bass' seven minute
animated title sequence for the film, Around the World in 80 Days,
released in 1956.
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