Hicks Lokey Explained

William "Hicks" Lokey (April 5, 1904  - November 4, 1990) was an American animator. He is best known for his work at Fleischer Studios.

Lokey was born in Alabama. He spent his early years in the animation industry at Van Beuren Studios,^[1] animating Aesop's Film Fables during the 1920s. Starting in 1934, he worked as an animator for Fleischer Studios. One of his first works there was the Betty Boop short There's Something About a Soldier.^[2]

He was one of the senior animators who took part in the 1937 Fleischer Studios strike, hoping to negotiate wages and working hours with Max and Dave Fleischer.^[3] However, after the Fleischers threatened to reduce Lokey's and others pay, Lokey opted to return to work.^[4] After leaving Fleischers in 1938, Lokey joined the Walter Lantz Studio, where he worked until 1939.^[5]

Lokey was hired by Walt Disney Productions the following year, where he provided character animation for the "Pink Elephants on Parade" segment in Dumbo^{[6] [7]} and "The Dance of the Hours" in Fantasia.^{[8] [9]} Lokey left the Disney studio in 1941 after joining several animators in the Disney animators' strike.^[10]

After a stint at Paul Fennell, he found employment at Hanna-Barbera in 1959, where he would remain for nearly thirty years. Lokey continued to animate, working on the television series Goober and the Ghost Chasers^[11] and The New Shmoo^[12] and the feature film The Man Called Flintstone (1966).^[13] Lokey retired in 1986.

In 1990 Lokey received the Winsor McCay Award for his lifetime of work in the field of animation.^[14] Lokey died in Los Angeles on November 4, 1990.

External links

• • Genealogy entry for Hicks Lokey

Notes and References

1. Book: Koszarski, Richard. Hollywood on the Hudson: Film and Television in New York from Griffith to Sarnoff. 317. August 27, 2008. Rutgers University Press. 9780813545523.
2. Book: Willis, Donald C.. 504. Horror and Science Fiction Films IV. 1997. Scarecrow Press. 9780810830554.
3. Book: Pointer, Ray. The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer: American Animation Pioneer. 162. January 10, 2017. McFarland & Company. 9781476663678.
4. Book: Sito, Tom. Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson. 76. October 6, 2006. University Press of Kentucky. 9780813138367.
5. Book: Adamson, Joe. 245. The Walter Lantz Story: With Woody Woodpecker and Friends. 1985. G. P. Putnam's Sons. 9780399130960.
6. Book: Doing Their Bit: Wartime American Animated Short Films, 1939–1945. 26. 2nd. Shull. Michael E.. Wilt. David E.. May 23, 2014. McFarland & Company. 9780786481699.
7. Langer. Mark. 1990. Regionalism in Disney Animation: Pink Elephants and Dumbo. 305–321. Film History. 4. 4. 3815059 .
8. Book: Beck, Jerry. The Animated Movie Guide. 76. October 28, 2005. Chicago Review Press. 9781569762226.
9. Book: Transitions and Dissolving Boundaries in the Fantastic. 15. Lötscher. Christine. Schrackmann. Petra. Tomkowiak. Ingrid. von Holzen. Aleta-Amirée. 2014. LIT Verlag. 9783643801852.
10. Web site: The Disney Strike of 1941: How It Changed Animation & Comics. Sito. Tom. July 19, 2005. Animation World Network. December 10, 2022.
11. Book: Burt, Richard. 605. Shakespeares After Shakespeare: An Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. 2. 2007. Greenwood Press.
12. Book: Dracula in Visual Media: Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-2010. 133. Browning. John Edgar. Picart. Caroline Joan. January 10, 2014. McFarland & Company. 9780786462018.
13. Book: Lentz, Harris M.. 1299. Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Filmography. 2001. McFarland & Company.
14. Web site: Winsor McCay Award. Annie Awards. December 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20150712035848/http://annieawards.org/winsor-mccay-award. July 12, 2015.