In the 1950s a cameraman from Walt Disney Studios formed a revolutionary animation studio called UPA. And a number of years later, this cameraman, now producer, opened his own small animation studio that he called Playhouse Pictures.

In the 70s and 80s his two sons, Ted and Gerry, took over the studio. Gerry Woolery was the creative director, and Ted was producer, editor and cameraman. After I graduated from film school, I moved to LA and my first job in animation was at Playhouse Pictures, and I worked for Ted and Gerry Woolery for almost ten years. It was the perfect place for me to get my start and learn the ropes of animation production. Those were amazing days in West Hollywood. I have so many great memories of that time.

I asked Ted to be a guest on this podcast to give us an oral history of Playhouse, which is to give us the history of a long gone era. He talks about the Disney strike in the 40s, the formation of UPA, how WWII impacted the animation industry, and how technology changed animation. You’ll hear about many legendary figures from that era, and some who you never heard of before.

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