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Didier Ghez: When and where were you born and what did you do before joining Disney?

Dan Haskett: I was born in New York City in 1952 in Harlem. I'm a graduate of the High School of Art and Design in New York, which is one of several specialized high schools there. They were trade schools originally to get their students into the workforce as early as possible. As a result of that, I got my first job in animation working for Shamus Culhane. Before I got to Disney I was in commercials. I was doing that for about eight years, and during that time I also worked on my first feature, which was Richard Williams' Raggedy Ann and Andy.

DG: Before you started studying art, were you already drawing at home and, as a kid, were you attracted to art? What was your experience with art before you got some training?

DH: I started drawing when I was about three years old. I knew what I wanted to do: I wanted to be a cartoonist. My mother and her mother also were artists, but they weren't able to make a living from it a because of racism and sexism. I was the first one in my family to be able to make a living out of it, for which I'm very grateful. By the time I was about 11 or so, I knew I wanted to get into animation. I wanted to get into television in some way and into animation. That's pretty much when I started studying. And I got my first job when I was 17.

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