Iwao Takamoto
CHARLES SOLOMON: Let’s start with a little background. How did you get into animation in general and Disney specifically?
IWAO TAKAMOTO: I was born and raised about four blocks from our present city hall in that Japanese section of town. But it was a matter of coming out of the relocation centers, the concentration camps we were in. I was in my late teens, and as soon as they opened up the West Coast, I came dashing back, not having any idea what I was going to do.
During the period I spent in that camp, I ran into a couple of art directors who had worked for film studios. I think it was Paramount and MGM. They encouraged me to go into the profession. One of them mentioned the Walt Disney Studio as a place that was liberal about their hiring practices and their attitude toward minorities.
So I just got on the phone and applied for a job.
[…]
Parent contents
- Parent entry
- 1 - Sam Armstrong and Leland "Lee" Payne (unknown interviewer)
- 2 - Bob Givens (Paul Sorokowski)
- 3 - O.B. Johnston: Memoir - Odyssey in Merchandising (O.B. Johnston, Mary Carey)
- 4 - Wilfred Jackson (Michael Barrier, Milton Gray, Bob Clampett)
- 5 - Wilfred Jackson (Michael Barrier, Milton Gray)
- 6 - Jack Hannah (Dave Smith)
- 7 - Tom Oreb (Amid Amidi)
- 8 - Iwao Takamoto
- 9 - Herb Ryman (Jay Horan)
- 10 - Alfred and Elma Milotte - A Tribute to the Lives of Bonney Lake’s Most Notable Residents (Winona Jacobsen)
Persons
Andreas Deja (author)Charles Solomon (author)
Iwao Takamoto (interviewee)