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I was born in the U.S.A. in Newark, New Jersey, on February 3, 1927. I got interested in cartoons at the age of seven (10 cents a show). I was awed by the cartoon shorts. I always wondered how it was done. One of the movies I still remember was with Chester Morris, Walter Brennan, and Lewis Stone. It was called Three Godfathers and was about three men who find a baby in the desert and become attached to it. Several versions of it have been made, but I loved the cartoons. That was about the time I started drawing. My father, Vincent Cataldi, and my mother, Ada, gave me great encouragement to keep up my interest in art. I also give credit to my teachers in school: Mrs. Hunt in 6th grade and Mrs. Carew in 8th grade. I took a correspondence course from Art Instructions, Inc. and studied at Arts High School in Newark. I studied with John Rich at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. I’ve gone through a good part of The Golden Age of Theatricals, Features and Shorts, The Golden Age of TV Commercials, The Golden Age of Saturday Morning Cartoons, and now I’ll be going through The Golden Age of Old Age. Some people say, “I’ve been around the block.” I tell them “I’ve been around the township.” In September 1943 my family and I moved to California. I started to work for Disney Studios on November 1, 1943.

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