Manuel Gonzales facts for kids

Manuel Gonzales (born March 3, 1913 – died March 31, 1993) was a talented Spanish-American artist who drew for Disney comics. He is best known for his work on the famous Mickey Mouse comic strip, which he drew from 1940 until he retired in 1981. Manuel Gonzales was born in Cabañas de Sayago, Spain, and later passed away in Los Angeles, USA.

Manuel Gonzales's Life and Work

Manuel Gonzales moved from Spain to the USA in 1918. He arrived through Ellis Island, which was a main entry point for immigrants. In September 1936, he started working at the Walt Disney Studios.

Early Work at Disney

When he first joined Disney, Manuel worked as an "in-betweener." This means he drew the frames that go between the main animation drawings. He helped create several short animated films. He also worked on the famous movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Besides animation, he drew pictures for Disney's publicity department. These drawings were used for advertisements and children's pages in magazines like Good Housekeeping.

Drawing Mickey Mouse

Manuel later moved to the comic strip department. In 1938, he took over drawing the Sunday pages of the Mickey Mouse comic strip from another artist, Floyd Gottfredson. He continued this job until he retired in 1981.

His work was only paused during World War II, from 1942 to 1945. During the war, he used his artistic skills for the U.S. Army. He animated short newsreel clips to encourage people to buy war bonds and support the war effort.

Collaborating on Sunday Comics

From 1946 to 1963, Bill Walsh wrote the stories for the Sunday Mickey Mouse pages. These stories showed Mickey Mouse as a "guy next door," living a normal, everyday life. Manuel Gonzales was especially good at drawing Goofy in funny, sometimes dream-like situations.

In 1950, Gonzales and Walsh also created a new Disney character. This was Ellsworth, an intelligent and witty bird. Many people thought their Sunday comic pages were even better than the daily Mickey Mouse comics at the time.

Other Disney Projects

Besides the Sunday pages, Manuel Gonzales worked on other Disney comic strips. He added ink to the Donald Duck and Scamp daily comics. He also drew newspaper comic versions of Disney films, like Song of the South. He illustrated some Disney books too. From 1960 to 1969, he worked on Disney's annual Christmas comic strip.

How Manuel Joined Disney

Manuel Gonzales grew up in Westfield, Massachusetts. As a boy, he went to school there and picked tobacco during summer jobs. Later, he lived in New York City and went to art school.

In 1936, his father found a flyer on a telephone pole. It invited artists to bring their portfolios to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a job. Manuel went for an interview and was hired right away. He was given $200 and told to report to the Hyperion Studios in Los Angeles. His first job was as an "in-betweener" on Snow White. This was the first full-length animated movie, made for a man he had never heard of before, named Walt Disney.

Special Awards and Honors

Manuel Gonzales received two special awards directly from Walt Disney himself. One was the "Mousecar" award. This was a highly desired award given to artists who had a big impact on Disney's success. It looked like a small bronze statue of Mickey Mouse on a black base. The other award was the Hyperion Club award, which looked similar but had a wooden base.

In 2017, Manuel Gonzales was named a "Disney Legend" after he had passed away. This is the highest award given by the Walt Disney Company. Out of hundreds of thousands of people who have worked for Disney, fewer than 300 had received this honor by 2017. Walt Disney himself was very fond of his artists. He used to joke that Manuel had signed Disney's signature (which Manuel drew on every comic strip) more times than Disney had in his own life!

Personal Life

Manuel Gonzales was married to his wife, LaVonne. They had two sons named Thomas and Daniel.

See also

In Spanish: Manuel Gonzales para niños