Iwao Takamoto Biography

Iwao Takamoto (29 April 1925 - 8 January 2007) was a Japanese American animator, television producer, and film director. He was most famous as being a production and character designer for Hanna-Barbera Productions shows such as Scooby-Doo.Takamoto's father emigrated from Hiroshima to the United States for his health. He returned to Japan only once, to marry his wife. Takamoto was born on April 19, 1925 in Los Angeles, California. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Takamoto's family, like many Japanese Americans, was forced to move to an internment camp. They spent the rest of World War II in the Manzanar internment camp. It was there that Takamoto received basic illustration training from a couple of friendly co-internees.Takamoto first entered the cartoon world after the end of the war. He was hired as an assistant animator by Walt Disney Studios in 1947. Takamoto eventually became an assistant for the legendary Milt Kahl. He worked as an animator on such titles as Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, and One Hundred and One DalmatiansHe died on January 8, 2007 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from a heart attack at age 81. Adult Swim for the next week put up a bumper that said Iwao Takamoto [1925-2007]