I had never met an animator, never even spoken to an animator – and yet here I was headed to Los Angeles to go to college with the intention of being an animator.

Less than a month before I was discharged from the 1^st Battalion (Reinforced) 3rd Infantry, The Old Guard, stationed at Fort Myer in northern Virginia. The last six months in the service I had spent assigned to the Public Information Office (PIO).

I was no longer pulling details as a member of the ceremonial unit and escort to the President of the United States; I had relinquished my sergeant stripes as an AJ and returned to SP4 status. I was preparing for my next life. I spent the time working on my portfolio and obtaining information about what elements I needed to submit - to gain entry into an art college. Sergeant Wayne Treichel, art director, for the PIO, walked me through the process- without Wayne’s assistance; I would never have gotten into Art Center.

Now, I was free …life was more than good! I zoomed across the desert with an uhaul trailer and no speed limits. Well, maybe “zoomed” isn’t the correct word - but in my mind I “zoomed”. The possibilities seemed endless!

Arriving in L.A., I found an apartment and settled in for the night. The next morning there was an earthquake. It wasn’t a huge earthquake – just a kind of “welcome to Los Angeles, first timer” garden variety type of earthquake. Enough to be make one aware that living in L.A. would mean living on the edge.

The prospects of the new day coupled with the fact that I had just lived through my first earthquake – brought me to a firm decision. I had to talk to an animator!

Here it was Saturday, the studios were closed and yet I had to talk to an animator. I was in L.A.; the capital of animation…animators had to be everywhere!

So, I picked up the Los Angeles phone book and started leafing through the pages of its 13 million inhabitants confident that animator’s names and numbers would be falling out of the book.

I began with the A’s. I thought and pondered and could not think of one animator whose last name started with an A. So…I went to the B’s. As I studied the pages of blurred entries- animator with a beginning B came to mind… Babbit…Art Babbit.  Art Babbit who had brought the world so many incredible animated moments on the screen- such as the dance of the Chinese mushrooms in Fantasia. I scurried through the pages and sure enough- there was a Babbit listed…an Arthur Babbit and his phone number was listed!

Yours truly circa 1973 - trying to find an animator

I was beside myself. I was so excited I grab the phone and dialed the number. Art Babbit – how amazing, I thought?

After two rings someone, a man, picked up the phone and said, Hello?”

I blurted, ‘Hello Larry Lauria, this is Art Babbit!!!”

There was a long pause………………….

What had I done, what had I said, I can’t believe I …

“No, said the voice on the other end, I’m Art Babbit”.

What could have been a catastrophe turned out to be a great icebreaker. We had a good laugh over my introduction. Art was most gracious and he gave information about classes at the Union, local 839, and ASIFA Hollywood and other useful tidbits about surviving in Los Angeles.

All in all, we had a wonderful conversation!

I learned that if you make a fool of yourself – it’s okay. As long as you are willing to put yourself out there. Most folks, at one time or another have been in the same position- so they understand.

Other than talk on the phone, I never met Art Babbit in person. He moved to London and worked for, animation director, Richard Williams. Mr. Babbit taught his studio the art of animation from the ground up. I have copies from two different individuals of Art’s lectures.

Thanks Art!

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 15th, 2007 at 10:49 am and is filed under animation stories, student. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.