Ann Guenther

Ann Guenther was an animation background artist who worked for many of the top companies in the field over the course of a career that spanned more than 40 years.

The daughter of a Pennsylvania coal miner, Guenther journeyed to California in 1956 against her father's objections, with the goal of working for Walt Disney. Upon settling in Los Angeles, she found work making wigs and toupees while waiting to hear from Disney Studios, which was not hiring when she first applied for work. After four months, she received a telegram from Disney, where she spent the next two years as a trainee inker on the classic animated film Sleeping Beauty.

When the production wrapped the studio laid off many of its animators, so Guenther went on to acquire further training at United Productions of America (UPA), Filmation and Art Center College of Design before returning to Disney as only the second woman to be hired in the background department.

In the years that followed, Guenther's long list of credits included additional projects for Disney (Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, The Rescuers), Hanna-Barbera (all shows, including The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons and Scooby-Doo), Filmation (Fat Albert, Archie, He-Man, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, Happily Ever After), Warner Bros. (Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Space Jam, Quest for Camelot, The Iron Giant), UPA (Mr. Magoo), MGM (Chuck Jones, Tom Sawyer) and others for Cambira Studios, DIC-Animation City, Pantomime Pictures, Don Bluth Animation, Kroyer Films and Murakami-Wolf-Dublin.

Guenther's professional accolades included a Daytime Emmy Award in 1993, in the category of outstanding animated children's program, for her work on Tiny Toon Adventures.

Throughout her career, she was active in the Animation Guild. She was also a member of the Television Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Guether died on January 24, 2017. She was 79.