Tag Archives: Goofy

Walt Disney had over his lifetime some of the best artistic talent this world had to offer under his studio roof. Artists, Animators, Songwriters, Story men and every other skill imaginable were at his disposal. The core of his army was what he laughingly called his “Nine Old Men” (A reference to the 1937 Supreme Court’s nine Justices). But one animator had the distinction of two major roles in the Disney Company- Art Babbitt. Art is known as the creator of the character “Goofy”, he established his demeanor and personality and the basics of the character. But on the darker side, he was the main spearhead in the infamous Disney Animators strike of 1941.

He was born Arthur Harold Babitsky on October 8^th, 1907 in Omaha Nebraska, in the “Little Bohemia” neighborhood known for its large concentration of Czech immigrants. His parents, Solomon and Zelda were married in their native Russia in 1898.  After Kindergarten his family moved to Sioux City Iowa, and after several more family moves, the family re-located to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn New York. It was then when Art was in his teens that he began to draw and animate, and found that he had a natural talent for it, and used this as a means for extra income. Art put himself through pre-med school at Columbia College, but the dreams of becoming a doctor vanished when he first saw the Walt Disney Silly Symphony the “Skeleton Dance” in 1929. Babbitt was a lover of classical music, which was in many of the Symphonies, and he decided to become an animator.