Legendary Disney animator dies in Sequim

SEQUIM — Oliver “Ollie” Johnston, the man whose pencil brought Bambi, Snow White, Pinocchio and 101 Dalmatians to bright life, died of natural causes Monday in Sequim.

He was 95.

“He lived here almost a year to the day; we moved him up on April 15, 2007,” Mr. Johnston’s elder son, Rick, said Tuesday.

Mr. Johnston was a resident of Dungeness Courte, a long-term care home in Sequim.

Both of his children, Rick and Ken, have lived on nearby Blue Mountain since the late 1990s.

Like their father, they’re former residents of the Los Angeles suburb of La Cañada-Flintridge.

To the millions who wept and belly-laughed through Disney movies such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1938), “Fantasia” (1942), “Peter Pan” (1953), “The Rescuers” (1977) and many others, Mr. Johnston was a frontiersman of the big screen.

A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Mr. Johnston was the last surviving member of the group of animators Walt Disney himself called the Nine Old Men, though most were in their 20s when they began work in Disney’s studio. 

More in News

Two dead after tree falls in Olympic National Forest

Two women died after a tree fell in Olympic National… Continue reading

Sue Long, left, Vicki Bennett and Frank Handler, all from Port Townsend, volunteer at the Martin Luther King Day of Service beach restoration on Monday at Fort Worden State Park. The activity took place on Knapp Circle near the Point Wilson Lighthouse. Sixty-four volunteers participated in the removal of non-native beach grasses. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Work party

Sue Long, left, Vicki Bennett and Frank Handler, all from Port Townsend,… Continue reading

Portion of bridge to be replaced

Tribe: Wooden truss at railroad park deteriorating

Kingsya Omega, left, and Ben Wilson settle into a hand-holding exercise. (Aliko Weste)
Process undermines ‘Black brute’ narrative

Port Townsend company’s second film shot in Hawaii

Jefferson PUD to replace water main in Coyle

Jefferson PUD commissioners awarded a $1.3 million construction contract… Continue reading

Scott Mauk.
Chimacum superintendent receives national award

Chimacum School District Superintendent Scott Mauk has received the National… Continue reading

Hood Canal Coordinating Council meeting canceled

The annual meeting of the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, scheduled… Continue reading

Bruce Murray, left, and Ralph Parsons hang a cloth exhibition in the rotunda of the old Clallam County Courthouse on Friday in Port Angeles. The North Olympic History Center exhibit tells the story of the post office past and present across Clallam County. The display will be open until early February, when it will be relocated to the Sequim City Hall followed by stops on the West End. The project was made possible due to a grant from the Clallam County Heritage Advisory Board. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Post office past and present

Bruce Murray, left, and Ralph Parsons hang a cloth exhibition in the… Continue reading

This agave grew from the size of a baseball in the 1990s to the height of Isobel Johnston’s roof in 2020. She saw it bloom in 2023. Following her death last year, Clallam County Fire District 3 commissioners, who purchased the property on Fifth Avenue in 2015, agreed to sell it to support the building of a new Carlsborg fire station. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group file)
Fire district to sell property known for its Sequim agave plant

Sale proceeds may support new Carlsborg station project

As part of Olympic Theatre Arts’ energy renovation upgrade project, new lighting has been installed, including on the Elaine and Robert Caldwell Main Stage that allows for new and improved effects. (Olympic Theatre Arts)
Olympic Theatre Arts remodels its building

New roof, LED lights, HVAC throughout

Weekly flight operations scheduled

Field carrier landing practice operations will be conducted for aircraft… Continue reading