Disney animator and producer Randy Fullmer, whose credits over nearly 20 years at the studio included The Emperor’s New Groove and The Little Mermaid (1989), died of cancer on July 10 at age 73. Fullmer’s death was confirmed by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
In a statement provided to Variety, Fullmer’s Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Lion King (1994) colleague Don Hahn wrote:
“[Randy Fullmer] could draw and paint beautifully, but he had the mind of an engineer, and the heart of an artisan. He was great at animation; great at producing movies, too. He was at the very center of the Disney renaissance in animation, then when he needed a new chapter in his life, he started making exquisite and much sought-after bass guitars with that same engineer’s mind and artistic soul he brought to Disney animated movies. His masterful woodwork radiates with his love for the craftsman ethic of working with head, hands and heart. I miss him but I carry his passion and joy with me every day. Always will.”
Randall Wyn Fullmer was born April 17, 1950 in Richland, Washington. While studying architecture at Washington State University in the late ’60s, he took a film class in his sophomore year, and became enthralled with animation, spurring him to apply to the prestigious program at California Institute of the Arts, from which he graduated in 1974. Fullmer launched his career as an independent, producing educational films, commercials, Sesame Street segments and Saturday morning cartoons.
In 1983 and ’84, Fullmer went to work for the iconic Don Bluth Studios, animated special effects for the groundbreaking Laserdisc video games Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace. After a stint at John Dykstra’s SFX house Apogee, Fullmer worked on series and feature films at Filmation from 1985-87, including Ghostbusters, BraveStarr, She-Ra and the star-studded feature Happily Ever After.
Fullmer’s 18-year career at Walt Disney Feature Animation began in 1987, with a three-month contract wo work on the “Toon Town” animation for hybrid classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit. At the Mouse House, he worked his way up from effects animator on Oliver & Company and The Little Mermaid, to effects supervisor on The Rescuers Down Under and Beauty and the Beast, artistic coordinator on The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and finally as a producer on The Emperor’s New Groove and the studio’s first completely CG-animated feature, Chicken Little (2005).
A lifelong musician, Fullmer bid adieu to Disney to form his company Wyn Guitars in 2006. He dedicated his talents to creating guitars for musicians such as Abraham Laborial, Jimmy Haslip, James LoMenzo and Ethan Farmer. A documentary about Fullmer’s life and luthier craft titled Restrung was released in 2014, directed by Mike Enns.
Fullmer is survived by his wife, Diana; stepdaughter, Becky Kuriyama; stepson, Nick Kuriyama; sister, Cathy Lou Tusler; and stepbrother, Scott Landon.
[Source: Variety]
