Bud Luckey, the man you never realised made your childhood excellent, has died

One of Hollywood’s most beloved veteran animators has died, aged 83. Bud Luckey (also the owner of history’s most American name) will be best known as the designer of Woody from Toy Story, although he contributed to many of Pixar’s films in a host of ways.

Aside from creating perhaps their most-loved film character, he also did voice work for a number of films, including Chuckles in Toy Story 3, Rick Dicker in The Incredibles and even a late spell as Eeyore in Winnie The Pooh.

It was his work as an animator and character designer that took up the majority of his career, which started back in the ‘60s, when he animated iconic characters such as Tony the Tiger at an ad agency. While there, he met Jim Henson and went on to work on Sesame Street, animating a number of segments, as well as singing and providing voice work.

During the ‘90s he started at Pixar, working on their (well, the) first full-length animated film, Toy Story, where he transformed Woody - who was originally meant to be a ventriloquist dummy - into the cowboy doll with a pull string that we know and love today.

He also directed, voiced, and composed the short Boundin’, the sheep-heavy tale that screened in cinemas before The Incredibles - it was nominated for best animated short at the Oscars that year, no less.

After news of his passing reached the internet, his friends, fans and contemporaries have taken to Twitter to mourn:

RIP, Bud.

(Image: Pixar)