Phil Kellison

Kellison with the miniature puppets from "Jack the giant killer" (1962)
 
 

Biography:

PHIL KELLISON Died May 13, 2005

Visual effects whiz and stop-motion animator Phil Kellison has passed away. Mr. Kellison was one of the work-horses in the field of stop-motion animation. While many people know the names of Willis O’Brien, Ray Harryhausen and Jim Danforth, there have been many others who did not receive screen credit, but who none-the-less made a large contribution to many well-known stop-motion animation films and TV shows. Phil Kellison is one of those unsung giants. He worked in Hollywood for 35 years. While animation fans will recognize the many films he worked on, Mr. Kellison may be best known for his TV commercial creations. The Pillsbury Doughboy, The Jolly Green Giant, Speedy Alka Seltzer and Mrs. Butterworth to name a few. Mr. Kellison ran the animation department at Cascade. The company developed and created numerous memorable visual effects for TV commercials. Mr. Kellison was a mentor and guru to a number of other animators including Jim Danforth and Denis Muren. He was also the supervisor of Coast Productions visual effects department. Mr. Kellison built some of the miniatures for Willis O’Brien’s "The Giant Behemoth." He supervised the process photography for Howard Anderson on Jim Danforth’s "Jack the Giant Killer." Mr. Kellison was one of the original animators on George Pal’s "Puppetoons" along with Ray Harryhausen, Wah Ming Chang, Willis O'Brien and others. At one time, Mr. Kellison owned the original armature of "King Kong." He presented it as a present to Disney animator Bob Burns of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" fame. Other films on which Mr. Kellison worked include "Dinosaurus," "Airplane II," "Deal of the Century" and "Discovery Bay."
 

Gallery:

Some samples of false perspective and foreground miniatures, showing the work of FXartist Phil Kellinson,  made at Cascade Pictures.

Photos by CineMagic magazine.