With her little blond hairdo and jagged green dress, it's no wonder the headstrong pixie was Walt Disney's choice to open every Disney production, always topping off the Magic Castle logo with a dainty flip of her wand. Today, Tinkerbell cels stand as one of the rarest and most collectible characters to come out of Disney Studios. But while the world will always have Tinkerbell, on January 12, 2000; it lost her legendary animator. Marc Davis, died at age 86.
Born in Bakersfield in 1913, Davis first studied drawing at the Kansas City Art Institute before continuing on to the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco and the Otis Art Institution in Los Angeles. He polished his craft constantly, not by working with human models or capturing the sunset, but by going to the zoo and sketching the animals. Once at Disney, Davis never limited himself to the assignments that faced him at work. It was there that one of his most popular characters of all time was created. Tinkerbell, the loyal friend and pint sized protector of Peter Pan became an internationally recognized icon, taking her place as Walt Disney's silent hostess for Disneyland and its television shows. Marc Davis was more than a artist, he is now a Disney Legend!