Events in 1886 in animation.
Events Specific date unknown: Henri Rivière created a form of shadow theatre at the Chat Noir under the name "ombres chinoises". This was a notable success, lasting for a decade until the cafe closed in 1897. He used back-lit zinc cut-out figures which appeared as silhouettes. Rivière was soon joined by Caran d'Ache and other artists, initially performing d'Ache's drama L’Epopee. From 1886 to 1896, Rivière created 43 shadow plays on a great variety of subjects from myth, history and the Bible. He collaborated with many different artists and writers, but made the illustrations for only 9 of the productions himself. He concentrated on improving the technical aspects of the production by using enamelling and lighting to create extremely delicate effects of light and colour.Catalogue, Henri Rivière: The Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower (1888-1902), Watermarks Gallery, Pittsboro, NC, 1995. The Ombres evolved into numerous theatrical productions and had a major influence on phantasmagoria.Phillip Dennis Cate and Mary Shaw (eds), The Spirit of Montmartre: Cabarets, Humor and the Avant-Garde, 1875-1905, Rutgers University Press, 1996, pp.55-58 excerpted on line as Henri Riviere: Le Chat noir and 'Shadow Theatre'. The technique is considered a precursor to silhouette animation. In 1886, Ottomar Anschütz developed the Electrotachyscope, an early device that displayed short motion picture loops with 24 glass plate photographs on a 1.5 meter wide rotating wheel that was hand-cranked to the speed of circa 30 frames per second. Different versions were shown at many international exhibitions, fairs, conventions and arcades from 1887 until at least 1894.
Births February February 8: Charlie Ruggles, American actor (voice of Benjamin Franklin in Ben and Me, Aesop in the Aesop and Son segments in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends), (d. 1970).
March March 2: Willis H. O'Brien, American special effects artist and animator (The Lost World, King Kong, The Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, The Black Scorpion, The Giant Behemoth), (d. 1962). March 6: Jam Handy, American film producer (A Case of Spring Fever), (d. 1983). March 12: Kay Nielsen, Danish-American painter, illustrator and animator (Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid), (d. 1957).U. of Pittsburgh, The Illustrators Project March 18: Edward Everett Horton, American character actor (narrator of Fractured Fairy Tales in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends), (d. 1970).
April April 13: Christian Rub, Austrian-American actor (voice of Geppetto in Pinocchio), (d. 1956).
June June 10: Sessue Hayakawa, Japanese actor (voice of the Mole in The Daydreamer), (d. 1973).Kizirian, Shari. The Dragon Painter . Silent Film Festival.Perpetually Cool: The Many Lives of Anna May Wong (1905-1961). p. 179.Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965, Volume 1. p. 318.
July July 6: Lou Skuce, Canadian cartoonist, illustrator and animator (animator for the animation studio Bray Productions), (d. 1951). July 31: Fred Quimby, American animation producer and journalist (Tom and Jerry), (d. 1965).
August August 31: Frank Marsales, Canadian composer (Warner Bros. Cartoons, Walter Lantz Studios), (d. 1975). Frank Marsales webpage of the Toonzone website Warner Bros. Cartoon Filmography webpage (with screenshots of actual credits) of the Warner Bros. Cartoons Filmography And Title Card Gallery websiteGoldmark, Daniel (2005) "Tunes for 'Toons: Music and the Hollywood Cartoon" University of California Press, , page 179 The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1940 webpage of the Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia website
September September 11: Barnett Parker, British actor (voice of the title character in The Reluctant Dragon), (d. 1941). September 15: Jun'ichi Kōuchi, Japanese animator, and producer considered one of the fathers of anime (Namakura Gatana), (d. 1970).
October October 17: Spring Byington, American actress (model for Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty), (d. 1971).
November November 9: Ed Wynn, American actor and comedian (voice of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland), (d. 1966). November 27: John Foster, American animator and film director (International Film Service, Van Beuren Studios, Terrytoons), (d. 1959).
December December 14: Frederick Worlock, British-American actor (voice of Horace and Inspector Craven in 101 Dalmatians), (d. 1973).
Date unknown Frank Moser, American animation director and illustrator (co-founder of the animation studio Terrytoons, served as Terrytoons' most prolific animator), (d. 1964).
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