From Wikipedia John Lounsbery was born in Cincinnati Ohio and raised in Colorado He attended East Denver High School and the Art Institute of Denver While attending the Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles an instructor sent him to interview with Walt Disney Lounsbery was hired by Disney on July 2 1935 beginning as an assistant animator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs He went on to work on numerous other short features in the 1940s while continuing to serve as part of the animating team on nearly all of Disneys most famous featurelength animated films In the 1970s he was promoted to director and directed Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too and codirected The Rescuers John Lounsbery died on February 13 1976 in Los Angeles California of heart failure during cardiac surgery aged 64 At the time of his death he was working on the The Rescuers and still directing at the Walt Disney Studios He was named a Disney Legend in 1989