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From here on out, new posts will be out on a semi-regular schedule. If there’s a specific person you’d like to know more about, drop a comment below. With that said, let’s take a look this week at Fred Moore.

Robert Fred Moore was born on September 7, 1911 in Los Angeles, California. While attending Polytechnic High School in LA, Moore submitted drawings to the Los Angeles Junior Times. As his attention turned to drawing for his future, he took night classes at the Chouinard Art Institute (where Moore performed janitorial duties to pay for classes). When he was 19, one of his friends had an interview with Walt Disney, but had to back out at the last minute due to a toothache. Moore went in his place and corralled the job.

While at Disney, Moore redesigned the look of Mickey Mouse. He transformed the pie-eyed mouse to today’s mouse. Moore also animated the last pie-eyed Mickey in Brave Little Tailor before the new mouse took over in Fantasia. He was the principal animator for “The Three Little Pigs”; directing animator for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; animated Lampwick in Pinocchio; Timothy the Mouse in Dumbo; and the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. His works defined the Disney Studios between Iwerk’s reign and the rise of Walt’s Nine Old Men.

In 1946, Moore was seduced away from Disney to work for Walter Lantz. Under Lantz’s rule, Moore redesigned Woody the Woodpecker before returning back to Disney in 1948. Upon returning, he was placed on Peter Pan, animating the mermaids in the lagoon. In 1952, Moore and his wife were in a car accident. He never recovered from his injuries and died the day after due to a cerebral hemorrhage.

Robert Fred Moore was named a Disney Legend in 1995.