Disney's 'Snow White' Animator Ruthie Tompson Dies At 111

Disney animator Ruthie Tompson died at the age of 111 Sunday at her home in Woodland Hills, California.

Tompson worked on countless animated features including 1978's "The Lord of the Rings" and 1940's "Pinocchio" over the span of four decades with the Walt Disney company.

The company paid a tribute to the legendary animator Monday.

Statement from Bob Iger on the Passing of Disney Legend Ruthie Tompson: pic.twitter.com/pbN2g1SVAk
— Walt Disney Company (@WaltDisneyCo) October 11, 2021

Bob Iger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board, noted that Tompson was a legend and her creative contributions from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to "The Rescuers" are still considered a classic.

"While we will miss her smile and wonderful sense of humor, her exceptional work and pioneering spirit will forever be an inspiration to us all," he added, in the statement published on the company’s official website.

Tompson worked as an ink and paint artist for the company. She began her career in 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and went on to work in features like "Bambi," "Sleeping Beauty" and "Donald in Mathmagic Land."

However, all these works were uncredited at that time. In 1960, she got her first credit for "Popeye the Sailor" TV series.

Director and writer Leslie Iwerks also shared how she spent quality time with Tompson, noting in the tribute, "She was fun, wacky, sharp as a whip, talented, and a dear friend to our Iwerks family."

Iwerks also recalled a road trip with Tompson in her convertible as they drove to the Grand Opening of the Walt Disney Family Museum.

"I’ll never forget the road trip with Ruthie in my convertible driving up to the Grand Opening of the Walt Disney Family Museum, Thelma and Louise-style, two happy girls on a fun adventure with a happy ending," Iwerks added. "She will be greatly missed."

Tompson was born in Maine on July 22, 1910. Although she was raised in Boston, she moved to Los Angeles in the 1920s with her family. She was offered a job in the Ink and Paint Department as a painter at the age of 18 and she worked on the company's first feature full-length movie, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."