Leo D. Sullivan

Leo D. Sullivan (c. 1940 – March 25, 2023) was an American writer and director of animated films, and a pioneer in black animation.[1][2] With Floyd Norman, who he met working on Beanie and Cecil, he launched Vignette Films, later Vignette Multimedia, and worked on the original animated Soul Train logo.[3][4] They also produced short films geared toward a high school audience on leaders in the African-American community.[5]

This article is about the American animator and director. For other people with that name, see Leo Sullivan.

Sullivan worked for Bob Clampett Productions as an animation cel polisher before moving up to working as an artist and animator.[4] Over a more than sixty year career, he and his wife collaborated on improving animation for black children.[6] His company, Leo Sullivan Multimedia, is behind brands such as AfroKids.[2][6]

Sullivan and Norman's work was recognized by the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1991 and Sullivan received an Emmy in 1992 as a Timing Director.[4] Interviews of Sullivan are featured prominently in the documentary Floyd Norman: An Animated Life (2016) by Michael Fiore.

Filmography
  • Round Trip to the Moon (1972)
  • Examining the Moon (1972)
  • Men to Meet the Challenge (1972)
  • Living in Space (1972)[7]

References
  1. "Leo D. Sullivan, Pioneering Black Animator, Dies at 82". March 30, 2023.
  2. "Funky Turns 40: Sista ToFunky's Interview With Leo Sullivan | The Museum Of UnCut Funk". museumofuncutfunk.com.
  3. Evans, Kelley D. (October 24, 2016). "Legendary black animators penned life into big films — now they have a new website to empower families".
  4. Moon, Spencer; Allen, Linda (1997). Reel Black Talk: A Sourcebook of 50 American Filmmakers. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 255–258. ISBN 978-0-313-29830-1.
  5. Turran, Kenneth (2016-08-25). "Disney's first black animator looks back in the incisive doc 'Floyd Norman: An Animated Life' - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-08-22. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  6. "This Couple Spent 60 Years Developing Animated Content For Black Children Around the World". BET. 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  7. Office, Library of Congress Copyright (February 21, 1974). "Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series" – via Google Books.
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