Hal Sutherland, who was well known for his direction of Star Trek has passed way, according to Filmation Facebook page. Hal began his career as a Disney animator in 1954, and was then an important face in the industry as co-founder and animation director at Filmation Associates.
Sutherland made his debut in Disney in a production on Sleeping Beauty (1959), focusing mainly on mainly on the Prince’s horse, Samson. After a lay-off, Sutherland joined up with Lou Scheimer while when he was working on Bozo The Clown TV cartoons for Larry Harmon.
With the help pf disc jockey Norm Prescott, Sutherland and Scheimer formed Filmation Associates in 1962 – and they began working on a feature Journey Back To Oz (which was ultimately completed and released in 1974). Filmation was huge success in the late 1960s, becoming a main center for TV animation studio with pre-sold properties like Superman, Aquaman, The Archies, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Fat Albert and Star Trek.
Sutherland began a keen interest in fine art painting and went into semi-retirement in 1974, moving to Washington state. As a consultant to Filmation, Sutherland last directed the theatrical feature film Pinocchio And The Emperor Of The Night in 1987.