I just discovered a totally outrageous anecdote about Sullivan in the biography of animator Rudy Zamora .

Apparently, Sullivan hated black people so much that he refused to hire an African-American who was applying to become an inker on the Felix the Cat series.
What Sullivan did was truly disgraceful ! This person could have become the first black animator, and could even have set a milestone in the history of animation, but Sullivan blew it !

Does anyone here know of any other anecdotes that might confirm Sullivan's racism ?

If you research enough most white people in animation industry were racist before the 1960s. Not only Sullivan.

If you apply today's standards, there will be a lot. Clampett, Quimby, Disney... Exceptions will be mostly folks from UPA

The word 'racism' was invented in 20th century... Up until 19th century, the thing we call 'racism' nowadays was part of everyday business. It's like saying that a man from 18th century was sexist and anti-feminist.

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I find that basing the conclusion that Sullivan was racist on the gossip of a host who only mentions an old man is absolutely not serious. It seems to be nothing more than slander aimed at belittling the creator of Felix the Cat.

The matter of who created Felix the Cat is controversial, based on what I've read from the most serious researchers, I believe the character hasn't been created by Sullivan. But it's your view and you're entitled to it.

Still on the matter of 'not hiring an African-American inker': Disney hired their first African-American animator in 1956. Civil rights act passed in 1964. Doesn't that make you think practically all the other studios (Disney themselves included) did exactly the same thing as Sullivan allegedly did? Just look at the MGM stuff. Right into the 1950s. Technicolor films, where the entire point of some gags was that 'someone got their face black' -> proceeds to laugh at the less-than-worthy race. I mean we enjoy the art produced by those guys but you don't think MGM would consider hiring people that they considered below citizenship, right?

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If you research enough most white people in animation industry were racist before the 1960s. Not only Sullivan.

If you apply today's standards, there will be a lot. Clampett, Quimby, Disney... Exceptions will be mostly folks from UPA

The word 'racism' was invented in 20th century... Up until 19th century, the thing we call 'racism' nowadays was part of everyday business. It's like saying that a man from 18th century was sexist and anti-feminist.

In the 20th century, many business leaders didn't like black people... Yet some of them were willing to employ blacks in their companies. It may seem contradictory to you, but a boss can very well be a racist and agree to hire black people, and that's a fact worth emphasizing. On this point, Sullivan's altitude is more childish stupidity than racism, since he refused work from employees at a time when animation was a very unattractive sector.

I find that basing the conclusion that Sullivan was racist on the gossip of a host who only mentions an old man is absolutely not serious. It seems to be nothing more than slander aimed at belittling the creator of Felix the Cat.

I never asserted that Sullivan was racist, I simply assumed that he was, and so far no one has been able to prove to me that he was actually racist.

The matter of who created Felix the Cat is controversial, based on what I've read from the most serious researchers, I believe the character hasn't been created by Sullivan. But it's your view and you're entitled to it.

Still on the matter of 'not hiring an African-American inker': Disney hired their first African-American animator in 1956. Civil rights act passed in 1964. Doesn't that make you think practically all the other studios (Disney themselves included) did exactly the same thing as Sullivan allegedly did? Just look at the MGM stuff. Right into the 1950s. Technicolor films, where the entire point of some gags was that 'someone got their face black' -> proceeds to laugh at the less-than-worthy race. I mean we enjoy the art produced by those guys but you don't think MGM would consider hiring people that they considered below citizenship, right?

I think you're downplaying the impact a black animator could have had in the late 1920s. He could have encouraged other African-American artists to go into animation, when they may never have thought of it before, which could have changed a lot of things. By the time Disney hired black animators in the 1950s, it was too late, as the golden age of animation was already over.

It's wishful thinking, through and through. Having had one such animator at one of the studios back then sadly wouldn't have been trailblazing activity. It would have been an anomaly that I don't think any other studio heads would have wanted to replicate. Industry, society, and pop culture hadn't progressed far enough to welcome what you're suggesting with open arms. Just think of how far white women could get as animators at the time. Not very far at all; therefore, people of color would obviously fare even worse—no matter how much *we* here know they should have been given the same opportunities.

I tell my students that there's no truly sober enjoyment or appreciation of early or Golden Age animation without acknowledging the fact that practically all of the animators, directors, and studio heads had their hands in propagating racist tropes and stereotypes in many of their films. That's regardless of how personally racist any of the individuals in question were—the studio system was racist and sexist, and the majority of its films reflected that plain as day. Now, it's up to each individual person to decide where they draw the line in being able to stomach that fact, and when or how they enjoy the films that were made under those circumstances. That personal response or feeling or decision is not for me to decide or dictate for other people.

If you research enough most white people in animation industry were racist before the 1960s. Not only Sullivan.

Still on the matter of 'not hiring an African-American inker': Disney hired their first African-American animator in 1956. Civil rights act passed in 1964. Doesn't that make you think practically all the other studios (Disney themselves included) did exactly the same thing as Sullivan allegedly did? Just look at the MGM stuff. Right into the 1950s. Technicolor films, where the entire point of some gags was that 'someone got their face black' -> proceeds to laugh at the less-than-worthy race. I mean we enjoy the art produced by those guys but you don't think MGM would consider hiring people that they considered below citizenship, right?

I think you're downplaying the impact a black animator could have had in the late 1920s. He could have encouraged other African-American artists to go into animation, when they may never have thought of it before, which could have changed a lot of things. By the time Disney hired black animators in the 1950s, it was too late, as the golden age of animation was already over.

Although I quite agree with what you say, I still find you very pessimistic about the possibility of a black animator at that time.

The career of Chinese-born animator Cy Young proved that there was slim hope for minorities who wanted to do animation, Young even managing the animation department at Audio Production. Paul Terry was also very progressive on this issue, so much so that one of his animators speculated that he would have hired blacks in his studio if he'd had the chance, which is quite possible to envisage on Terry's part, especially in the early '30s when the need for manpower was soaring.

The matter of who created Felix the Cat is controversial, based on what I've read from the most serious researchers, I believe the character hasn't been created by Sullivan. But it's your view and you're entitled to it

You're right, it's more than likely that it was Otto Messmer who created Felix, however, there's no doubt that Pat Sullivan was behind Felix's popularity, as he had a flair for hiring the right entertainers like Bill Nolan, Burt Gillett, George Stallings and Raoul Barré to name but a few.

Although I quite agree with what you say, I still find you very pessimistic about the possibility of a black animator at that time.

The career of Chinese-born animator Cy Young proved that there was slim hope for minorities who wanted to do animation, Young even managing the animation department at Audio Production. Paul Terry was also very progressive on this issue, so much so that one of his animators speculated that he would have hired blacks in his studio if he'd had the chance, which is quite possible to envisage on Terry's part, especially in the early '30s when the need for manpower was soaring.

Cy Young had been lucky enough to be able to experiment with the art of animation before he left for America, which is why he was easily able to get a job as an animator in the 1920s - quite the opposite of this mysterious African-American who probably wasn't even an artist. Walt Disney would never have hired Young if he'd known he was Asian, and when Disney realized this, he decided to isolate him in the small special effects department to separate him from the other white animators. Because Disney had a very conservative mentality, believing that minorities should serve the white man, the idea that an Asian animator could achieve a higher status than his white colleagues was something that frightened him, since in his mind, he was convinced that only white men could make cartoons, and this was also the position of many company directors at the time. Cy Young was eventually fired from Disney Studios and never found a job in animation again, ending his life miserably, even to the point of suicide, so it's not a success story...

To say the least, you have an extremely pessimistic view of things, to the point of being depressing.

What's more, your assertion that Walt Disney didn't know Cy Young's ethnic origin when he hired him seems highly improbable to me, especially as your portrayal of Disney's views on the racial question seems rather caricatural (even if he really was very conservative).