Ollie Johnston died Monday at the age of 95. Ollie was the last surviving member of Disney’s ‘Nine Old Men’, the legendary animators who injected life and character into drawings on paper as no one ever had. Words cannot begin to describe the veneration a certain generation of us who began our careers working at Disney had for these men, for Ollie and the rest of them who were still around at the time. All geniuses in their own right.

And when I say geniuses, I’m not talking about animation, although that was certainly part of it. These guys were geniuses at life. Their lives were rich in every respect, filled with adventure, fun, passion, family, and drenched in love. Too often, we think of geniuses as people who excel in one thing, when in fact it is life in its entirety that informs us and guides us to our greatness. (more…)