Thursday, August 18, 2005

JOE RANFT, 1960-2005

It's with a heavy heart that I'm reporting the death of legendary writer/actor/Head of Story Joe Ranft. I've been a recent colleague of Joe's at Pixar, where Joe was Story Head on TOY STORY 1 and 2, A BUG'S LIFE, and CARS, as well as Head of Story for the company as a whole. He voiced the caterpillar Heimlich in A BUG'S LIFE and Wheezey the squeak toy in TOY STORY 2, among others. At Disney, he played an integral part in shaping BEAUTY AND THE BEST and THE LION KING, among other films.

Joe was an incredible person, a big teddy bear of a guy who always did his best to make you feel welcome and important to the company. I was looking forward to working more closely with him. His inspiration as a storyteller, and more importantly as a good person, will resonate with me always.

You can read more about Joe at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0710020/ , and more personal notes at http://www.ronniedelcarmen.com/blog1/blog.html .

2 comments:

Denny said...

I was so sorry to hear about the loss of Joe Ranft, my sincerest condolences to his family, friends, and coworkers at Pixar. A tragic loss.

John Nevarez said...

Hi Scott-

I too mourn the loss of a great talent in Joe. He was such in inspiration and influence. I know he will be greatly missed. How do you like Pixar? I was tuning in to your old website just about the time you were to head up to E-ville (Feb.ish). So glad you have a blog up. Have always enjoyed your work immensely. Look forward to checking in. Talk to you soon,

John