Phil Roman: 1930—: Animator, Producer, Director

Phil Roman arrived in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Art Center School. The kind and rather savvy head of the school noticed something in him and he was admitted as a work study student. Roman paid $30 down and $15 thereafter for tuition. Working two hours of manual labor after school allowed Roman to pay off the remaining debt. It was a reasonable arrangement and all was well until the outbreak of the Korean War. Roman left the Hollywood Art Center School for a three-year stint in the Air Force. He worked as a radio mechanic and was mainly stationed in France. He served his country well and upon returning stateside, continued his training at the Art Center. This time, the G.I. Bill helped pay for tuition. Soon, Roman completed his training and was off to find a job in his dream field.

In 1955 the dream that began by a Disney film came full circle as Roman began working at Disney Studios in California. He was hired as an assistant animator and was paid 99 cents per hour. His first assignment was animating cells for Sleeping Beauty. It seemed as if all was exactly how Roman had first dreamt it, but there was no room for growth in the booming Disney empire. Roman could continue to work at Disney, but he would have had to stay with the company for nearly a decade before he would become a full animator.

This was too slow for Roman, so in 1957 he left Disney for Imagination, Inc. in San Francisco. He recalled being told by his Disney colleagues that he was making a mistake and would wind up not being successful if he left the Disney studios. However, years later, those same people were laid off from Disney in a downsizing period and Roman had used the skills he'd learned at Imagination, Inc. along with his natural talent to become a success.