Phil Roman: 1930—: Animator, Producer, Director

Imagination, Inc. was mainly a studio that specialized in television commercials. At the San Francisco firm, Roman was exposed to all aspects of the animation world. Roman gained more knowledge in animated production including contacting clients, sound design, camera work, storyboards and budgeting. This education would come in handy in the future as Roman built his own animation empire.

At Imagination, Inc., Roman's portfolio grew. He directed well-known animated commercials like Star-Kist Tuna's "Sorry Charlie" ad and the Western Airlines bird who sipped champagne and knew "The only way to fly!" He learned every step of the process and gained valuable experience. He was now armed with education, knowledge, and experience. After two years at Imagination, Inc., Roman was ready to take on Hollywood again.

Returning to Hollywood in 1959, Roman began working for several top studios including Warner Bros. Cartoons, MGM Animation and UPA Film. Throughout the 1960s, Roman honed his craft and gained more and more experience in the animation industry.

He worked on many projects in this period including the 1965 MGM Oscar-winning The Dot And The Line. In 1966 Roman worked as an animator on the CBS Christmas special, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, animating the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who. Roman also had the chance to work with such talents at Jay Ward and Chuck Jones. For MGM, Roman worked on shorts of a cat and mouse team named Tom and Jerry. He would come back to the famous duo in the early 1990s in a movie.

The 1970s saw continued success for Roman. This was not only a time of professional success, but personal success as well. In 1970 Roman married his wife Anita. They met 15 years earlier at the wedding of his brother. Roman was the best man and his future wife was the maid of honor. They dated whenever he would make it back to Fresno, but he did not make the final commitment until things began to move along in his career.

In 1970 Roman also began his association with Bill Melendez, of Bill Melendez Productions. This relationship lasted until 1983, and allowed Roman to rise from the title of animator to co-director alongside Melendez. While working with Melendez, Roman directed sixteen animated specials including He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown!, Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown!, and Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown!. Out of Roman's 16 specials, 15 programs received Emmy nominations. Three of the specials won Emmy awards. Along with Melendez, Roman associated with Ralph Bakshi, who also had his own production studio. Roman worked as an animator for Bakshi's 1978 Lord of the Rings.