Kent Melton
{{Short description|American animation sculptor (1955–2024)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kent Melton
| image = Kent Melton.jpg
| birth_date = {{Start date|1955}}{{Cite web |title=Kent Melton |url=https://www.moma.org/artists/29303 |access-date=February 23, 2024 |website=MoMA}}
| birth_place = Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and given age|2024|2|22|68}}
| death_place = Stone County, Missouri, U.S.
| nationality = American
| occupation = Animation sculptor
| notable_works = The Lion King
The Incredibles
Aladdin
| spouse = Martha Melton
| children = 3
}}
Kent Melton (1955 – February 22, 2024) was an American animation sculptor.{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=Jamie |date=2024-02-26 |title=Kent Melton, Disney And Laika Maquette Maker, Dies At 68 |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/rip/kent-melton-disney-and-laika-maquette-maker-dies-at-68-238476.html |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=Cartoon Brew |language=en-US}} He created sculptures and reference maquettes for The Walt Disney Company, Hanna-Barbera, and Warner Brothers.
Early life
Born in 1955, Melton was the second of three children of an agriculture teacher in Springfield, Missouri. He lived in Aurora and Marionville during elementary school. He moved to Illinois after his father was hired for a teaching position there.{{Cite web |date=January 2015 |title=Getting to Know Kent Melton |url=https://www.417mag.com/issues/january-2015/getting-to-know-kent-melton/ |access-date=February 23, 2024 |website=www.417mag.com |language=}} Melton was raised on farms and never attended art school nor received any formal art training.{{Cite web |last=Dautrich |first=Camille |date=March 26, 2014 |title=Ozarks sculptor shapes Hollywood animated characters |url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/entertainment/weekend/2014/03/27/ozarks-sculptor-shapes-hollywood-animated-characters/6882409/ |access-date=February 23, 2024 |website=Springfield News-Leader |language=}}
Career
Melton left his job carving wood and cutting glass at an amusement park in Branson, Missouri and went to Los Angeles, where he worked at Hanna-Barbera as a staff sculptor, the first person to do so. He sculpted characters from The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and worked on The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley. Melton created painted Beatles statues based on the TV cartoons. They have since been reproduced through the years. In addition to creating porcelain-based sculptures for the Walt Disney Classics Collection, Melton also freelanced for Warner Bros., making sculptures for Tiny Toons Adventures, before being hired by Disney. His credits include Aladdin (1992), Thumbelina (1994), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Mulan (1998), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Tarzan (1999), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), The Incredibles (2004), Coraline (2009), Tangled (2010), ParaNorman (2012), and The Boxtrolls (2014).{{Cite web |date=March 18, 2014 |title=Kent Melton: From Aladdin to ParaNorman |url=https://blogs.missouristate.edu/art/2014/03/18/kent-melton-from-aladdin-to-paranorman/ |access-date=February 23, 2024 |website=Missouri State University Blog |language=}} For Aladdin, Melton worked on the first computer-animated character ever made in an animated film.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=February 23, 2024 |title=Addio a Kent Melton, scultore di 'Aladdin', 'Il Re Leone' e dei 'Flintstones' |url=https://cinecittanews.it/addio-a-kent-melton-scultore-di-aladdin-il-re-leone-e-dei-flintstones/ |access-date=February 23, 2024 |website=Cinecittà News |language=it}}{{Cite web |last=Crumpe |date=February 22, 2024 |title=Kent Melton, sculpteur des personnages d'Aladdin, Le Roi Lion et Coraline, décède à 68 ans |url=https://www.crumpe.com/2024/02/kent-melton-sculpteur-des-personnages-daladdin-le-roi-lion-et-coraline-decede-a-68-ans/ |access-date=February 23, 2024 |website=Crumpe |language=fr}} He is considered an important figure in the "Disney Animation Renaissance" of the 1990s.{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Mike |title=Kent Melton, Character Sculptor for 'Aladdin,' 'The Lion King' and 'Coraline,' Dies at 68 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kent-melton-dead-aladdin-coraline-character-sculptor-1235833267/ |access-date=February 23, 2024 |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |date=February 22, 2024}} He was a featured artist at the 2018 Toonfest.{{Cite web |last=Ragsdale |first=Matt |date=September 12, 2018 |title=Toonfest brings artists from around the country to Marceline |url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/local/2018/09/12/toonfest-brings-artists-from-around/10730070007/ |access-date=February 23, 2024 |website=Lubbock Avalanche-Journal |language=}}
Later life and death
Melton died from Lewy body dementia at his home in Stone County, Missouri, on February 22, 2024.{{Cite web |title=Disney and Laika Character Sculptor Kent Melton Dies at Age 68 |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2024/02/disney-and-laika-character-sculptor-kent-melton-dies-at-age-68/ |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=www.animationmagazine.net|date=February 23, 2024 }}{{Cite web |title=Famed Character Sculptor Kent Melton Passes at 68 |url=https://www.awn.com/news/famed-character-sculptor-kent-melton-passes-68 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=Animation World Network |language=en}} He was married to Martha, with whom he had three children and four grandchildren.
Gallery
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{imdb name|nm1913604}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, Kent}}
Category:People from Springfield, Missouri
Category:Deaths from Lewy body dementia
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people
Category:DreamWorks Animation people