Bill Nolan

Bill Nolan (1894 to 1954) was an American animator, director and producer best known for creating and perfecting the rubber hose style of animation and for streamlining Felix the Cat. He began as a newspaper cartoonist in 1913, worked for Raoul Barre and King Features Syndicate, and from 1924 to 1926 animated and designed Felix the Cat at Pat Sullivan's studio. He then sought a license from King Features to produce new Krazy Kat cartoons and directed the series for Margaret J. Winkler's company. With Walter Lantz he moved most of the Winkler staff to the Universal Pictures animation studio, where he directed and produced until 1935. He later started Mayfair Productions to make Skippy cartoons for United Artists, worked at MGM and Fleischer Studios, and in 1949 formed Willam-Nicholas Productions with Nick Nicholas, moving that company to Madison, Wisconsin in 1954, the year he died.