Obituary: Canadian Animator Ryan Larkin

Sadly I just heard the news that talented animator Ryan Larkin has just passed away:

Canadian Animator Ryan Larkin Dies

“Laurie Gordon, Ryan Larkin’s producer, manager and good friend expressed her profound sympathy today at the passing of legendary Canadian animator Ryan Larkin. Larkin died peacefully in his sleep, Wednesday, February 14, in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec following a long-term battle with cancer. Larkin was 63.

Most recently, Larkin was working with Gordon on an animation film “Spare Change” about his experience as a panhandler on the Main in Montreal, Quebec; it was going to be a comeback project for Larkin. Gordon will continue to work on “Spare Change” in Ryan’s memory. Details can be found at www.ryanbango.com.”

Here’s a wonderful gem of a film he animated in 1965, titled “Syrinx”:

And here’s a mini-bio on his career from his obituary:

“A world class animator and filmmaker, Larkin was a rising star in the world of animation in the 1970s. He began working for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) at the age of 19 and it was there that he created his most-famous films, Walking, for which he received an Oscar nomination, and Street Musique, considered a masterpiece of animated movement as well as Syrinx and Cityscape.

These films have secured Larkin a place in the historyof animated filmmaking and his work has influenced a whole generation of animators. In 2005, Larkin was the subject of the animated film Ryan, by Christopher Landreth, which won Landreth an Oscar for Best Animated Short. Larkin most recently worked on a new film entitled Spare Change, about his experience as a panhandler on the Main in Montreal, Quebec. In December, Larkin created three short animated segments that aired on MTV in Canada.”