Jim Korkis, Animation Creator And Historian Who Specialised In Disney, Dies At 72
Animation and Disney historian Jim Korkis died on July 28 of stage 4 colon most cancers. He was 72.
James (“Jim”) Patrick Korkis was born on August 15, 1950, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 5 years later, his household moved to the L.A. suburb of Glendale. As a younger pupil, Disney was by no means removed from Korkis, and certainly one of his elementary faculty lecturers, Mrs. Disney, was married to Walt’s older brother Herbert.
After incomes his grasp’s diploma at Occidental School, Korkis started his skilled life working as a center faculty trainer and actor. He supplemented his earnings as a tour information on the Los Angeles Zoo, growing a ability set that he would depend on once more later in life.
Residing so near the center of the Disney empire, Korkis was always interacting with studio staff, together with a number of Disney legends. He was a comics historical past buff and wrote a trivia column for Wonderful Heroes and articles for Comedian E-book Market, Comics Artists, and extra.
A voracious researcher, he established recognition for his work as an animation historian and over time wrote long-running columns at a number of main animation retailers together with Animation Journal, Animato!, and Animania. Within the late Eighties, Korkis and writing companion John Cawley launched a full-color animation publication Cartoon Quarterly by way of Gladstone Publishing, but it surely lasted solely a single difficulty.
Korkis was prolific as an creator and wrote a number of dozen animation historical past books together with The Vault of Walt sequence and Who’s Afraid of the Track of the South? And Different Forbidden Disney Tales. With Cawley, Korkis wrote Methods to Create Animation and The Encyclopedia of Cartoon Superstars, amongst different titles. Korkis even wrote a e-book about the best way to get his job: Methods to Be a Disney Historian: Suggestions from High Professionals provides ideas and insights from different historians and researchers about the best way to pursue Disney-related analysis.
Korkis was concerned within the theater and appeared in additional than 100 stage productions throughout his lifetime. He directed greater than 100 performances as nicely, typically overlapping the 2 roles. He did occasional voice work and, alongside his brothers, appeared on a number of sport reveals together with The Gong Present, The Relationship Recreation, and Household Feud. He additionally appeared within the pilot episode of The Origins Recreation, linked beneath.
In a 2015 interview with Attractions Magazine, Korkis defined what impressed him to start cataloging Disney tales.
Rising up in Glendale, Calif., I had the chance to fulfill and interview dozens of people that had labored with Walt Disney. I used to be in the fitting place on the proper time to listen to and report these nice tales. Sadly, many of those individuals have been outdated, even after I first met them as a teen. They began passing away, and I spotted their tales have been being misplaced. I felt an obligation to provide them one other probability to inform their model of the Disney story. Disney historical past is sort of a big jigsaw puzzle, however most of the items are lacking. I hoped that if I shared my items, perhaps different individuals would share their items, and we might all get pleasure from a richer perspective of the general image.
In 1995, Korkis relocated to Florida to look after his mother and father. Korkis’ unbelievable depth of data of The Walt Disney Firm made him a great candidate to work on the Disney Institute, which opened in 1996. There, he served as an animation teacher to Disney World resort company, educating animation programs and serving to out with annual animation occasions. He taught lessons on story, leisure, and communication arts, and headed bi-monthly night shows on the historical past of basic Disney animation.
Korkis stuffed quite a few positions for the corporate over time, together with Visitor Relations at Epcot, tour teacher with Disney Grownup Discoveries, and coordinator with The Disney Studying Middle. He was additionally introduced in as a particular marketing consultant for Disney Cruise Line, Disney Trip Membership, Imagineering, and Animation, the place he taught lessons for interns. Throughout the years he labored for Disney, he continued writing animation-related columns, albeit below a pseudonym: Wade Sampson, the title of a fictional character that satirized Walt Disney within the 1971 novel The Rat Manufacturing unit.
In 2009, Korkis was laid off by the Walt Disney Firm and started writing full-time. A prolific author, he launched quite a few books over the next years, regularly making public talking appearances to share his huge data.
Korkis is survived by his two brothers Michael and Chris.
In an obituary penned by Korkis himself and which appeared on Fb, the author picked his ultimate phrases:
There are such a lot of books I wished to learn or re-read, so many films and tv reveals I wished to see or re-see, and extra many meals treats I wished to get pleasure from once more like See’s sweets. I do know God loves me and that is a part of his plan. Be completely satisfied and type to one another. If you consider me, I hope you smile. I beloved you all and appreciated your generosity, assist, and hope.
