It's only been three weeks since the death of Frederic Back, and already we've lost another well-respected Oscar-nominated animator. Michael Sporn, the man behind the Oscar nominated Doctor De Soto and his well respected animation "Splog," has passed away at the age of 64. While Sporn has never won an Oscar, but his works with Weston Woods were a major part of my childhood, and that includes the aforementioned Doctor De Soto. Furthermore, his Splog was a great source of interesting observations into the world of animation from an insider, and often the source of the long-listed animated short films. A cause of death was not mentioned in his obituaries*, although whatever led to it may have explained why we never did get the full longlist this year. Many of his last few posts were related to the work of Miyazaki, including Kaze Tachinu. Regardless, he will be missed.
*Apparently it's pancreatic cancer. Screw pancreatic adenocarcinomas
Here's a good tribute to his work, and Doctor De Soto after the break.
