HUBLEY, Faith

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Birth/Death

Birth: September 16th 1924
Death: December 7th 2001

Occupation/Title

Animator/Director/Producer

Bio Summary

Faith Hubley, born Faith Elliot was born on September 16th 1924 in New York. She grew up in a rough part of New York known as Hell’s Kitchen in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Faith does not go into her childhood in depth but only says that her parent’s house “had no room for children”. Because of this she left home at the age of 15 to work in theater. At age 18 she moved to Hollywood and started out as a messenger for Columbia pictures. Because of World War II there were not many men for messenger jobs so Faith was one of the first women to be a messenger. She quickly worked her way up in the film business to become sound effects and music editor and eventually a script supervisor at Republic Studios. She moved back to New York and became script supervisor on Sidney Lumet's Twelve Angry Men and James Wong Howe's Harlem Globetrotter film Go Man Go, which she also edited.

In 1955 Faith married John Hubley and they established Storyboard, an independent animation studio. They had only two marriage vows: to eat dinner with the children and to make one independent film a year. They collaborated on 21 short films, up until John's death during open-heart surgery in 1977. At that time they were working on the Doonesbury television cartoon A Doonesbury Special; Faith, with Garry Trudeau and Bill Littlejohn, completed the special despite the doubts of NBC
Because she was a woman, historians and critics regarded Faith as an assistant to her husband even though they both put equal effort in the making of the films.

Together Faith and John made 21 short films won Oscars for their shorts Moonbird (1959), The Hole (1962) and Tijuana Brass Double Feature (1966); they also received Oscar nominations for Windy Day, Of Men and Demons, Voyage to Next, and A Doonesbury Special.

After her husband’s death in 1977 Faith continued to make one film a year. As one of the first female animators she established herself as a significant animator in her own right. After being diagnosed with cancer in 1975, she began her first solo project, W.O.W (Women of the World). Faith completed 24 animated films on her own between 1976 and 2001. Her films featured very abstract imagery with non-linear stories. She drew her influences from mythology and indigenous art. She and her husband were the first to use celebrity voices like Dizzy Galesby. They also used the voices of their children, which became a trademark of their films.

Hubley received honors from the Cannes, Venice, London, and San Francisco film festivals. She won fourteen CINE Golden Eagle awards, and received honorary doctorates from the University of Chicago, Columbia College, and Hofstra University. In 1995, the National Gallery of Art presented a retrospective program of her works.

Faith Hubley died in 2001 aged 77, from the cancer, which she had battled since 1975.

John and Faith Hubley had four children: Mark Hubley, animator Emily Hubley, musician Georgia Hubley, and Hamp Hubley

Early Life/Family

She grew up in a rough part of New York known as Hell’s Kitchen in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Faith does not go into her childhood in depth but only says that her parent’s house “had no room for children”. Because of this she left home at the age of 15 to work in theater

Education/Training

Career Outline

At age 18 she moved to Hollywood and started out as a messenger for Columbia pictures. Because of World War II there were not many men for messenger jobs so Faith was one of the first women to be a messenger. She quickly worked her way up in the film business to become sound effects and music editor and eventually a script supervisor at Republic Studios. She moved back to New York and became script supervisor on Sidney Lumet's Twelve Angry Men and James Wong Howe's Harlem Globetrotter film Go Man Go, which she also edited.
In 1955 Faith married John Hubley and they established Storyboard, an independent animation studio. They had only two marriage vows: to eat dinner with the children and to make one independent film a year. They collaborated on 21 short films

Comments On Style

Very abstract and colorful. Memorable and eye catching.

Influences

. She drew her influences from hidden history, mythology and indigenous art. Some more influences are from primitive cultures, as well as the more sophisticated glyph languages of modern painters like Paul Klee and Joan Miro.

Personality

She was always positive. Never a pessimist. She was very inspirational. It was said that she had so much energy, “you felt like she would never run out. I don't think I was the only one who thought of her as the Energizer Bunny (1).

Anecdotes

Miscellaneous

Her films featured very abstract imagery with non-linear stories. She drew her influences from mythology and indigenous art. She and her husband were the first to use celebrity voices like Dizzy Galesby. They also used the voices of their children, which became a trademark of their films.

Filmography

With John Hubley
▪ Adventures of an * (1956)
▪ Harlem Wednesday (1957)
▪ Tender Game (1958)
▪ Moonbird (1959)
▪ Children of the Sun (1960)
▪ Of Stars and Men (1961)
▪ The Hole (1962)
▪ The Hat (1963)
▪ Tijuana Brass Double Feature (1965)
▪ Urbanissimo (1966)
▪ The Cruise (1966)
▪ Windy Day (1967)
▪ Of Men and Demons (1968)
▪ Zuckerkandl (1969)
▪ Eggs (1970)
▪ Dig (1972)
▪ Cockaboody (1973)
▪ Voyage to Next (1974)
▪ People, People, People (1975)
▪ Everybody Rides the Carousel (1976)
▪ A Doonesbury Special (1977)
Solo
▪ W.O.W. (Women of the World) (1975)
▪ Second Chance: Sea (1976)
▪ Whither Weather (1977)
▪ Step by Step (1978)
▪ Sky Dance (1980)
▪ The Big Bang and Other Creation Myths (1981)
▪ Enter Life (1981)
▪ Starlore (1983)
▪ Hello (1984)
▪ The Cosmic Eye (1985)
▪ Time of the Angels (1987)
▪ Yes We Can (1989)
▪ Who Am I? (1989)
▪ Amazonia (1990)
▪ Upside Down (1991)
▪ Tall Time Tales (1992)
▪ Cloudland (1993)
▪ Seers and Clowns (1994)
▪ Rainbows of Hawai'i (1995)
▪ My Universe Inside Out (1996)
▪ Beyond the Shadow Place (1997)
▪ Africa (1998)
▪ Witch Madness (1999)
▪ Our Spirited Earth (2000)
▪ Northern Ice, Golden Sun (2001)

Honors

Annie Award: Winsor McCay Award 1975

Faith and John Hubley won Oscars for their shorts:
Moonbird (1959) The Hole (1962) and Tijuana Brass Double Feature (1966)
They also received Oscar nominations for Windy Day, Of Men and Demons, Voyage to Next, and A Doonesbury Special.
Hubley received honors from the Cannes, Venice, London, and San Francisco film festivals. She won fourteen CINE Golden Eagle awards, and received honorary doctorates from the University of Chicago, Columbia College, and Hofstra University. In 1995, the National Gallery of Art presented a retrospective program of her works

Related Links

A-HAA: Meta: Eight Great Blogs For Students Of Animation
http://www.animationmagazine.net/subscribe_newsletter.html
http://www.nyfvc.org/newsletters/NYFVC/fhubley.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Hubley
http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/aboutpbs/aboutpbs_support.html
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/independentspirits/collaboration.html

Bibliographic References

http://www.animationmagazine.net/subscribe_newsletter.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Hubley
http://imdb.com/rg/nav-home/navbar/http://imdb.com/rg/nav-home/navbar/
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/independentspirits/collaboration.html
http://www.nyfvc.org/newsletters/NYFVC/fhubley.html
http://www.pbs.org/hplink/redir/aboutpbs/aboutpbs_support.html
http://imdb.com/rg/nav-home/navbar/http://imdb.com/rg/nav-home/navbar/


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