Burnett “Burny” Mattinson was an American storyboard artist for Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he had been employed since 1953.
Mattinson was honored as an inductee of the Disney Legends program in 2008. Mattinson was the longest-serving employee of The Walt Disney Company. He was born on May 13, 1935, in San Francisco and sadly died on February 27, 2023.
Burny Mattinson’s parents and siblings
His father, Horace Heidt’s big band drummer Bernie Mattinson, played jazz drums.
Hannah Estevez, his mother, had lived in San Jose, California, and had met the drummer while working at a theatre there.
The parents were both of British descent.
His mother took him to watch Pinocchio (1940) at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco before he turned six.
While his time in school, Mattinson developed a love for animation and started to practice drawing Disney characters.
Once the father’s band disbanded in 1945, the family relocated to Los Angeles.
Mattinson is the first of two children of his parents. Hence, he has one sibling.
Burny Mattinson’s wife and children
Mattinson wed Sylvia Fry, a Sleeping Beauty in-betweener who also worked (1959).
They have four grandchildren and three children.
