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HISTORY

ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD’S FIRST FIFTY (OR SO) YEARS

By Michael Mallory

June Foray, Annie Awards

OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE DECADES ASIFA-Hollywood has dedicated itself to being one of the premiere organizations in the world promoting the art and industry of animation…but that’s only the beginning of the story. From its inception in the early 1960s, ASIFA-Hollywood has managed to set trends and establish institutions, and even launch an industry or two. Animation cels were not considered collectible art until ASIFA-Hollywood began to offer them for sale to the public. Awards were given to animation only on a token basis until the creation of the Annie Awards. Both of these innovations were the creations of the guiding force of ASIFA-Hollywood, June Foray. But there is so much more to ASIFA-Hollywood’s story: historic screenings and presentations; classes; AniFest; the Animation Opportunities Expo; the Animation Archive; and publications such as The Inbetweener and Grafitti, just to name a few of our more visible activities. The list of people who have been involved with ASIFA-Hollywood is a virtual who’s who: June Foray, Bill Scott, Steven Bosustow, Ward Kimball, Frank and Ollie, Chuck Jones, Mark Hamill, Gary Owens, Bill Littlejohn, Roy Disney, Tom Kenny, Seth Green, Stan Lee…even William Shatner and Phyllis Diller!

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ASIFA-Hollywood; who we are, what we’ve done, and what we’re continuing to do? Check out the story below and become part of the excitement!