A graduate with a degree in architecture, he began film work at MGM but joined Walt Disney (who would refer to him as his 'Jack of all Trades') to animated Silly Symphonies cartoons. He excelled as a background/layout artist and was soon promoted to art director for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and The Reluctant Dragon. He created Shere Khan for The Jungle Book and was influential in the production design for Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and The Aristocats. He retired from animation in 1978, though contributing to Walt Disney Imagineering projects at Epcot.