Bud Luckey, an Oscar-nominated animator who designed Woody from “Toy Story” and voiced Eeyore in “Winnie the Pooh,” died Saturday. He was 83.
His son, Andy Luckey, took to Facebook to announce the death of his father: “He’ll be deeply missed by his friends, family and colleagues to whom he was just ‘Bud.’ His kind and easy going demeanor led his PIXAR colleagues to dub him ‘Bud Low-Key.’”
His son told The Hollywood Reporter that Luckey died after an extended illness at a hospice facility in Newtown, Connecticut.
Luckey’s other credits include designing characters for “Cars,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “A Bug’s Life,” and was also known for creating counting cartoons and songs for “Sesame Street.” He also provided the voices of Rick Decker in “The Incredibles,” of Chuckles the Clown in “Toy Story 3” and of Eeyore in “Winnie the Pooh.”
Luckey wrote, directed, composed and performed the solo narrator on the 2004 Pixar animated short film “Boundin’,” for which he received an Academy Award nomination and the Annie Award for best short film.
Luckey was born on July 28, 1934 in Billings, Montana. He attended The Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and USC, where he was mentored by Disney animation veteran Art Rabbitt (who developed the Goofy character). He retired from animation in 2008 but continued to do voice work until 2014.
“He loved his work but got even greater satisfaction from seeing others enjoy it,” Luckey’s son added.
See Luckey’s Facebook post below.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210323668200442&set=a.10200188842036122.1073741825.1603917929&type=3&theater