Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Remembering Caron Creed

Caron Creed at work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Photo: Pete Western
Caron Creed, animator, designer, wife and mother, died in her sleep last night. She had fought breast cancer for over a year, but it returned with a vengeance and she was taken into hospital on Sunday. Caron was a talented artist and huge fun to be around. On Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, where I met her, she was always the first to lead a friday night expedition to the local pub, and then beyond to the Camden Palace, where "Rabbit" animators unwound after a week of toil.


She was did excellent work on the lead character Jessica Rabbit, one of the most challenging characters on the movie to draw - let alone to animate. Russel Hall, who designed Jessica's final look, set a high bar, but Caron met the challenge and produced many beautiful shots.

It was on Roger Rabbit that she met her husband Andrew Painter, with whom she had two children. Andrew, like me, worked as an assistant animator on the film, doing his level best to keep up with the prodigious output of lead animator Simon Wells, who was legendary for producing huge volumes of work for his assistants.

Later, Caron worked at many boutique London animation houses like Hibbert Ralph, doing adverts and commercials for TV. But I will always remember her as the animator who brought Jessica to life.

---Alex



3 comments:

  1. I went out with her in my foundation year and remember her very fondly. Very funny and very kind and one hell of a drawer, we were all jealous of her seemingly effortless talent.

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  2. I went out with her in my foundation year and remember her very fondly. Very funny and very kind and one hell of a drawer, we were all jealous of her seemingly effortless talent.

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  3. Caron and I were school mates, and went on to do foundation together, She had a talent that made you want cry... We lost contact after we left our Foundation yearin 1979. I started travelling, first as a kibbutz volunteer, which led to me moving permanetly to Israel,but luckily Ifound her again through a mutual friend whist visiting my folks in London, about 20 years later.
    It was fantastic to meet her and her family,after so long and to hear of her success as an animator. We promised to stay in touch, but sadly after I went back to Israel, we didn't. One day I was at work and started looking her up on FB..But didn't find her, and thought never mind, I'll try again through some other avenue. Exactly a tear later, I got a DM, from another mutual friend who gave me sad news. Then it hit me, it was at that same time the year before,whist she was dying,that I tried to find her... So sorry we didn't stay intouch for those last years... ❤️😭

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