Photo from Variety
Former Mercy College Adjunct Professor John Culhane, who taught animation history for more than 40 years in New York City, including at Mercy, has been inducted posthumously into the Animation Educators 2023 Hall of Fame.
Culhane, who passed away in 2015, was a journalist, author, Disney animation historian and the inspiration for the characters of Mr. Snoops in the 1977 Disney animated film “The Rescuers” and Flying John in the “Rhapsody in Blue” segment of “Fantasia/2000.” At the age of 17 Culhane met Walt Disney, who advised him, “Work for your hometown newspaper, write for your neighbors – and just keep widening your circle” – advice Culhane took to heart, and which started his decades long relationship with the company. He authored numerous books on animation.
In addition to teaching animation at Mercy, Culhane mentored many young filmmakers and students throughout the Mercy and Dobbs Ferry community.
Culhane’s family had deep ties to Mercy College. His wife, Dr. Hind Rassam Culhane, a former Iraqi journalist, served as dean and professor in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Their son Thomas Culhane has been teaching at Mercy for nearly 20 years.
“To animate means to bring the soul into being,” said Thomas. “Disney gave dad incredible hope that human spirit cannot be put own forever, and he loved sharing his knowledge with his Mercy students. Mercy is a place where you reach out and put the soul back into the world.”
A love of animation ran in the family as well. John’s cousin Shamus Culhane was a pioneering animator who made the seven dwarfs march home singing "Heigh Ho" in Walt Disney's “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” and also animated such characters as Krazy Kat, Betty Boop, Popeye, Pluto (“the essence of dog,” Culhane called him), and Woody Woodpecker.
John Culhane’s close ties to the Disney family led to the creation of the Roy Disney animation lab, located in Mercy’s Manhattan campus from 2005 until 2016.
To read more about Culhane's induction into the Animation Educator's Hall of Fame, please click here.