Faith Hubley

Faith Hubley (née Faith Chestman) was born in 1924 in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan. She left home without completing high school to go to Hollywood to pursue a career in filmmaking. She began as a messenger at Columbia Studios, but eventually worked as a sound-effects and music editor. During her time in California, she met John Hubley, an animator with Disney Studios, whom she married in 1955. A pro-union political activist, John was blacklisted from Disney. Thus began Faith's and John's filmmaking partnership. Many of their films featured the voices of their four young children. They won their first Oscar for their film, Moonbird (1959) in 1959. Their second Oscar was for The Hole (1962) in 1962. The Hubleys were also lovers of jazz, and several of their films feature the voice and music of Dizzy Gillespie. They also contributed many animated segments to the legendary and beloved children's shows Sesame Street (1969) and The Electric Company (1971). Sadly, John died during heart surgery in 1977. Faith, however, continued to make a new animated film each year until her death from cancer in December 2001.