stories and histories BIOGRAPHY OF LEO D. SULLIVAN

Leo D. Sullivan, whose animation of a chugging train graced the opening of television dance party Soul Train for decades, died March 25 in Los Angeles of heart failure. He was 82.

In addition to creating the memorable Soul Train opener, Sullivan contributed to cartoons featuring Fat Albert, Transformers and My Little Pony. He worked as an animator for five decades.

His resume included television work for The Incredible Hulk, Flash Gordon, BraveStarr and Scooby-Doo.

Born in Lockhart, Texas, Sullivan moved to Los Angeles in 1952, and started working for Looney Tunes animator Bob Clampett. In the 1960s, he joined forced with Floyd Norman, the first Black animator at Disney, and cofounded Vignette Film, which created educational films about historic Black figures.

The pair would go on to found AfroKids, a website and streaming service with a mission of providing a stellar experience for the whole Black family. More recently, Sullivan launched his own foundation, Leo Sullivan Multimedia Inc.

He also published a video game that honored the Tuskegee Airmen and taught at the Art Institute of California-Orange County.

In addition to breaking barriers as an animator, Sullivan made his mark as a producer, director, layout artist, storyboard artist and writer while working for top animation studios such as Warner Bros., Filmation, New World, Richard Williams and Hanna-Barbera.

Sullivan has twice been awarded by the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in Oakland, Calif. and had his artistic work displayed in San Francisco Cartoon Museum and the Los Angeles African American Museum. He also taught classes in digital animation and 2D animation for three years at the Art Institute of California-Orange County.

He is survived by his wife, Ethelyn Sullivan.

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