When she was 8-years-old, Ruthie’s family moved down the street from Roy and Walt Disney’s uncle’s house, where the two brothers were launching a burgeoning studio out of his garage. Ruthie became a regular, sitting on an apple box and watching the birth of animation magic. Years later, while working at a riding school, her path would cross with Walt again and she was hired in the ink and paint department, working on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first of many beloved films.
After she retired in 1975, she continued working on her craft and spent countless hours at the MPTF Studios, the television and video production facility on The Wasserman Campus. “Ruthie’s love of entertainment and the creation of content did not disappear when she moved onto the Wasserman Campus.
Her curiosity continued and she not only began learning how to edit at MPTF’s Channel 22, so also sought and gained an audience with DreamWorks Animators to gain a better understanding of digital animation,” says Jennifer Clymer, Director, MPTF Studios. For this reason, MPTF has dedicated and named the Post-Production Suite at MPTF Studios in her honor.
When Ruthie isn’t manning the nursing station or tooling around in her electric wheelchair, she looks forward to eating a Dodger Dog and watching her beloved team from the stands. Asked what wisdom she can share with the rest of us, she says: “Have fun. Try to do as much as you can for yourself. Remember all the good things in life.”
Support MPTF and learn more about Ruthie at mptf.com/ruthie/
