Bob Gardiner
James Robbins "Bob" Gardiner (March 19, 1951 – April 21, 2005) was an American artist, painter, cartoonist, animator, holographer, musician, storyteller, and comedy writer. He invented the stop-motion 3-D clay animation technique which his collaborator Will Vinton would later market as Claymation, although Bob preferred the term Sculptimation for his frame-by-frame method of sculpting plasticine clay characters and sets. He and Vinton shared the 1974 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Closed Mondays.
Also recorded as James Robbins Gardiner · James Gardiner
Bob Gardiner
James Robbins "Bob" Gardiner (deceased) was the artist who created these posters. · I created these digital files by scanning the original advertising posters in my possession. · Public domain
- Name
- Bob Gardiner
- Birth Name
- James Robbins Gardiner
- Born
- 19 March 1951
- Birthplace
- Torrance, California, US
- Died
- 21 April 2005
- Place of death
- Grass Valley, California, US
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- animator · film director
- Education
- California College of the Arts
- Honours
- Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
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wikidata · Q887936
In this article
Biography
Biography
The film was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012. Gardiner committed suicide on April 21, 2005, while living at the Everhart Hotel in downtown Grass Valley.
Advertising poster for Bob Gardiner's multi-media fundraiser event on behalf of The Food Front, November 28, 1979, at The Earth Tavern, Portland, OR.
James Robbins "Bob" Gardiner (deceased) was the artist who created these posters. · I created these digital files by scanning the original advertising posters in my possession.
Advertising poster for Bob Gardiner's multi-media event, Jan.1979, at Strutters' Hall, Portland, OR.
James Robbins "Bob" Gardiner (deceased) was the artist who created these posters. · I created these digital files by scanning the original advertising posters in my possession.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Bob Gardiner • Birth Name — James Robbins Gardiner • Born — 19 March 1951 • Birthplace — Torrance, California, US • Died — 21 April 2005 • Place of death — Grass Valley, California, US
Filmography
Filmography
• Closed Mondays (1974), writer, art direction, and sculptimation • Mountain Music (1975), art direction and sculptimation (uncredited)
Accolades
Accolades
Gardiner and Vinton won the Oscar for Best Animated Short in 1975 for Closed Mondays (1974).
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Torrance.
Birth place
Grass Valley.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Bob Gardiner (animator), revision 1362772071 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.James Gardiner Obituary -CA|San Francisco Chronicle
- 2.James Robbins 'Bob' Gardiner -- Oscar winner - SFGate
- 3.Nordheimer, Jon. 'Godfather, Part II' Wins 7 Oscars. The New York Times. 28. April 9, 1975.
- 4.Preserved Projects. Academy Film Archive.
- 5.An artist's life and sudden death. 28 April 2005.
- 6.Oddball Films (2015-11-19). Oddball Films: Tunes and Toons: Animated Adventures in Musicland - Thur. Nov. 19th - 8PM. Oddball Films, 19 November 2015. Retrieved from Oddball Films.
- 7.1975|Oscars.org
- 8.The Portland DIY Clay Experiment That Changed Animation Forever.TV OPB.
- 9.Short Film Winners: 1975 Oscars
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1- Grass ValleyPlace
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 30 August 2026.
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