Judge Wetzel’s full name is Wetzel Orson “Judge” Whitaker and he was born on September 30, 1908, Heber City and lived until November 1, 1985. Judge Wetzel was a filmmaker and animator who grew up in Utah and Colorado.
With respect to education, Judge Wetzel attended the Art Institute of Chicago and later in 1929, he became the Art Director for the St. Louis Times. People know Judge Wetzel so much for his early work as a Disney animator.
He worked on the animation of the stepsisters from Cinderella (1950 film) and also worked as a director for BYU Motion Picture Studios. He teamed up with his brother Scott Whitaker to work on films such as The Windows of Heaven, Johnny Lingo and Pioneers in Petticoats.
It must be noted that at a point in time in 1932, Judge Wetzel had no job and as such, he did freelance jobs to earn a living. Later on, he met Walt Pfeiffer, a childhood friend of Walt Disney.
He was hired as “trainee” animator at the Disney Studios but he later became a full-fledged animator after he had won a competition among the new animators to animate a new Disney character, Donald Duck.
Some of the works of Judge Wetzel as an animator include Cinderella (1950), Food for Feudin’ (1950), Bee at the Beach (1950), Chicken in the Rough (1951), Corn Chips (1951), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952), Peter Pan (1953) as well as Mickey Mouse Disco (1980).
Others include Donald’s Snow Fight (1942), Donald Gets Drafted (1942), The Vanishing Private (1942), Sky Trooper (1942), Fall Out Fall In (1943), Donald Duck and the Gorilla (1944), Donald’s Off Day (1944) and The Cold-Blooded Penguin (1945).
Over the years, Judge Wetzel has also produced and directed films such as Pioneers in Petticoats (1969), Never a Bride (1969), Johnny Lingo (1969), Are You Listening? (1971), The Lost Manuscript (1974), Ancient America Speaks (1974), Cipher in the Snow (1974), Follow Me (1983), just to mention but a few.
Is Judge Wetzel Married?
Judge Wetzel married Doris Youkstetter in 1930 . They had their first child a few years later during the Great Depression.
He moved his family to California in 1932 as he worked with Charles Mintz Studios as well as Disney Studios.
He moved from Disney Studios in 1953 and went on to focus on the BYU Motion Picture Studio.
Not too long after he had received an honorary doctorate from BYU, Judge Wetzel lost his wife, Doris Youkstetter. Later in 1973, Judge Wetzel married Louise Eccles, who was his childhood friend.
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