B: July 31, 1943 in Montréal, Québec
D: February 14, 2007 in St-Hyacinthe, Québec
Ryan Larkin attended the Art School of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts where he studied under Arthur Lismer (a member of the Group of Seven) before working at the National Film Board of Canada from the early 1960s until 1978. At the NFB, he attended workshops for young animators held by Norman McLaren, who recognized Larkin’s talent and became his mentor. He rose to fame with the psychedelic 1969 Oscar-nominated short Walking and successive follow up, Street Musique (1972). He contributed art work and animation effects to the 1974 feature film Running Time, directed by Mort Ransen, in which Ryan also played three bit parts. Prior to Walking, he had made two other short animated films, Cityscape and Syrinx, and had worked on various projects for the National Film Board. His own films won many international awards including an Oscar nomination in 1967. |
