Rudy Cataldi

Rudy Cataldi was an American animator and former U.S. Marine from Newark, New Jersey. Nicknamed the "Caboose of the Golden Age [of Animation]", Cataldi worked for Disney, Hanna Barbera and Jim Henson Studios, who were all among the most impactful animation studios of the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s respectively in his long and colorful career.

Cataldi worked at Disney from 1943 to 1950. A fan of Walt Disney himself, Cataldi, initially worked as an in-betweener and later became a full-on animator. After he left the company, he would briefly work in advertising -- a common career path for many animators of the era, before he would be drafted in to the U.S. Military. After he was honorably discharged (gaining the rank of Corporal), Cataldi would begin his work with Hanna Barbera, whom he would refer to as the 'second chapter' of his career. At HB, he would meet his future wife, Consuelo, and would start a family with her.

Cataldi would leave Hanna Barbera in 1985 and would work for Sunbow Entertainment in 1986, working as a director for My Little Pony. This period of his life was not well documented, however, and it seems the only evidence of this brief employment is the credits sequence for the first season of the show. After Sunbow, he would work for the Jim Henson Company briefly before retiring in 1989.

Cataldi himself would pass away in 2019.