Keith Shartle, executive VP of production at Portland-based dimensional character animation company Will Vinton Studios, died Sept. 1 due to complications from angiosarcoma, a rare form of lung cancer. He was 48.
Shartle joined the Vinton shop in 1998, after 16 years at visual effects house Dream Quest Images, then in Simi Valley, Calif. (Dream Quest was bought by the Walt Disney Co. in ’96, and is now Burbank, Calif.-based The Secret Lab, the in-house digital production studio of Walt Disney Feature Animation.)
When he started at Dream Quest in ’82, Shartle was active in commercial production. He was the third employee hired by Dream Quest, and served as its sole producer for several years, meaning that he was hands-on involved in both spots and long-form projects. He collaborated on commercials with such Dream Quest directors as Eric Durst (who now helms spots at Barking Weasel Productions, Los Angeles) and Justin Klarenbeck (now with Boxer Films, Los Angeles). Then, in ’88, Shartle became president of Dream Quest’s film group, which moved him into features and other non-spot endeavors. He served as visual effects executive producer on a pair of Academy Award-winning films, The Abyss and Total Recall, as well as on Armageddon, Flubber, George of the Jungle, Con Air, Jungle 2 Jungle and Crimson Tide.
Upon joining Vinton, Shartle explained that one of the reasons behind his move was the chance to return to a more diverse menu encompassing commercials, TV and features (SHOOT, 6/12/98, p. 8). Shortly after its acquisition by Disney, Dream Quest shuttered its spot production division. Shartle also came aboard Vinton to help diversify the studio into attraction films for theme parks and other special venues.
Born Aug. 27, 1952, in Harrisburg, Pa., Shartle graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), with a B.A. in motion picture and television production.
He is survived by his wife, Ellie, son, Andrew, and daughter, Emily, of Portland; his parents, Paul and Geraldine, of Redlands, Calif.; and sister, Karen Zerger, of West Chester, Ohio. A memorial service was held this past weekend (9/9), in West Linn, Ore. A gathering of friends is also planned in the Los Angeles area at the end of September.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Mayo Foundation, Development Department, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905. On the memo line of the check, please indicate ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) Research in memory of Keith Shartle.
