Susan Shadburne

Susan Carol Shadburne (December 16, 1942 – April 24, 2018)[2] was an American screenwriter, director, producer, and filmmaker, best known for her collaborations with her husband, claymation animator Will Vinton. She wrote the screenplay for The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985), directed by Vinton, and wrote and directed the supernatural thriller film Shadow Play (1986). In addition to feature films, Shadburne wrote and directed several short films. Two of the short films Shadburne wrote that Vinton directed—Rip Van Winkle (1978) and The Great Cognito (1983) –were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

Susan Shadburne
Shadburne in 1985
Born	(1942-12-16)December 16, 1942 Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Died	April 24, 2018(2018-04-24) (aged 75) Vancouver, Washington, U.S.
Alma mater	Stanford University
Occupation	Filmmaker director screenwriter
Years active	1978–1994
Spouse(s)	Will Vinton (divorced)[1]
Children	3

Biography

Shadburne was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1960.[3][4] She later attended Stanford University.[3]

Shadburne began writing films in 1978 while married to animator Will Vinton, first a documentary short about Vinton's filmmaking process titled Claymation: Three Dimensional Clay Animation. She subsequently wrote the screenplay for Vinton's short film Rip Van Winkle (1978), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.[5] In 1982, she again wrote the screenplay for Vinton's short The Great Cognito, which was again nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.[6]

She collaborated with Vinton on the 1985 animated feature The Adventures of Mark Twain.[7][8] Shadburne researched Mark Twain extensively while writing the screenplay, adapting it from his autobiography and integrating direct quotes from him into the dialogue.[7] The following year, she wrote, produced, and directed the supernatural thriller film Shadow Play (1986) starring Dee Wallace and Cloris Leachman.[9]

In her later life, Shadburne worked as a medical intuitive and energy healer.[3]

Death

Shadburne died on April 24, 2018 in Vancouver, Washington, aged 75, after a decades-long battle with multiple sclerosis.[10]

Filmography

Year	Film	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes	Ref.
1978	Claymation: Three Dimensional Clay Animation	Yes	Yes	No	Documentary short	[11]
1978	Rip Van Winkle	No	Yes	No
1979	The Little Prince	No	Yes	No	Short film	[12]
1979	Legacy: A Very Short History of Natural Resources	No	Yes	No	Short film
1979	The Legend of Black Thunder Mountain	No	Yes	No		[13]
1980	Dinosaur	No	Yes	No	Short film	[14]
1980	The Diary of Adam and Eve	No	Yes	No	Short film
1981	A Family Affair	Yes	Yes	No	Short film	[14]
1982	The Great Cognito	No	Yes	No	Short film	[14]
1985	The Adventures of Mark Twain	No	Yes	No		[15]
1986	Shadow Play	Yes	Yes	Yes		[16]
1987	King Cole's Party	Yes	Yes	Yes		[17]
1987	Turn Around	Yes	Yes	No	Documentary film
1988	Grandpa's Magical Toys	Yes	Yes	Yes		[18]
1990	The Ultimate Challenge	No	Yes	No	Short film
1992	We Are Family	Yes	Yes	No	Short film
1994	Making a Difference	Yes	Yes	No	Short film

Accolades

Institution	Year	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
Academy Awards	1978	Best Animated Short Film	Rip Van Winkle	Nominated	[5]
	1983		The Great Cognito	Nominated	[6]

References

1. Schudel, Matt (October 6, 2018). "Will Vinton, filmmaker and animator who created the California Raisins, dies at 70". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019.
2. "Susan Shadburne Obituary". Tributes.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020.
3. "Speakers: Susan Shadburne". Activating Happy. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020.
4. "In Memoriam" (PDF). The Alumni News. Portland, Oregon: Lincoln High School. 21 (2): 3. Summer 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 27, 2020.
5. "The 51st Annual Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014.
6. "The Will Vinton Collection". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020.
7. Beck 2005, p. 3.
8. "The Adventures of Mark Twain" (PDF). Treasures from the Yale Film Archive. Yale University Press. March 6, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 4, 2020.
9. Weldon 1996, pp. 497–498.
10. "An Interview with Dee Wallace". Shadow Play (Blu-ray interview short). Scorpion Releasing. 2019.
11. "Claymation: three dimensional clay animation (TEFC)". Trove. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020.
12. "The little prince; Performers/Contributors: Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de, 1900-1944 ; Shadburne, Susan ; Vinton, Will". Toronto Public Library. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020.
13. Pitts 2012, p. 188.
14. "Susan Shadburne Credits". AllMovie. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020.
15. Canby, Vincent (January 17, 1986). "Screen: 'Adventures of Mark Twain'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020.
16. Weldon 1996, p. 497.
17. Atkinson & Zippan 1995, p. 59.
18. "Susan Shadburne". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020.

Sources

• Atkinson, Doug; Zippan, Fiona (1995). Videos for Kids: The Essential, Indispensable Parent's Guide to Children's Movies on Video. Rocklin, California: Prima Pub. ISBN 978-1-559-58635-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Beck, Jerry (2005). The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-569-76222-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Pitts, Michael R. (2012). Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Film (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-786-46372-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Weldon, Michael (1996). The Psychotronic Video Guide To Film. New York City, New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-13149-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Susan Shadburne on IMDb