Susan Shadburne Explained

Susan Shadburne
Birth Date:16 December 1942
Birth Place:Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Death Place:Vancouver, Washington, U.S.
Years Active:1978–1994
Alma Mater:Stanford University
Spouse:Will Vinton (divorced)[1]
Children:3

Susan Carol Shadburne (December 16, 1942April 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.

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. 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.

She collaborated with Vinton on the 1985 animated feature The Adventures of Mark Twain.[5] Shadburne researched Mark Twain extensively while writing the screenplay, adapting it from his autobiography and integrating direct quotes from him into the dialogue. The following year, she wrote, produced, and directed the supernatural thriller film Shadow Play (1986) starring Dee Wallace and Cloris Leachman.

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.[6]

Filmography

YearFilmDirectorWriterProducerNotes
1978Claymation: Three Dimensional Clay AnimationDocumentary short[7]
1978Rip Van Winkle
1979Short film[8]
1979Legacy: A Very Short History of Natural ResourcesShort film
1979
1980DinosaurShort film
1980Short film
1981Short film[9]
1982Short film
1985[10]
1986Shadow Play
1987King Cole's Party
1987Turn AroundDocumentary film
1988Grandpa's Magical Toys[11]
1990Short film
1992We Are FamilyShort film
1994Making a DifferenceShort film

Accolades

InstitutionYearCategoryRecipientResult
Academy Awards1978Best Animated Short FilmRip Van Winkle[12]
1983The Great Cognito[13]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. News: The Washington Post. Will Vinton, filmmaker and animator who created the California Raisins, dies at 70. October 6, 2018. Schudel, Matt. https://archive.today/20191217214147/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/will-vinton-filmmaker-and-animator-who-created-the-california-raisins-dies-at-70/2018/10/05/0e6645ce-c8ce-11e8-9b1c-a90f1daae309_story.html. December 17, 2019. June 26, 2020. live.
  2. Web site: Susan Shadburne Obituary. Tributes.com. https://archive.today/20200626223655/http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Susan-Carol-Shadburne-106039880. June 26, 2020. live.
  3. Web site: Activating Happy. Speakers: Susan Shadburne. live. https://archive.today/20200626223745/http://www.activatinghappy.com/speakers-2016/susan-shadburne/. June 26, 2020.
  4. In Memoriam. 3. The Alumni News. Lincoln High School. Portland, Oregon. Summer 2018. 21. 2. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200627210023/https://www.lincolnalum.org/resources/Newsletter/LHSAA-2018-Summer.pdf. June 27, 2020.
  5. Web site: The Adventures of Mark Twain. Treasures from the Yale Film Archive. Yale University Press. live. March 6, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20200404143542/https://web.library.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Mark%20Twain%20Notes.pdf. April 4, 2020.
  6. An Interview with Dee Wallace. Shadow Play. Blu-ray interview short. Scorpion Releasing. 2019.
  7. Web site: Trove. Claymation: three dimensional clay animation (TEFC). live. https://archive.today/20200626230051/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/229550901. June 26, 2020. June 26, 2020.
  8. Web site: The little prince; Performers/Contributors: Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de, 1900-1944 ; Shadburne, Susan ; Vinton, Will. Toronto Public Library. https://archive.today/20200626230141/https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=164954. June 26, 2020. June 26, 2020. live.
  9. Web site: AllMovie. Susan Shadburne Credits. live. https://archive.today/20200626232207/https://www.allmovie.com/artist/susan-shadburne-p110912. June 26, 2020.
  10. Web site: The New York Times. January 17, 1986. Screen: 'Adventures of Mark Twain'. live. June 26, 2020. https://archive.today/20200626230313/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/17/movies/screen-adventures-of-mark-twain.html. Canby, Vincent. Vincent Canby. June 26, 2020.
  11. Web site: British Film Institute. Susan Shadburne. dead. https://archive.today/20200626230521/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba34e8051. June 26, 2020. June 26, 2020.
  12. Web site: The 51st Annual Academy Awards. Oscars.org. 5 October 2014 . live. https://archive.today/20141013113402/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1979. October 13, 2014. June 27, 2020.
  13. Web site: Oscars.org. The Will Vinton Collection. live. https://archive.today/20200627000314/https://www.oscars.org/film-archive/collections/will-vinton-collection. June 27, 2020.