Between 19, he worked on a large number of animated shorts, as well as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, for which he designed six dwarves (the seventh, Dopey, was a late addition).
In 1935, already over forty, Thorson moved to Hollywood and began working for Disney. During this time, Thorson worked for Brigden’s of Winnipeg as an illustrator of the Eaton’s catalogue, specializing in high-profile illustrations of jewelry and saddlery. Thorson and Ada separated in 1928 and divorced in 1931. Their son Charlie was born in 1923 but lived only three days. The deaths came as a shock to Thorson, who wandered for months on end, living as a tramp throughout western Canada. However, Ranka died only two years later of tuberculosis, and the son died some three months later. He married Rannveig “Ranka” Sweinsson in October 1914, two months after the birth of their son, Charlie. Though not yet an established artist, he did some cartooning, particularly for Icelandic-language newspapers. After elementary school, he worked multiple odd jobs around Winnipeg and Gimli, most of which were secondary to enjoying himself in the company of his high-living artistic circle of friends. University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collectionsġ.25 m of textual records and other materialĬharles Gustav “Charlie” Thorson was born in 1890 in Winnipeg of Icelandic immigrant parents. Hollywood Work (Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, Fleischer, and Terrytoons Studios) University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections,įinding aid encoded by Anna Lapointe and Vladimira Zvonik (2007) An Inventory of His Papers at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections