Biography

Burton was the oldest of two sons born to John W. Burton, and Dorcas Elizabeth Kennedy. Burton's father was an animation cameraman working on the "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" shorts, until he eventually became an producer for Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1958.

Burton worked as a retail grocer in Los Angeles, and then joined the Air Force in 1950, where he served at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan until 1954. Burton joined Warner Bros. Cartoons as an animation cameraman like his father, and then moved to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, but went uncredited for his work until 1968. While employed by DePatie-Freleng, Burton served as the cameraman for all of the Dr. Seuss animated specials, the "Pink Panther" shorts, and "Return of the Planet of the Apes".

Burton remained part of the animation crew when DePatie-Freleng merged into Marvel Productions in 1981, working as the animation cameraman for "Muppet Babies (1984)" and a techincal consultant for "Fraggle Rock (1987)". Marvel Productions eventually merged into New World Animation, and became a property of News Corporation in 1996; during this time, Burton had left the animation industry. He died in Grover Beach, California, in 2008, at the age of 76.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous