Biography

He is one of the few animation directors who has never participated as an animator. Rich joined Disney in 1972 in an entry level position in the mail room. He garnered attention at the studio by making presentations to the music department and by giving piano lessons during his lunch hour.

He never had an opportunity to work with company founder Walt Disney, who had died in 1966, but he did work with the animation legend who would become the heir to Walt's artistic mantle: Don Bluth.

Some time after directing "The Black Cauldron," he left Disney and helped found his own studio, Rich Animation Studios. He directed literally dozens of 30-minute animated videos marketed to families. All of these were intended to teach positive ethical and spiritual values. Stories were taken from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and the lives of historical figures such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln.