In Memoriam: Randy Fullmer
Skwigly
Randy Fullmer (Photo: DavidBremmer, courtesy of WordPlay PR)
Randy Fullmer, a multitalented effects animator, visual effects supervisor, artistic coordinator and producer who worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios for nearly 20 years, passed away on July 10, 2023, following a lengthy but valiant battle with cancer, in the calm of his peaceful and loving home in Woodland Hills, California. He was 73 years old.
Randall “Randy” Wyn Fullmer (April 27, 1950 – July 10, 2023) was born in Richland, Washington to his nuclear physicist father and physical therapist mother.
Fullmer was always musically inclined. He learned to play the trombone at the age of six. At the age of twelve, Fullmer asked his parents if he could buy a 12-string guitar to complement his 6-string electric guitar. When they refused because he already had a guitar, Fullmer asked if he could purchase the wood to build his own 12-string instead. Over the next six years, he proceeded to build approximately 30 guitars with craftsmanship that was both self-taught and mentored by an old country western fiddle maker named Tom. Fullmer continued to build guitars throughout his life, but this task was relegated to hobby status for decades while his professional career took him in another direction.
Fullmer formed several rock bands with friends throughout his youth, including the rock group The Isle of Phyve which toured the Pacific Northwest on weekends, summers and holidays while Fullmer was in high school. Throughout his entire life, Fullmer enjoyed playing a full band’s worth of piano, guitar, brass and percussion instruments for recreational entertainment.
Fullmer’s creative nature led him to study architecture for two years at Washington State University (WSU), from 1968 to 1970. During his second year at WSU, he took a film class and became hopelessly hooked on animation, which motivated him to apply to the California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts). Fullmer was accepted into the animation program at Cal Arts and graduated in 1974 with a degree as a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
After his time at Cal Arts, Fullmer spent roughly seven years running his own animation business producing works such as: medical, scientific and other educational films; segments for Sesame Street; television commercials; and Saturday morning television programs. In 1983 and 1984, he worked for Don Bluth Studios, creating special effects for Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace, the first video games to be produced on Laserdisc. Fullmer also worked at Apogee, John Dykstra’s live action special effects house, and he then moved on to Filmation where he animated on both television and theatrical features from 1985 to 1987 including Happily Ever After, BraveStarr, She-Ra: Princess of Power and Ghostbusters.
In 1987, Fullmer was hired by Walt Disney Feature Animation (now known as Walt Disney Animation Studios) for a three-month contract to animate on the “Toon Town” section of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a job that turned into an 18-year career at The Walt Disney Studios. Fullmer’s animation film credits include: effects animator on Oliver & Company and The Little Mermaid; effects supervisor on The Rescuers Down Under; visual effects supervisor on Beauty and the Beast; artistic coordinator on The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame; and producer on The Emperor’s New Groove and Chicken Little.
After his retirement from the animation industry, Fullmer launched Wyn Guitars in 2006. He was both the founder and sole luthier for the company and crafted hundreds of unique guitars for musical talents including Abraham Laboriel, James LoMenzo, Jimmy Haslip, Isaias Elpes, Stewart McKinsey, Robin Zielhorst, Maurice Fitzgerald, Adam Johnson, Jermaine Jackson, Ethan Farmer and Fernando “Psycho” Vallin. After an effusive show of Wyn Guitar fans at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) convention in 2011, Fullmer became the focus of inspired documentarian Mike Enns who crafted the film Restrung (2014) about Wyn Guitars’ instant, stunning impact on the music industry, leading to a waitlist numbering nearly two hundred for custom bass guitars.
Beyond guitar-making, Fullmer was widely and wildly diverse in his artistic endeavors, with accomplished works in plein air painting, stained glass, jewelry, coppersmithing and fine woodworking that included extensive joinery projects, framing, custom live edge table hewing, and mid-century modern chair restoration. His abundance of creative energy never ceased to amaze family, friends and fans alike, and yet this trait was far outweighed by his constant sharing of gentle grace, deep empathy, positivity and joyfulness to all around him.
Producer Don Hahn (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King) reflected on the life of his friend and colleague, saying:
Most people are good at one thing in their lives. Randy was good at a lot of things. He could draw and paint beautifully, but he had the mind of an engineer, and the heart of an artisan. He was great at animation; great at producing movies, too. He was at the very center of the Disney renaissance in animation, then when he needed a new chapter in his life, he started making exquisite and much sought-after bass guitars with that same engineer’s mind and artistic soul he brought to Disney animated movies. His masterful woodwork radiates with his love for the craftsman ethic of working with head, hands and heart. I miss him but I carry his passion and joy with me every day. Always will.
Fullmer is survived by his wife Diana, stepdaughter Becky Kuriyama, stepson Nick Kuriyama, sister Cathy Lou Tusler, stepbrother Scott Landon, other loving family members and an abundance of friends and fans from all aspects of his creative and selfless life.
Fullmer’s energy is now flying around the cosmos and he would love for others to use it as inspiration to take their own creative risks! In his honor, his family hopes everyone will consciously treat others as he did with kindness, compassion, generosity, and good humor. If anyone feels compelled to make a charitable donation in his memory, Doctors Without Borders would be his choice.