Fourth Essay: Biography

For this essay, I combined a little of fiction and non-fiction. - DR

Burt Timon

Burt Timon is an American-born film director/producer. Born August 3, 1958 in Nappa, California, he is known for the dark humor and gothic atmosphere he instills in his movies. Protagonists in his stories are usually the quintessential anti-hero, the outsider, or misfit who tends to be either emotionally or physically scarred.
An only child, Burt developed a very vivid imagination to compensate for his lack of siblings. He would stage “fantasy” scenarios in his backyard where he would pretend to be his favorite hero. As he grew older, however, Burt admits that he grew disenfranchised with the hero archetype; calling it “stagnant.” A fan of horror and thriller movies, Burt found the villains and dark characters of those films to be infinitely more interesting. From then on, he sought to pursue a creative career in film.
After graduating from Nappa High School, Burt attended the film the California Institute of Film. Just a month into his second semester, Burt realized that he no longer had an interest in acting. What he did enjoy was drawing and promptly left CIF to attend the California Institute of Arts where he studied character animation. Upon graduating, Burt found work at Disney Animation Studios as an animator’s apprentice. His first attempts at animation were considered too “dark” for Disney standards and were promptly rejected. Unwilling to adhere to the company’s strict regulations, Burt eventually left Disney and became a freelance artist. He would eventually meet his lifelong friend, Princent Vice, then working as a freelance producer, and the two would go on to create three short movies together before Burt finally got his big break.
Tee-nee’s Great Adventure, based on the then popular live TV show starring Paul Rube, was his first foray in the director’s seat. The movie went on to become a cult classic with its fans and demonstrated Burt’s movie-making abilities. This was followed shortly by Weevil Juice, which was the first time Burt used stop-motion animation. It was here that he gained a great respect for the art. The Crusader would be his first mega success in the box office. Burt would go on to direct one of its eventual sequels but would move on to more original works.
As his star continued to rise, Burt Timon went on to direct films such as Eddie Barbwire, and Hallow Eve. While these movies were all successes in their own right, the young director would forever be renowned for his art direction on the stop-motion classic, Dreaming of a Wicked Christmas, based on a short poem he wrote back when he worked for Disney. It would spark a fascination with stop-motion animation and would cement Burt Timon as one of the industry’s leading new directors and animators. In addition, he would forge a strong friendship with movie music composer, Dan Elf. The two would work together on numerous future projects.
Burt is married to Italian film star, Stella Insipriani. The two have had one child, Benton Timon Jr. (after his late father) and live in Burbank, California.