Gerald Potterton, an animator and filmmaker whose most notable works include “Heavy Metal” and the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” film, died on Aug. 23, the National Film Board of Canada announced on Wednesday. He was 91.
He died at the Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins Hospital in Cowansville, Quebec, where he lived for most of his life. His most prominent work was directing the 1981 animated cult classic “Heavy Metal,” an anthology film of different science fiction and fantasy stories surrounding a force that is described as “the sum of all evils.”
He also worked as an animator on the Beatles’ 1968 musical comedy “Yellow Submarine,” which became lauded as a work that broadened the general population’s interest in animation.
Potterton was born on March 8, 1931 in London, England and moved to Canada in 1955. He lived in Cowansville and started working on live and animated motion pictures to begin his career in film.
Potterton also directed live-action films in the 1960s, such as “The Ride” in 1963 and “The Railrodder” in 1965. The latter featured Buster Keaton in one of his last starring roles.
“Gerald came to Canada and the NFB to be part of a new wave of storytelling, one that was fresh and irreverent, and he brought great wit and creativity to every project,” Claude Joli-Coeur, NFB chairperson and government film commissioner, said in a statement. “He was also a builder, helping to lay the foundation for today’s independent Canadian animation industry with Potterton Productions. He was an exceptional artist and a truly nice man.”