July 25: The ill-fated Robotech: The Movie makes a limited theatrical screening in
Texas and was expelled from further showings after regarding its explicit adult content while comparing to Robotech that aired on Saturday mornings at the time. Decades after its disappearance, blackmarket copies of the movie have been shared and is declared the unofficial continuity to Robotech.[10]
August 8: The Transformers: The Movie premieres. The movie underperformed at the box office, received generally negative critical reviews, and gained some infamy for its excessive violence and unexpected
swearing. However, it has garnered a
cult following and more positive critical reassessment in the years since.[11][12]
August 17:
John Lasseter's Luxo Jr. premiers. The little lamp in the short will later become part of
Pixar's logo.
October 18:
DIC Entertainment and
ABC's Liberty and the Littles airs as a three-part episode. This is the series finale.[13] It was originally planned to be a theatrical film, but ABC declined due to both management changes and the critical failure of Here Come the Littles that tarnished the franchise.[14]
April 30:
Dianna Agron, American actress and singer (voice of News Anchor in Ralph Breaks the Internet, various characters in the Robot Chicken episode "Max Caenen in: Why Would He Know If His Mother's A Size Queen").
August 31: Spencer Klein, American former child actor (voice of Arnold in seasons 4-5 of Hey Arnold! and Hey Arnold!: The Movie, George and Robert Chestnut in Fillmore!).
Jonathan Gales, English animator and creative director (co-founder of
Factory Fifteen), (d.
2022).[38]
Deaths
January
January 7:
P. D. Eastman, American screenwriter, children's author, and illustrator (Private Snafu,
UPA), dies at age 76.
January 23: Frank Grundeen, American animator and comics artist (
Walt Disney Company), dies at age 74.[39]
February
February 16:
Andrzej Pawłowski, Polish painter, sculptor, photographer, and film director (Kineformy, Naturally Shaped Forms, Mannequins), dies at age 60.[40]
June 13:
Benny Goodman, American jazz band leader (provided music to the All the Cats Join In and After You've Gone segments in Make Mine Music), dies at age 77.[55]
^Woolery, George W. Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989.
ISBN0-8108-2198-2.
^Hunter, J. Michael (2013). Hunter, J. Michael (ed.). The Mormon Influence at Disney. Mormons and Popular Culture. Vol. 1: Cinema, Television, Theater, Music, and Fashion. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger an imprint of AABC-CLIO. pp. 45–70.
ISBN978-0-313-39167-5.
^"Regular on Jack Benny Show, Radio and TV Actor Frank Nelson Dies". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 1986. p. 2. Retrieved November 28, 2010. Frank Nelson, a regular on the Jack Benny radio and television shows for more than 30 years and a professional actor for six decades, died Friday at his home in Hollywood after a long illness. He was 75. ...
^"Frank Nelson". The New York Times. September 16, 1986. Retrieved 2009-02-10. Frank Nelson, an actor on Jack Benny's radio and television shows for 38 years and a former national president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, died Friday of cancer at his home in Hollywood. He was 75 years old.
^"Regular on Jack Benny Show Radio and TV Actor Frank Nelson Dies". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 1986. Retrieved 2020-09-07. AFTRA national President Frank Maxwell said Friday that Nelson "fought fiercely for the things he believed in. ... His devotion to the welfare of his fellow members will leave its stamp on AFTRA for as long as the union lasts." Nelson is survived by his wife, actress Veola Vonn; son Doug Nelson, and daughter, Bonnie Esther.
^DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 115.
ISBN978-0-7864-2834-2.
^Steven Joseph Loza (1993). Barrio Rhythm: Mexican American Music in Los Angeles. p. 136. Another highly talented singer, Carlos Ramirez, came to Los Angeles in the late 1930s. "But when he got to Hollywood they spoiled him. He got into the movies with Lana Turner and so forth — Gilbert Roland and the whole trip."
July 25: The ill-fated Robotech: The Movie makes a limited theatrical screening in
Texas and was expelled from further showings after regarding its explicit adult content while comparing to Robotech that aired on Saturday mornings at the time. Decades after its disappearance, blackmarket copies of the movie have been shared and is declared the unofficial continuity to Robotech.[10]
August 8: The Transformers: The Movie premieres. The movie underperformed at the box office, received generally negative critical reviews, and gained some infamy for its excessive violence and unexpected
swearing. However, it has garnered a
cult following and more positive critical reassessment in the years since.[11][12]
August 17:
John Lasseter's Luxo Jr. premiers. The little lamp in the short will later become part of
Pixar's logo.
October 18:
DIC Entertainment and
ABC's Liberty and the Littles airs as a three-part episode. This is the series finale.[13] It was originally planned to be a theatrical film, but ABC declined due to both management changes and the critical failure of Here Come the Littles that tarnished the franchise.[14]
April 30:
Dianna Agron, American actress and singer (voice of News Anchor in Ralph Breaks the Internet, various characters in the Robot Chicken episode "Max Caenen in: Why Would He Know If His Mother's A Size Queen").
August 31: Spencer Klein, American former child actor (voice of Arnold in seasons 4-5 of Hey Arnold! and Hey Arnold!: The Movie, George and Robert Chestnut in Fillmore!).
Jonathan Gales, English animator and creative director (co-founder of
Factory Fifteen), (d.
2022).[38]
Deaths
January
January 7:
P. D. Eastman, American screenwriter, children's author, and illustrator (Private Snafu,
UPA), dies at age 76.
January 23: Frank Grundeen, American animator and comics artist (
Walt Disney Company), dies at age 74.[39]
February
February 16:
Andrzej Pawłowski, Polish painter, sculptor, photographer, and film director (Kineformy, Naturally Shaped Forms, Mannequins), dies at age 60.[40]
June 13:
Benny Goodman, American jazz band leader (provided music to the All the Cats Join In and After You've Gone segments in Make Mine Music), dies at age 77.[55]
^Woolery, George W. Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989.
ISBN0-8108-2198-2.
^Hunter, J. Michael (2013). Hunter, J. Michael (ed.). The Mormon Influence at Disney. Mormons and Popular Culture. Vol. 1: Cinema, Television, Theater, Music, and Fashion. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger an imprint of AABC-CLIO. pp. 45–70.
ISBN978-0-313-39167-5.
^"Regular on Jack Benny Show, Radio and TV Actor Frank Nelson Dies". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 1986. p. 2. Retrieved November 28, 2010. Frank Nelson, a regular on the Jack Benny radio and television shows for more than 30 years and a professional actor for six decades, died Friday at his home in Hollywood after a long illness. He was 75. ...
^"Frank Nelson". The New York Times. September 16, 1986. Retrieved 2009-02-10. Frank Nelson, an actor on Jack Benny's radio and television shows for 38 years and a former national president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, died Friday of cancer at his home in Hollywood. He was 75 years old.
^"Regular on Jack Benny Show Radio and TV Actor Frank Nelson Dies". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 1986. Retrieved 2020-09-07. AFTRA national President Frank Maxwell said Friday that Nelson "fought fiercely for the things he believed in. ... His devotion to the welfare of his fellow members will leave its stamp on AFTRA for as long as the union lasts." Nelson is survived by his wife, actress Veola Vonn; son Doug Nelson, and daughter, Bonnie Esther.
^DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 115.
ISBN978-0-7864-2834-2.
^Steven Joseph Loza (1993). Barrio Rhythm: Mexican American Music in Los Angeles. p. 136. Another highly talented singer, Carlos Ramirez, came to Los Angeles in the late 1930s. "But when he got to Hollywood they spoiled him. He got into the movies with Lana Turner and so forth — Gilbert Roland and the whole trip."