Frank Thomas has passed away. His life-long friend Ollie Johnston is now the sole remaining master animator from the classic days of the Walt Disney studio.
For more on this duo, watch “Frank & Ollie”, or read Canemaker’s book, “Nine Old Men”, or their book on Disney animation, “The Illusion of Life”.
Perhaps a post on the Animation Nation discussion board (also from an old-timer) said it best:
“I really get the feeling that we’ve come to the end of a wonderful era. You can wait around and hope, but you’ll never see the likes of this again.”