Butch Hartman

Butch Hartman (born Elmer Earl Hartman IV on January 10, 1965), is an American animator and director. He is the creator of the Nickelodeon animated series The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom.

Childhood

Hartman was born in Highland Park, Michigan to Elmer Earl Hartman III and Carol Davis. He received the nickname "Butch" as a youth and continues to use the name professionally as an adult. Hartman spent his childhood in Roseville, Michigan and his teen years in New Baltimore, Michigan. He graduated from Anchor Bay High School in New Baltimore in 1983. He subsequently attended the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California.

Early career

Hartman entered the animation industry in 1986, first working on the cartoon series My Little Pony and then It's Punky Brewster. In 1990 he went to DiC Entertainment, where he worked on Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, The Game Master and Gadget Boy. Later, he became a writer, director and storyboard artist for several Cartoon Network shows, including Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, and Johnny Bravo.

The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom

His biggest success came in 1997, when he created The Fairly OddParents (which he also did voices for ). It was originally a series of short subjects on the anthology show, Oh Yeah! Cartoons. In 2001, Nickelodeon picked it up as a full series. The Fairly OddParents became a huge hit, second only in the ratings to SpongeBob SquarePants. Due to the success of 'OddParents', Hartman created another cartoon for Nickelodeon, Danny Phantom, in 2004. Both Danny Phantom and The Fairly OddParents will cease production around 2006 and 2007. However, a vast majority of Danny Phantom fans have made a petition to save the show.

Doogal

He also served as executive producer and screenwriter of Doogal, the Americanized dub of the Franco-British animated film The Magic Roundabout. The film was dubbed by The Weinstein Company, and was released on February 24, 2006. However, Doogal was a critical and box-office bomb, grossing only $7 million dollars and getting 5% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Other & future works

Hartman is currently working on two new projects for Nickelodeon, one a live-action series and the another animated.

His other TV work include voicing various characters on the animated series Family Guy, and playing the character Sean Masters on the short lived series Generations in 1991.

Hartman currently lives in Bell Canyon, California, with his wife, Julieann, and daughters, Carly and Sophia.

Trivia

Hartman formerly resided in Encino, California during the time Phil Hartman was killed, approximately five miles from his house. The two are not related.

External links

Official site