By John Ervin III
Before there was DreamWorks and Pixar there was Brenda Lee Banks. An extremely talented, but very humble person Brenda was one of the first Black women involved in field of animation, if not the first. Growing up I had fond memories of my aunt Brenda’s talent and creativity in animation. Her nieces and nephews got an up close and personal experience with our history making auntie!
Brenda, a Los Angeles native began her career in animation in the early 1970’s. After graduating from Fremont High School in 1967, she attended the California Institute of the Arts. Soon after begin her career in animation working in the field of animation, Bank continued her education through 1977
Brenda, an award-winning animator and it didn’t take long for Hollywood to notice Aunt Brenda’s talent. In the early 1970’s she worked with Clerow Flip Wilson who was one of the funniest and highest paid comedians at the time with is own television variety show and a cartoon series in which Brenda was a key contributor on. From there she on to work on the animated project B.C. The First Thanksgiving, set in prehistoric times and featured a group of cavemen and anthropomorphic animals and different geologic eras, created by cartoonist Johnny Hart.
In 1973 Brenda went to work with Ralph Bakshi at his studio and he entrusted her with a number of projects beginning with the 1974 feature Coonskin. Proving she was up to the task, Bakshi assigned her the background in the film Wizards. Again, her work was second to none and she was a star at Bakshi’s studio.
Because her role in Wizards, Bakshi enlisted her to work on a number of other features Lord of the Rings in 1978 and Fire and Ice in 1983. She then went to Warner Brothers studios where she worked on their Looney Tunes cartoon television specials. In addition to working at major studios, she added Hanna-Barbera to her resume. Her work at Hanna-Barbera included The Pirates of Dark Water and several episodes for Fox’s hit animated show the Simpsons.
Other major projects Brenda worked included being a layout animator for the King of the Hill. She also served on the selection committee for the Grammy Awards since 1985.
Brenda worked earned her an WIA Diversity Award in 2018, which is given through the organization Women in Animation for achieving decades of success in the field of animation. A field that was and still is dominated by white men.
With her work spanning from the early 1970’s to the 2000’s a number of generations have enjoyed Banks’ animated work not knowing that the work was done by a pioneer in the field. Being one of first Black women in the field, Brenda would never get the name recognition she deserves. It would be her white male counterparts that would get the credit and all the recognition. However, it was Brenda’s work that was enjoyed by Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and beyond.
Today in 2023 we still enjoy Brenda’s work from the Simpsons, to the King of Hill as well as Tom & Jerry on the cartoon Network. Brenda’s work lives on in Hollywood and her family, which are looking to get her story and work in museums.
Brenda was known to be a quiet, introvert and very private person. She didn’t talk about herself or her background. She was an animator who loved the work. She wasn’t concerned with being a pioneer or being known as one of the first Black women in the field. Nevertheless, it is the work of Banks’ that paved the road for future young Black female animators.
Brenda Lee Banks was born July 19, 1948. She died December 30, 2020. Her work will live on forever.
