About

Includes 3856 W. Clayton Avenue Remodeled

History:
3854 Clayton Avenue was the home of Lee and Mary Blair in the 1930s, a couple who rose to prominence in the Disney animation films. Lee was an American artist who won a gold medal for the U.S. in the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles in watercolor painting “Rodeo.” He is known for his work on Fantasia (1940), The Untouchables (1959) and The Magical World of Disney (1954).

Lee’s wife, Mary, was even more prominent in the Disney studio. After graduating from San Jose State University in 1931, Mary won a scholarship to the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, graduating in 1933. In 1934 shortly after college, she married Lee Blair, and was the sister-in-law of animator Preston Blair (1908–1995). Along with her husband Lee, she became a member of the California School of Watercolor and quickly became known for being an imaginative colorist and designer. Blair’s first professional job in the animation industry was as an animator with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She would soon leave and join husband Lee Blair at the Ub Iwerks studio before moving to Disney in 1940, where she worked briefly on art for Dumbo, an early version of Lady and the Tramp, and a second version of Fantasia titled “Baby Ballet”[5] which was not released until the late 1990s. She became prominent in producing art and animation for the Walt Disney Company, drawing concept art for such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South and Cinderella. Mary Blair also created character designs for enduring attractions such as Disneyland’s It’s a Small World, the fiesta scene in El Rio del Tiempo in the Mexico pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase, and very large mosaic inside Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Several of her illustrated children’s books from the 1950s remain in print, such as I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss. Blair was inducted into the group of Disney Legends in 1991.

1930 Census:
3856 W. Clayton Avenue (Value $6,000): 1) Frank H. Powell, owner and head of household; white married male 65 years of age; married at age 27; born in New York; parents born in New York; Retired. 2) Josephine L. Powell, wife; white married female 65 years of age; married at age 27; born in Indiana; parents born in New York; not working.

1940 Census: 3856 W. Clayton Avenue (Value $6,000): 1) Frank H. Ranell, owner and head of household; white married male 75 years of age; born in New York; not working. 2) Josephine L. Ranell, wife; white married female 79 years of age; born in Indiana; not working. 3) Edward Herting, lodger; white married male 48 years of age; born in California; salesman, rubber goods; earns $2,500.