Tyrus Wong was a Chinese born painter, animator, calligrapher, muralist, set designer and storyboard artist. Tyrus Wong net worth before his death was estimated to be around $2 million.
Tyrus was born on October 25, 1910 in Guangdong, China. He migrated to United States with his family when he was nine years old. Due to Chinese Exclusion Act, he was separated from his father but he later reacquainted with his family and later moved to Los Angeles.
Upon arriving there, he went to Benjamin Franklin Junior High School. He then received a summer scholarship at the Otis Art Institute. After graduating from Otis in 1930, he began working in Hollywood.
Wong started his career working as a greeting card designer and then went on to become a Warner Bros. film production illustrator. From 1938 to 1941 he also worked as a sketch artist for Disney.
Wong is known for his work in animated film ‘Bambi’. His paintings for Bambi were inspired by Song dynasty classical Chinese paintings. Although, his work at Bambi was inspirational, his full contribution to the film was largely unknown for several decades. But after some months, he was fired from Disney studios as a consequence of the Disney animators’ strike. After that, he worked at Warner Brothers Studios from several decades.
In 1968, Wong retired from his film work and focused on making colorful kites (animals like pandas, goldfish or centipedes). He is also known for his skills in painting. Some of the popular paintings are Self Portrait (1920s), Fire (1939), Reclining Nude (1940s), East (1984) and West (1984).
Due to his contribution in the field, he was given a History makers Award (arts) by the Chinese American Museum and was inducted as a Disney Legend. He was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the San Diego Asian Film Festival in 2015.
Regarding his personal life, Wong was married to Ruth Ng Kim on June 27, 1937 in California. She worked as the secretary to Y.C. Hong, the first Chinese American immigration lawyer. Together they had three children. His wife Ruth Kim Wong died on January 12, 1995 at the age 85 while Tyrus Wong died on December 30, 2016 at the age of 106.
