RYAN

Ryan Larkin (1943 – 2007) was a Canadian animator, artist, and sculptor who rose to fame with the psychedelic 1969 Oscar-nominated short Walking and the acclaimed Street Musique (1972). He was the subject of this Oscar-winning film, Ryan.

At the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Ryan learned animation techniques from the ground-breaking and award-winning animator, Norman McLaren.

In recent years, Ryan was plagued by a downward spiral of drug abuse, alcoholism and homelessness, but found himself back in the limelight when a 14-minute computer-animated documentary on his life, Ryan by fellow Canadian animator Chris Landreth. Ryan died of lung cancer in 2007.