“Toy Story” co-writer, Pixar employee dies at 45
Posted: Friday, August 19th, 2005 4:50 amUKIAH [Calif.] — Joe Ranft, who was nominated for an Oscar for co-writing “Toy Story” for Pixar Animation Studios, died when the car he was riding in veered off a Mendocino County highway and into the water, authorities said Thursday. He was 45.
Also killed in the Tuesday crash on Highway 1 was Elegba Ojenke Castillo Earl, 32, of Los Angeles, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office. …
Ranft, of Corte Madera, worked at Pixar for more than a decade. He co-wrote “A Bug’s Life” and was the voice for the character Heimlich in that film and Wheezy the Penguin in “Toy Story 2.”
Before joining Pixar, Ranft worked at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he was a writer on “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.” … Read full obituary
