It is with a sad heart that I post this but it may help a good friend in need.
Rusty Mills the producer of Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs who is a good friend  has been diagnosed with stage IV Colon Cancer and his down to his last days and his wife’s best friend has set up a fund for his family. I can only imagine the pain suffering and cost of such a disease and I would urge you to give generously to a man that gave of himself his whole life. Rather than try and be eloquent about such a tough thing, I will take the message from the site itself:
Rusty has been fighting this Cancer with the most positive attitude that I’ve ever seen. He is a passionate animator and loves to teach. Rusty was even teaching while receiving chemotherapy.
Rusty’s wife, Andrea, and Evan, their 15 year old son have been taking care of Rusty. However, things have gotten very tough lately, and they need our help! Rusty has just started a new kind of chemotherapy and the medical bills are accumulating rapidly. Rusty is not able to work right now and he was the main source of income for his family. Andrea is now caring for Rusty full time. Together this family is strong, but it’s also been very tough financially and emotionally.
If you would like to contribute any amount, all funds will go directly to the Mills family to help them pay for Rusty’s Cancer treatment, groceries and utilities. Prayers are also requested for the Mills family. With much gratitude and love.
Many years ago when I started working on Animaniacs as a character layout artist I met a young man named Rusty Mills who was a fantastic draftsman and teacher. He was a  good animator as well and over the years our paths would cross occasionally. When they green lit Pinky and the Brain as it’s own series he asked me to direct my first true animation series. That was of course before the modern age of computers and tests and the internet. I came in met with him and Tom Ruegger and I had the job. INo scrutiny or judgement just “welcome”.  I truly enjoyed my time working with him. He led me to my first Emmy award and I learned so much I thought my mind would explode. I took all of that knowledge to every job since then and even in the far reaches of Europe when I’d mention I had directed Pinky and the Brain people’s eyes would widen. Even if their primary language was not English. Rusty’s influence was far-reaching there is no doubt. In years following the great fall and restructuring of WB, Rusty began teaching the digital arts and has taught hundreds of people about computers, and particularly Storyboard Pro and Mirage where he was instrumental in a storyboarding package add on for that software. Rusty showed me the first tablet PC I’ve ever seen and I went out that day and bought one based on his recommendation. He was a good and caring man, and the animation world will be a little less brighter without him.
We never did an interview with Rusty as he was always so busy, but I really wish I had.
You can learn more about Rusty and his amazing talent by going to his site Rusty Mills Animation.
