Gonzales was interviewed and hired on the spot, given $200 and told to report in two weeks to the Hyperion Studios in Los Angeles to work as an animator. His first assignment was as an "in-betweener" on what was to be the first animated full-length major motion picture, Snow White, for a man he'd never heard of before named Walt Disney. Gonzales received a "Mousecar" award and a Hyperion Club award personally from Walt Disney during his career. The Mousecar was a much coveted award, given to the artists who had most significantly impacted the company's success. Modeled after the Oscar, which is awarded annually for achievement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Mousecar is a bronze statuette of Mickey Mouse in his trademark pose on a black base. The Hyperion Club award uses the same bronze statuette as the Mouscar, but it is on a wooden base with a Hyperion Club brass label on the base. Gonzales was named a Disney Legend posthumously at the 2017 D23 award ceremony. Of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been employed by the Walt Disney Company, as of 2017 less than 300 have been named "Disney Legends". It is the highest award given by the company. Walt Disney, who was very fond of his artists, used to joke that Manuel had signed Disney's signature (which Gonzales would sign on every comic strip he'd draw) more than Disney himself had in his lifetime. Personal life Gonzales was married to his wife LaVonne, with whom he had two sons, Thomas and Daniel. References External links Manuel Gonzales at the Lambiek Comiclopedia American comic strip cartoonists 1913 births 1993 deaths American comics artists Spanish emigrants to the United States United States Army personnel of World War II Disney comics artists