Tony Anselmo was born on February 18, 1960, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and his fascination with Disney began at the tender age of five, following a screening of Mary Poppins in 1964.
As a young boy, Anselmo's family relocated to Sunnyvale, California, where he continued to nurture his passion for Disney and animation. He began drawing, constructed his own light table, and started creating animation using a Super 8 camera.
Anselmo attended Marian A. Peterson High School in Sunnyvale and further developed his skills through night art classes at local colleges. He also initiated regular correspondence with the renowned Disney animators, including Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Eric Larson, and Milt Kahl.
With the encouragement and support of his Disney Animation correspondents, Anselmo was awarded a Disney Family Fellowship, enabling him to attend California Institute of the Arts in the fall of 1978. He enrolled in the Character Animation Department at CalArts, where he studied alongside other aspiring animators.
The close connection between CalArts and the Disney Studio meant that students' work was subject to scrutiny by studio executives. Anselmo's exceptional talent and dedication earned him a transfer to the Disney Animation department in Burbank, California, on September 1, 1980.
Throughout his illustrious career, Anselmo contributed to the animation of 20 Disney animated features, including The Black Cauldron, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Tarzan, and The Emperor's New Groove.
Anselmo's association with Disney stalwarts, such as Clarence Nash, the original voice of Donald Duck, led to an informal "training" in performing Donald's dialogue. Upon Nash's passing in 1985, Anselmo inherited the role of Donald Duck, making his debut on the television program DTV Valentine in 1986.
Since then, Anselmo has voiced Donald in numerous projects, including television shows, feature films, theme parks, and consumer products. He has also shared voice-over duties with Russi Taylor for Huey, Dewey, and Louie since 1999.
