Butch Hartman (born January 10, 1965), is an American animator and director who created the Nickelodeon animated cartoon series The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom.

Hartman was born Elmer Earl Hartman IV in Highland Park, Michigan, to Rupert Hartmann and Doris Hartmann. He was one of Rupert and Doris's eight children, that also included famous comic and actor Phil Hartman. The Hartmanns had migrated from Canada to the USA, in the 1950's, and were Catholic. Hartman spend his childhood in Roseville, Michigan and his teen years in New Baltimore, Michigan. In 1983, he graduated from Anchor Bay High School in New Baltimore and studied at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California.

After, Hartman worked on the cartoon series It's Punky Brewster, before becoming writer, director and storyboard artist for several Cartoon Network shows, including Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, and Johnny Bravo. In 1997, he created The Fairly OddParents, and in 2001, it became a cartoon series (it had debuted as a short on the series Oh Yeah! Cartoons earlier). It became very successful and popular, but Hartman quit it at the height of its popularity to work on a new cartoon, Danny Phantom in 2004. A Fairly OddParents movie, and another show by Hartman, titled Crash Nebula, is currently being developed, as of January 2005.

His other TV work include voicing the character Jonathan Weed on the show Family Guy, and playing the character Sean Masters on the short lived series Generations in 1991.

Hartman currently lives in Bell Canyon, California, with his wife, Julieann, and daughters, Carly and Sophia.

External links

• Official site