Biographie

At age 17, he wrote a letter to the Walt Disney Studios asking how one becomes an artist on their staff. The production manager at the time was a Mr. Don Duckwall, who encouraged Asbury to submit drawing samples. Asbury did so and was then advised to gain training at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) near L.A., which offers a degree in Character Animation. Asbury followed that advice and started at CalArts in 1980.

Both of the Asbury-directed animated films Spirit: L'étalon des plaines (2002) and Shrek 2 (2004) opened the Cannes Film Festival and both were nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

Though not himself a ventriloquist, Kelly harbored a lifelong passion for the offbeat art form, even going so far as to write a 128-page non-fiction book on the subject called "Dummy Days - America's Favorite Ventriloquists from Radio and Early TV" (Angel City Press 2003).

Mentored by Chuck Jones.

Art school classmates with other CalArts alumni and future animated feature directors Rob Minkoff (Le Roi lion (1994)), Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale (La Belle et la Bête (1991), Le Bossu de Notre-Dame (1996)), Bruce W. Smith (Bebe's Kids (1992), Cool Attitude (2001)), and Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch (2002)). Several other of Asbury's peers went on to win multiple Emmy awards and direct successful TV shows, Les Simpson (1989) among them.