Biography
Tennessee's remarkable journey into the world of film & television production began with a childhood fascination for stop-motion, inspired by classics like "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and Ray Harryhausen's monster movies. His exploration started at age 14 utilizing his father's 8mm camera to create his first films. This passion led him to explore Kit Laybourne's "The Animation Handbook", motivating him to venture into Film Production & Communication at The City College of San Francisco and later work as a Panavision Camera Technician at Cine Rent West.
His professional career blossomed when he became a character fabricator on Tim Burton's iconic "The Nightmare Before Christmas," contributing to the creation of memorable characters like, Zero, Sally and Oogie Boogie. Tennessee's professional career as an animator began with ABC's "Bump in the Night" and he subsequently ventured into directing and producing his own stop-motion shorts, including award-winning works -"The Lizard Whomper", The Misadventures of Spittle & Fudd" & "The Answer".
Throughout his expansive career, Tennessee transitioned between animation and live-action production. He produced F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Sensible Thing for PBS, he made significant contributions to the animation world on projects like "Robot Chicken", earning two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work as a Character Animator and Director of Character Fabrication. Further expanding his horizons, he founded Axolotl Films, creating a unique blend of Animation & Live Action styles in the series for MTV "The Greatest Party Stories Ever Told".
Collaborating with his wife Sarah Beth, a high school French teacher, Tennessee produced the pilot episode of the Edu-tainment Series "Monsieur Filou's Voyage: Carnaval." This innovative program ingeniously blended live action puppetry, cut-out animation, and authentic audio interviews to offer an engaging exploration of France's Carnaval celebrations. Crowdsourced through Kickstarter, the project was made accessible for educational purposes, complete with a complementary lesson plan for teachers, underscoring the husband and wife team's commitment to fostering learning through creativity and multimedia.
The pinnacle of his career came with his involvement in prestigious projects like "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom" and as the as the sole animator to work on both Academy Award-nominated Animated feature films for 2022, "Marcel the Shell" & "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio", which ultimately won the Oscar.
Tennessee concluded his tenure in Portland, OR after returning to Shadow Machine to work on the Nickelodeon kid's show, "Tiny Chef." Following this, he skillfully merged his dedication to education with his extensive experience in the film and television industry, ultimately earning credentials as a Career Technical Education (CTE) teacher specializing in Arts, Media, and Entertainment within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). He was recruited to head up Digital Film & Video Production at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School, exemplifying his commitment to imparting his knowledge and passion to the next generation of creative professionals.
In 2024, Tennessee joined the creative team behind "Wonderland Cave", a live action feature film by award-winning writer, director, producer, and actor Krista Bradley. Serving as both a Producer and Art Director, Tennessee brought a deeply personal connection to the project, which draws from the true story of his grandparents, Gladys and William "Whitey" May. In the 1930s, the Mays developed and ran Wonderland Cave, the world's largest underground nightclub-a legendary hotspot of jazz and big band music, built in an actual cave in Bella Vista, Arkansas. The film, inspired by true events, follows a bootlegging jazz singer caught in a perilous triangle of love, family, and moonshine at this dazzling and dangerous venue. Steeped in intrigue, innovation, and the glamour of the Jazz Age, "Wonderland Cave" brings this captivating story to life, and is filmed in the actual, historic location.
