Shrek 2 director Kelly Asbury has died aged 60.
The Oscar-nominated star, who worked on some of the greatest animated films of all time, died in his Los Angeles home on Friday morning after suffering from abdominal cancer.
According to TMZ, the director and voice-over artist died “peacefully” in his Encino home.
Asbury’s representative, Nancy Newhouse Porter of Newhouse Porter Hubbard, confirmed his death in a statement shared with Deadline.
Nancy said: “He was one of the most admired and beloved people in the industry.”
Shrek 2 director Kelly Asbury has died aged 60 (Image: Getty Images)
She added: “It’s heartbreaking for everyone.”
Animation star Asbury is famed for directing both Shrek 2 and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, earning two Academy-Award nominations for his work.
He launched his career at Walt Disney Feature Animation back in 1983, working on classic films such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
Asbury worked on some of the greatest animated films of all time (Image: Getty Images)
Asbury later designed the storyboard for Toy Story, which earned $373.6 million when it was released 25 years ago.
He then moved to Dreamworks, making his directorial debut with anime blockbuster Spirit in 2002.
Asbury directed hit flick Shrek 2, which was released in 2004 (Image: Publicity Picture)
The Texas-native also directed and co-wrote the animated fantasy-comedy Gnomeo & Juliet in 2011, which starred James McAvoy and Emily Blunt.
More recently, he directed Smurfs: The Lost Village and UglyDolls, and created storyboards for Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen.
Multi-talented, the animation star also penned a number of children’s novels and wrote a biography about the world’s greatest ventriloquists like Jeff Dunham, Edgar Bergen and Shari Lewis.
Asbury is survived by his wife of nine years, Jacquie Boggs.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
