- Family moved to Los Angeles when she was 8. They lived down the street from Walt and Roy Disney, who were starting their studio out of their uncle's garage.
- After training as an inker, Tompson was transferred to the Paint Department, where she helped with Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- The skilled animator would later retire from The Walt Disney Company after she worked on just about every animated feature for the company up through The Rescuers. Though she would go on to work for other studios for another ten years, Tompson once said, "It is always my Disney experience that is filled with truly unforgettable memories.".
- As a young animator at the Disney Studios in the mid-1950s, Floyd Norman noted of this remarkable woman, "Ruthie was our computer before computers were invented. Whatever the technical problem, Ruthie could usually solve it!".
- At the time of her death she was the last known living person to have been involved in any capacity with the making of the first four Disney films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo.
- She was an American camera technician, animation checker and supercentenarian.
- Tompson retired in 1975 after working for The Walt Disney Company for almost 40 years.
- She was known for her work on animated features at The Walt Disney Company and was declared a Disney Legend in 2000.
- After working on several other Disney films, Tompson was promoted to final checker position where she reviewed animation cels before they were photographed onto film. Tompson continued working for Disney and was promoted to animation checker during WWII, where she worked on training and education films, for the U.S Armed Forces, starring Disney characters such as Mickey, Donald Duck and Goofy.
- By 1948, Tompson was working in the camera department, developing camera moves and mechanics to shoot animation.
- As she stated in an interview, Tompson first met the Disneys when she visited her neighbor Robert's new baby. She recalls sitting on an apple box until her parents said they were going home for dinner.
- She experienced the 1918 influenza pandemic near the end of World War I.
- In July 2020, Tompson became a supercentenarian, and celebrities including Whoopi Goldberg wished her a happy birthday.
- Over the decades, Ruthie became one of the first women to break barriers in Hollywood. She moved through the ranks. "I went into Animation Checking and became in charge of Scene Planning, which is doing all the mechanics," Ruthie recalled. "That was the part where I felt like I was really a part of the animation, because I was helping the Animators and I was helping the Background Painters.
- Asked about the secret to her longevity, Tompson offered jokes: "It's because I'm a vampire!"; "How can I tell you my secret, because then it won't be a secret!".
- At the age of 18, Tompson started working at Dubrock's Riding Academy, where Roy and Walt Disney often played polo. Walt Disney remembered Tompson from when she was young and offered her a job as an inker.
- In 2017, Tompson was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for her contributions to the animation industry.
- Tompson was the oldest member of Women in Animation.
- In 1924, her parents divorced and her mother, Arlene, remarried artist John Roberts. The family relocated to Los Angeles and their house was in the same block as the house of Robert Disney, uncle of Walt Disney. This is where Roy and Walt Disney lived when they first came to Los Angeles.
- In retirement, she worked for an in-house television channel at the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) Country House where she lived.
- In 1952, Tompson was among the first three women to be admitted into the Hollywood camera union when she was invited to join IATSE Local 659.
- In 2000, Tompson was honored by the Disney Legends program and received the Disney Legends Award for her work at the Walt Disney Studios.
- Tompson continued to work through the Disney studio ranks, eventually becoming the supervisor of the screen planning department.
- The location of The Walt Disney Company, then known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, was not far from her home - she passed it on her way to grammar school. She was invited into the office after many times standing outside and watching them work through the window. She visited the office often and ended up appearing in the Alice Comedies.
- She became one of the first three women admitted into the International Photographers Union, Local 659 of the IATSE ( International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees).
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