Lah was born in
Illinois. He worked briefly at
Walt Disney Studios before joining the
Harman-Ising studio in the mid-1930s. He later worked for
MGM as an animator and director, remaining until the studio closed in 1957. During his MGM tenure, he animated for both the
William Hanna/
Joseph Barbera and
Tex Avery units, and co-directed at various times with
Preston Blair and Avery. He was promoted to the post of full-time director after Hanna and Barbera were made studio producers. After he left MGM, he briefly rejoined Hanna and Barbera at their
Hanna-Barbera television cartoon studio as an animator on
The Huckleberry Hound Show and various other shows, then joined Quartet Films, a commercial animation studio that created television commercials for
Kelloggs and
Green Giant Foods. Some characters that Lah designed include Tony the Tiger, the Jolly Green Giant, Snap, Crackle and Pop, the Hamm's Beer Bear, and the Baltimore Orioles. He was an active member of
ASIFA-Hollywood, serving on the board for several years. In 1984, Lah received the
Winsor McCay Award for his lifetime of work in the animation field. == Personal life and death ==