Born inĀ Fresno, California, Frank Thomas attendedĀ Stanford University, where he was a member ofĀ Theta Delta ChiĀ fraternity and worked on campus humor magazineĀ TheĀ Stanford ChaparralĀ withĀ Ollie Johnston. After graduating from Stanford, he attendedĀ Chouinard Art Institute, then joinedĀ The Walt Disney CompanyĀ on September 24, 1934 as employee number 224. There he animated dozens of feature films and shorts, and also was a member of theĀ DixielandĀ bandĀ Firehouse Five Plus Two, playing theĀ piano.