Savino was born and raised in Royal Oak, Michigan, where he attended Dondero High School.[2] He is the ninth of ten children, having five sisters and four brothers.[3] His biggest influence in the animation world was Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures because of the way its animation style differed from that of the other 1980s animated series.[4]
Career
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On November 1, 2019, Savino released his debut children's novel, Coal: A Cautionary Christmas Tale, through Amazon Publishing. Later on December of the same year he published the first installment of his graphic novel duology Bigfoot & Gray.
On March 3, 2020, he published his first non-fiction book, a guide to write cartoons entitled Writing Cartoons in 4 Acts (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Midpoint).
Since January 5, 2020, he also publishes the Sunday stripFor Brothers.[7]
On October 17, 2017, Cartoon Brew reported that Nickelodeon had suspended Savino from their studio due to multiple allegations of sexual harassment against him; rumors of Savino's inappropriate behavior had existed for "at least a decade".[8][9] As many as a dozen women accused Savino of sexual harassment, unwanted sexual advances, and threats of blacklisting female colleagues who no longer agreed to consensual relationships with him.[8][10] On October 19, a Nickelodeon spokesperson confirmed that they fired Savino, and that The Loud House would continue production without him.[10][11]
On October 23, Savino spoke for the first time since the allegations first appeared, saying he was "deeply sorry" for his actions.[12] On May 30, 2018, he was given a one-year suspension from The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839. As part of his plea bargain with The Animation Guild, Savino was ordered to donate $4,000 to a charity chosen by the guild, complete 40 hours of community service, undergo counseling, and obtain a certificate of sexual harassment training.[13]
The allegations and his union suspension process were featured in a March 2019 segment on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee titled "#MeToon" that was produced and animated by a crew of all women, and featured interviews with a few of the female animators that were involved in his successful union suspension campaign along with one of his alleged victims.[14]
