Earle is a noted American animator as well as a designer, painter, and illustrator. His parents had separated by the time of his birth, and he was kidnapped at age 10 by his father, the artist and movie director Ferdinand Earle. He had his first one-person show at age 14 in Ascain, France. That same year he ran away and rejoined his mother, who was living in Hollywood, California. During the Depression he worked as a sketch artist for United Artists Studios. He established an animation company and was known for backgrounds he created for such Disney films as Sleeping Beauty and Lady and the Tramp.