[2] Nolan attended La Salle Academy and Classical High School in Providence, Rhode Island.
[3] Nolan first began his career in 1910 as a newspaper cartoonist, then worked for Raoul Barre and Kings Features until 1918.
Nolan went to the Walter Lantz Studio from 1929 until 1935, where he animated and briefly voiced Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
[2][1] Nolan would later leave Lantz to start out Mayfair Productions to produce Skippy cartoons, but only one "The Dog Catcher" was released for United Artists.
During World War II, Nolan was in the Navy drawing technical manuals with Timm Aircraft.