Gene Deitch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gene Deitch
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Gene Deitch in 2007
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| Born |
Eugene Merril Deitch
August 8, 1924 |
| Died | April 16, 2020 (aged 95) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | Illustrator, animator, director |
| Years active | 1945–2008 |
| Spouse(s) | Marie (m. 1943; div. before 1964) Zdenka Najmanová
(m. 1964) |
| Children | Kim, Simon, Seth |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (2013) |
Eugene Merril Deitch (born August 8, 1924 – died April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, and film director. He was famous for creating many animated cartoons. Gene Deitch lived in Prague, a city in the Czech Republic, from the 1960s until he passed away in 2020.
He is well-known for cartoons like Munro, Tom Terrific, and Nudnik. He also worked on popular series such as Popeye and Tom and Jerry.
Contents
Early Life and Start of Career
Gene Deitch was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 8, 1924. His father, Joseph Deitch, was a salesman. In 1929, his family moved to California. Gene went to school in Hollywood and finished high school in 1942.
After school, Deitch started working for a company called North American Aviation. He drew blueprints for airplanes there. In 1943, he joined the military for pilot training. However, he got sick and was honorably discharged in 1944.
From 1940 to 1951, he drew covers and art for a jazz magazine called The Record Changer.
Becoming an Animator
In 1955, Gene Deitch began learning at an animation studio called United Productions of America (UPA). Later, he became the creative director at Terrytoons. There, he helped create characters like Sidney the Elephant and Tom Terrific.
While at UPA, Deitch also wrote and drew a comic strip. It was called The Real-Great Adventures of Terr’ble Thompson!, Hero of History. This comic was about a brave child who went on amazing adventures.
In 1958, his cartoon Sidney's Family Tree was nominated for an Academy Award. This is a very important award in the film world. Later that year, he started his own studio in New York. His studio, Gene Deitch Associates, Inc., mostly made TV commercials.
Moving to Prague and Oscar Win
In 1959, a client named Rembrandt Films offered to pay for an animated short film Deitch wanted to make. The film was called Munro. To work on it, Deitch moved to Prague in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). He only planned to stay for ten days. But he met his future wife, Zdenka, and decided to live there permanently.
Munro was shown in Czechoslovakia in 1960. It came out in the U.S. in 1961 before the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. In 1961, Munro won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. This was special because it was the first short film made outside the United States to win this award.
Working on Famous Cartoons
From 1960 to 1963, Deitch worked with Rembrandt Films to direct Popeye cartoons for TV. He also directed 13 new Tom and Jerry shorts for MGM from 1961 to 1962.
Deitch thought the Tom and Jerry cartoons were very violent at first. But he soon realized that people didn't take the violence seriously. He saw it as a funny way to show big human feelings. He also felt that the fight between Tom and Jerry was like the story of David and Goliath. He said, "That's where we feel a connection to these cartoons: the little guy can win (or at least survive) to fight another day."
Some critics at the time didn't like Deitch's Tom and Jerry shorts. But Deitch said some fans wrote to him, saying his Tom and Jerry cartoons were their favorites.
Other Projects and Retirement
Deitch also co-produced and directed TV shorts of Krazy Kat from 1962 to 1964. He directed the 1966 film Alice of Wonderland in Paris.
In 1966, he worked on an animated film based on The Hobbit. The movie producer couldn't get enough money for a full film. So, Deitch quickly made a 13-minute animated short film to keep the rights to the story. This short film was thought to be lost for a long time. But it was found and put on YouTube in 2012.
From 1969 until he retired in 2008, Deitch was the main animation director for Weston Woods Studios. He helped turn children's picture books into films. He adapted 37 films for Weston Woods.
In 2003, Deitch received the Winsor McCay Award. This award is given for a lifetime of amazing work in animation.
Personal Life
Gene Deitch met his first wife, Marie, when they worked together. They married in 1943. Their three sons, Kim, Simon, and Seth Deitch, all became artists and writers.
In 1959, after moving to Prague, Deitch met Zdenka Najmanová. She was a production manager at the studio where he worked. They got married in 1964.
Deitch wrote a book about his life in Prague called For the Love of Prague. He called himself "the only free American living and working in Prague during 30 years of the Communist Party dictatorship." He said that even though he was watched, he was never bothered or arrested.
Gene Deitch passed away in Prague on April 16, 2020, at the age of 95.
Images for kids
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A robot drawing, representing technology and creativity.
