Yoram Gross facts for kids

Yoram Gross (born October 18, 1926 – died September 21, 2015) was a famous film producer. He was born in Poland and later became an Australian citizen. Yoram Gross created many movies and TV shows for children and families. He was especially known for bringing popular book characters to life on screen.

Some of his most famous works include the films Dot and the Kangaroo and Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala.

Early life

Yoram Gross was born in Kraków, Poland. He came from a religious Jewish family. His brother, Natan Gross, also became a film director.

Yoram Gross lived through World War II when the Nazis were in power. His family was on a special list made by Oskar Schindler, who saved many Jewish people. However, his family chose to escape on their own. They moved and hid 72 times to stay safe.

Yoram studied music at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In 1947, when he was 20, he started working in the film industry. He was one of the first students of Jerzy Toeplitz. Jerzy Toeplitz started important film schools in Poland, Switzerland, and Australia.

Early career

Yoram Gross started his career helping Polish and Dutch film directors. He also learned how to write movie scripts.

In 1950, Gross moved from Poland to Israel. There, he worked as a cameraman for news reports and documentaries. He then became an independent film producer and director. He started winning awards at film festivals around the world.

His full-length movie, Joseph the Dreamer (1962), was a story from the Bible. It won special awards in many countries. His experimental film Chansons Sans Paroles (1958) was called a very interesting film by some critics. Another comedy, One Pound Only (1964), was very popular and sold many tickets.

Australian career

In 1967, Yoram Gross, his wife Sandra, and their young family moved to Australia. They lived in Sydney. They started the Yoram Gross Film Studio in their own house. They worked from home, which was unusual for that time. Gross continued to make experimental films and win awards.

He also made music videos for the TV show Bandstand. He worked with artists like John Farnham. In 1970, his film The Politicians won second prize at the Sydney Film Festival. In 1971, his film To Nefertiti won an award at the Australian Film Awards.

Animated films and TV series

After 1977, Gross focused on making animated films and TV shows. He still supported young filmmakers by giving awards. These included the Yoram Gross Award for Best Animated Film at the Sydney Film Festival. He also wrote a book about making animated films called The First Animated Step (1975). He made a film with the same title.

Dot series

The first animated movie from Yoram Gross Film Studio was Dot and the Kangaroo (1977). It used a special technique where drawings were placed over real-life backgrounds. The film was based on a classic Australian book by Ethel Pedley. A film critic called it a "brilliant technical success." It won Best Children's Film in Tehran. It also won an award for Best Animated Film in Australia in 1978.

Gross went on to make 16 feature films for children. Eight of these films were about Dot, the character from Dot and the Kangaroo. Dot and the Bunny (1984) won Best Animated Film in 1983. Dot and Keeto (1985) won an award at the American Film and Video Festival.

Gross also published books based on his films. These included Dot and the Kangaroo, The Little Convict, and Save the Lady.

Magic Riddle

Gross's 1991 animated film The Magic Riddle was based on his own original story. It mixed together famous fairy tales from writers like Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm.

Blinky Bill

In 1992, Gross released Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala. This film was based on a classic Australian children's book by Dorothy Wall. It introduced the Australian koala character, Blinky Bill, to people all over the world. Blinky Bill became very popular and helped Australia earn a lot of money from toys and other products.

In 1993, Yoram Gross Film Studio started making animated TV series. The first two Blinky Bill series were The Adventures of Blinky Bill and Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Excursion. They had 52 episodes and were very successful internationally, especially in Europe.

After Blinky Bill, Gross worked with another company to make the series Tabaluga. This show became very popular in Germany. In 1998, the studio finished an animated series about Australia's most famous kangaroo, Skippy. After that, they started animating Flipper and Lopaka. Both of these series had 26 episodes.

Later career

In 1999, a company called EM.TV bought half of Yoram Gross Film Studio. The new company was called Yoram Gross-EM.TV Pty Ltd (YGEM). This change helped the studio become a bigger, worldwide brand. EM.TV and YGEM planned to make 10 new series over the next five years.

The studio also worked with a Canadian company, Nelvana, to plan an animated show based on the Dumb Bunnies books.

In the new millennium, Gross and EM.TV became a top family entertainment business in Australia. They also supplied great children's content to the world. The studio made a second series of Tabaluga and Flipper and Lopaka. They also created a brand new series called Old Tom.

The Seven Network in Australia showed many programs made by Yoram Gross. This helped them provide quality children's shows. Gross and EM.TV also started the Junior TV channel in Germany, but it later closed down.

Yoram Gross's autobiography, My Animated Life, was released in April 2011.

Death

Yoram Gross passed away in Sydney on September 21, 2015. He was 88 years old.

Honours and recognition

Yoram Gross won over 80 international awards for his different films.

In 1995, he was given the title of Member of the Order of Australia. This was to honor his great work in the Australian film industry, especially his animation techniques.

In May 2007, Gross celebrated 60 years in the film industry. To celebrate, the New South Wales Film and Television Office held a special event. They showed highlights from his career, including his recent short film, Autumn in Krakow. This film was about his hometown of Kraków and was based on his late brother Nathan's poetry. In 2011, Gross received more awards from Poland for his contributions to culture.

On what would have been his 95th birthday, Google Doodle created a special image to celebrate his life and work. This was shown to people in Australia, Greece, Germany, and Israel.

Filmography

Feature films

TV series

• Bright Sparks (1989)
• The Adventures of Blinky Bill (1993)
• Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Excursion (1995)
• Samuel and Nina (1996–1997)
• Tabaluga (1997–2004)
• Skippy: Adventures in Bushtown (1998–1999) (also known as Skippy: Adventures in Bushland)
• Dumb Bunnies (1998–1999) (with Nelvana)
• Flipper and Lopaka (1999–2005)
• Fairy Tale Police Department (2001–2002)
• Old Tom (2001–2002)
• Bambaloo (2003–2004) (with The Jim Henson Company)
• Art Alive (2003–2005)
• Seaside Hotel (2003–2005)
• Blinky Bill (2004) (also known as Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Balloon Adventure and Blinky Bill's Around the World Adventures)
• Dive, Olly, Dive! (2005) (with Mike Young Productions)
• Deadly (2005–2006)
• Staines Down Drains (2006–2011)
• Master Raindrop (2008–2009)
• Legend of Enyo (2009–2010)
• Zigby (2009–2013)
• Zeke's Pad (2010)
• Vic the Viking (2013–2014)
• Tashi (2014–2015)
• Heidi (2015) (final project)

Short films

• Chansons Sans Paroles (1958)
• Song Without Words (1958)
• Hava Nagila (1959)
• We Shall Never Die (1959)
• Bon Appetit (1969)
• Barry Crocker's Danny Boy (1970)
• Janice Slater's Call It What You May (1970)
• John Farnham's One (1970)
• The Politicians (1970)
• To Nefertiti (1971)
• Seasons (1972)
• Sun (1975)
• Professor Filutek (1999)
• The Naked Tree (2003)
• Autumn in Krakow (2007)
• Fuchsia Ballerinas (2007)
• Young Musicians (2007–2008)
• Don't Forget... (2010)
• Why... (2010)
• Forest Holocaust (2011)
• Sentenced To Death (2011)
• The Liar (2012)
• Kaddish (2013)

See also

In Spanish: Yoram Gross para niños