Gene Deitch

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Gene Deitch

Born	Eugene Merril Deitch August 8, 1924 (1924-08-08) (age 83) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Illustrator, Animator, Film Director
Spouse(s)	Zdenka Deitch (m. 1960)

Eugene Merril "Gene" Deitch (born August 8, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois)^[1] is an American Academy-Award winning illustrator, animator and film director, based out of Prague. From 1945 to 1951 Deitch was a frequent contributor to The Record Changer, a jazz magazine. He has produced animated cartoons for studios such as UPA/Columbia Pictures, Terrytoons Fox (Tom Terrific^[2]), MGM (Tom and Jerry) and Paramount Pictures (Nudnik). He directed, with producer William L. Snyder, a series of made for TV shorts of Krazy Kat for King Features Television from 1962 to 1964. The Bluffers, which was based on one of Deitch's ideas, was also co-produced by him.

Since 1968, Deitch has been the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston Woods/Scholastic, adapting children's picture books. In 2003, he was awarded the "Annie" by ASIFA Hollywood for a lifetime contribution to the art of animation.^[3]

His sons Kim Deitch and Simon Deitch were prominent artists in the underground comix movement. Another son, Seth Deitch writes fiction, mostly for underground publications.

Deitch has lived in Prague since 1961 where he works as an independent animation scenarist/director. He wrote a memoir, For the Love of Prague, based on the experience of being "the only free American in Prague during 30 years of Communism".

[edit] References and footnotes

^ Jeff Lenburg, Who's Who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television (2006), ISBN 155783671X, pages 62 to 64, retrieved 2007-11-02.
^ Tom Terrific, Don Markstein's Toonpedia. Article copyright dated 2000-2005, retrieved 2007-01-28.
^ Annie Awards Winsor McCay recipient 2003 retrieved 2007-11-03.