PILSEN: Gene Deitch, director of Tom and Jerry has passed away at the age of 95 in Prague.
Gene Deitch, whose full name was Eugene Merrill Deitch, was an illustrator, animator, film director, and producer. He was best known for creating animated cartoons such as Munro, Tom Terrific, Nudnik, as well as Popeye.
Born in 1924 in Chicago, Deitch later arrived in Prague in 1959 and settled there. After he graduated, the Oscar-winning illustrator started working as a sketcher for North American Aviation before being drafted for the military and entering pilot training.Â
From 1945 to 1951, Gene contributed covers and interior art to jazz magazine ‘The Record Changer’. In the 1950s, he was an early supporter and audio engineer for Connie Converse, one of the first American singer-songwriters.
Deitch’s movie Munro won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1960. He was also nominated for the same award twice in 1964 for Here’s Nudnik and How to Avoid Friendship.
Earlier, he had created the Tom Terrific series, while Sidney’s Family Tree, which he co-produced was nominated for an Academy Award in 1958. In 2004, he received the Winsor McCay Award for his lifelong contribution to animation.
Read more: Iqra Aziz, Yasir Hussain spend time with pet dogs during lockdown
