Tribute: Fans Thank Gene Deitch For Giving a Memorable Childhood!

Tribute: Fans Thank Gene Deitch For Giving a Memorable Childhood!
Image source: Google

Many of us are mourning the death of the 95-year-old Gene Deitch, an American-Czech illustrator, animator, comics’ artist who died last Thursday. Gene was the one who bought laughter and joy in the childhood of many with his legendary cartoons, 'Tom and Jerry' and Popeye. Children and adults, both were fan of his work.

As reported by international tabloids, Gene Deitch died in his apartment in Prague's Little Quarter on Thursday night. Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was 95.

His name is mostly associated with popular U.S. cartoon series like 'Tom & Jerry' and 'Popeye' in the early 1960s, which is famous among audiences to this day. However, Deitch had a strong influence on the innovative animation studio UPA, where he worked as a director. He also breathed new life in Terrytoons for two years.

Later in his career Deitch adapted many popular children's stories into animated shorts, of which 'Munro' (1962) won an Academy Award. He also created cartoons around his own creation - 'Nudnik' (1965-1967).

His Early Years:

Eugene Merril Deitch, nicknamed "Kim", was born in 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, as the son of Czechoslovakian immigrants. When he was five years old the family moved to California. After graduating from Los Angeles High School in 1942, Deitch got a job at North American Aviation, where he designed aircraft blueprints.

Deitch had an interest in drawing from an early age. He considered Jim Flora and Walt Disney among his main graphic influences.

In 1948 Deitch created an one-panel gag cartoon for The Record Changer, titled 'The Cat' (1948). The title character was no literal cat, but a geeky and obsessive record collector. Many of 'The Cat' cartoons have proven to be remarkably timeless.

Terrytoons:

Deitch arrived at Terrytoons when founder Paul Terry had just retired and sold everything off to CBS. In production since 1919, it was the longest-running animation studio at that point. They had some successes with series like 'Farmer Alfalfa', 'Mighty Mouse' and 'Heckle & Jeckle', but suffered from very formulaic plot lines. In full creative control, Deitch tried to break with their conventional style. He cancelled all their familiar series and came up with completely new characters, like the French painter Gaston Le Crayon (1957), the callous but sensitive on the inside Clint Clobber (1957) and the bumbling Sidney the Elephant (1958).

Popeye:

Between 1 September 1960 and 13 September 1962 the popular comic strip 'Popeye', originally created by E.C. Segar, was first adapted for television. 'Popeye' had been popular since 1933, when the Fleischer Brothers made theatrical cartoons until their studio went bankrupt in 1942. Famous Studios, the animation department of Paramount, continued making 'Popeye' cartoons for the big screen until they downsized in 1957 and changed their name to Paramount Cartoon Studios.

Tom and Jerry:

Between 7 September 1961 and 21 December 1962 Deitch was involved with another reboot of a classic franchise: 'Tom & Jerry'. Much like 'Popeye', Hanna Barbera’s cat-and-mouse duo remained popular on TV, even though MGM had discontinued production of the cartoons since 1957. Deitch had directed 13 episodes of Tom and Jerry

His Final Years:

He wrote down his memoirs in his autobiography, 'For the Love of Prague: The True Love Story of the Only Free American in Prague during 30 years of Communism' (2002). Deitch's won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1960 for his film Munro. He also received nominations for the same category twice in 1964 for Here's Nudnik and How to Avoid Friendship.

In 2003 Gene Deitch received the Winsor McCay Award for his lifelong contribution to animation. Since 2011 he hosted his own blog. Gene Deitch passed away in 2020 at age 95.