Gene Deitch
Biography
American director and scenarist of animation films, Gene Deitch was born on the 8th of August, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. He was educated mainly in southern California, and with encouragement of an art teacher he made his first animated cartoon at the age of 13. After graduation from Los Angeles High School in 1942 he was drafted into the U. S. Army and became a cadet in the United States Air Force. Upon his return to civil life Deitch first worked as an assistant to the art director of CBS Radio in Hollywood. On the side he became the chief cover and cartoon artist of a jazz magazine, ´The Record Changer´. In 1958 he founded his own studio ´Gene Deitch Associates, Inc.´ in New York, doing TV commercials. Deitch´s life took a decisive turn in 1959 when he was sent to Czechoslovakia to supervise Rembrandt Film´s animation projects in Prague. There he directed the Oscar-winning Munro (1961), based on a story by Jules Feiffer, a former Terrytoons and Deitch studio staff-member. In Prague he also made many cartoons for the Tom & Jerry series (1960-61) for MGM, the Popeye series (1961-62), and Krazy Kat series (1962-63) for King Features Television. Deitch´s cartoon films have been much honoured over the years. He was granted one Oscar and five Oscar nominations. His films have been featured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and also shown at the White House in Washington, DC. He currently resides with his wife Zdenka in Prague.