Hashir
Our world has lost another legend.
We have to say this with a heavy heart, but Eugene Merril Deitch is no longer with us. His work made millions and millions of people laugh. He was the reason kids would impatiently wait all day to watch their favourite show. He was a person who made people smile in their darkest of times. Without ever having to reveal himself, he ruled our hearts through his work. He was the legendary animator of everyone’s favourite cartoons Tom & Jerry and Popeye the Sailor Man.
The news of his passing away devasted people around the globe. Especially, in the world of art and animations, he had a big name. Deeply saddened over his death, artists all around the world paid homage to the legendary animator by sharing their touching artwork on the internet.
Take a look at their artwork below:
Gene Deitch passed away at the age of 95 last week on 16th of April.
Deitch spent most of his life in Prague, Czech Republic where he moved to in 1959.
While not many people recognize him by name, he was known for his works of animation in Tom & Jerry and Popeye the Sailor Man.
Before entering the world of animation, Deitch was a draftsman for North American Aviation after which he was recruited by the American army as a pilot during World War II.
In his early age, he worked on numerous animated films, cartoon series, children’s books, and comics.
After the War, his amazing work was admired by Disney and he was immediately offered the position of the artistic director of United Productions of America. (UPA)
Even though he was quite successful in America, the turning point of his life was when he moved to Prague after Rembrandt Films offered to fund his short film, Munro.
Munro was the animated version of a Jules Feiffer story. It was about a 4-year-old boy who gets drafted into the Army.
The boy tries to convince the army peronnsel that he is only a child. The short-film in less than 10-minutes, perfectly depicted the military mind-set and gave a powerful message to the world.
As expected, it was the right decision for him to move to Prague, as he won an Oscar for the best animated short film in 1960.
The whole world praised his awesome work on Munro.
His newfound success subsequently got him the opportunity to direct 13 episodes of Tom & Jerry.
However, the idea of him directing Tom & Jerry was not readily accepted by the fans.
Since Tom & Jerry were on the verge of ending its production, MGM allowed Deitch to direct some of its episodes.
However, it was more complicated than it seemed.
The Czech animators he had to work with had never seen a single Tom & Jerry before.
In the end, however, he managed to create 13 episodes which were very different than the previous Tom & Jerry.
Another major problem were the credits amid the cold war.
“Obviously, we could not put ‘Made in communist Czechoslovakia’ on our titles,” Mr. Deitch wrote.
“We were not even allowed to credit any Czechs with their true names,” He said.
Despite all the hardships and difficulties, the series proved to be a success!
Not only was Gene able to revive the all-time-classic cartoon series, but he also made Tom & Jerry the highest-grossing series of the time!
Though his animations and films were recognized by the world, he was most prominently known for his animation in Tom & Jerry.
Gene Deitch may have left this world, but he will forever live in our hearts.
The generations that are yet to come will always remember him through his amazing work.
Did you know all this about Gene Deitch? Let us know in the comments below.