The Oscar-winning animator, illustrator and director, Gene Deitch, known in part for creating iconic cartoons such as "Tom & Jerry"And"Popeye", died at the age of 95. The news of his disappearance was released by Comicbook and confirmed by the Czech publisher, Petr Himmel, stating that Deitch died unexpectedly last Thursday at his home in Prague. No further details or cause of death have been provided at this time.
Eugene Merrill Deitch, born August 8, 1924 in Chicago and moved to California as a child, after graduating from high school, he worked as a draftsman for North American Aviation. He enlisted and began training as a pilot for the army, but was discharged for medical reasons in 1944, after which he returned to work in the commercial art world. Soon after, his animation career took off, earning several awards. He also worked as the creative director of Terrytoons sotto at 20th Century Fox, creating several characters, including Sidney the elephant, Gaston Le Crayon and many others.
Deitch was nominated for an Oscar in 1958 for "Sidney's Family Tree"And subsequently won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1960, Munro. Furthermore, in 1964 he was nominated for the same award for both "Here Nudnik" and for "How to Avoid Friendship". In addition to the Academy Award won in 1960, Gene Deitch received in 2004 the Winsor McCay Award for his permanent contribution to animation.
