The brilliant cartoonist was a great lover of modernism in animation. He passed away in his beloved city, Czech Prague. We owe him the adventures of Tom and Jerry, but also the first “Hobbit”.
Deitch has directed a dozen episodes of Tom and Jerry and several of Popeye . He died on April 16 in Prague, Czech Republic, at the age of 95. Information about his death was provided by the Czech publisher, Petr Himmel.
Deitch debuted with his illustrations in the pages of the American magazine, The Record Changer . Later his career gained even more momentum. He worked as a creative director at UPA New York, where he employed, inter alia, former Walt Disney employees. For the Terrytoons, he created the unforgettable Tom Terrific. In the late 1950s, he set up his own studio, which coincided with his move to the Czech Republic. He directed, among others the first Hobbit , as well as many Oscar-nominated titles. One of them – Munro (1960) even won a statuette!
Check out the first animated Hobbit :
Terrytoons, Tom Terrific
Film Representations, Still from Munro
The Record Changer