Gene Deitch (born August 8 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is an American Academy-Award winning illustrator, animator and film director, based out of Prague. From 1945 to 1951 Deitch was a frequent contributor to The Record Changer, a jazz magazine. He has produced animated cartoons for studios such as UPA/Columbia (Tom Terrific), MGM (Tom and Jerry), and Paramount Pictures (Nudnik).

Since 1968, Deitch has been the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston Woods/Scholastic, adapting children's picture books. In 2004, he was awarded the "Annie" by ASIFA Hollywood for a lifetime contribution to the art of animation.

His sons Kim Deitch and Simon Deitch were prominent artists in the underground comix movement. Another son, Seth Deitch writes fiction, mostly for underground publications.

Deitch has lived in Prague since 1961 where he works as an independent animation scenarist/director. He wrote a memoir, For the Love of Prague, based on the experience of being "the only free American in Prague during 30 years of Communism".

External links

• Gene Deitch official site
• "How to succeed in animation" - a long article by Gene Deitch

1924 births | Living people | Czech animators | American animators | American film producers | American film directors | Chicagoans | Terrytoons | English-language film directors

Gene Deitch