Gene Deitch
Encyclopedia
Eugene Merril "Gene" Deitch (born August 8, 1924) is an American
illustrator
, animator
and film director
. He has been based in Prague
, capital of Czechoslovakia
and the present-day Czech Republic
, since 1959. Since 1968, Deitch has been the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston Woods/Scholastic, adapting children's picture books. His studio is located in Prague near the Barrandov studios where many major films were recorded. In 2003, he was awarded the "Annie" by ASIFA Hollywood for a lifetime contribution to the art of animation.
Deitch married his wife Zdenka in 1960. His sons Kim Deitch
and Simon Deitch are prominent artists in the underground comix
and alternative comics
movements. He currently resides with his wife in Prague, 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."
magazine
. He was also an amateur recording engineer, who made tape recordings of artists like John Lee Hooker
and Pete Seeger
. He made recordings of Connie Converse
in the mid-1950s, which led to her rediscovery forty years later.
Deitch has produced animated cartoon
s for studios such as UPA
/Columbia Pictures
, Terrytoons
/20th Century Fox
(Tom Terrific
), MGM
(Tom and Jerry
), and Paramount Pictures
(Nudnik
. Popeye
). He directed, with producer William L. Snyder, a series of made for TV shorts of Krazy Kat
for King Features Television from 1962 to 1964. The Bluffers
, which was based on one of Deitch's ideas, was also co-produced by him. He directed the 1966 film Alice of Wonderland in Paris
.
1960's season for television by King Features
, arranged a deal with MGM
to revive the Tom and Jerry franchise overseas in Prague
, Czechoslovakia
. Deitch states that, being a member of the UPA
, he has always had a personal dislike of Tom and Jerry, citing them as the "primary bad example of senseless violence - humor based on pain - attack and revenge - to say nothing of the tasteless use of a headless black woman stereotype house servant." Stepán Konícek, a student of Karel Ančerl
and conductor of the Film Symphony Orchestra, and Václav Lídl provided the musical score for the Deitch short, while Larz Bourne, Chris Jenkyns, and Eli Bauer
wrote the cartoons. The majority of vocal effects and voices in Deitch's films were provided by Allen Swift
.
Since the Deitch/Snyder team had seen only a handful of the original Tom and Jerry shorts, and since Deitch and Snyder produced their cartoons on a tighter budget of $10,000, the resulting films were considered unusual, and, in many ways, bizarre. The characters' gestures were often performed at high speed, frequently causing heavy motion blur. As a result, the animation of the characters looked choppy and sickly. The soundtracks featured sparse music, futuristic sound effects, dialogue that was mumbled rather than spoken, and heavy use of reverb
. Fans that typically rooted for Tom criticized Deitch's cartoons for having Tom never become a threat to Jerry. Most of the time, Tom only attempts to hurt him when he gets in his way. Tom's new owner, a corpulent and grumpy middle-aged white man (with serious temper problems, often going red in the face similar to Deitch's earlier "Clint Clobber" character at Terrytoons
), was also more graphically brutal in punishing Tom's mistakes as compared to Mammy Two-Shoes, such as beating and thrashing Tom repeatedly, searing his face with a grill and forcing Tom to drink an entire carbonated beverage.
However, all thirteen shorts were commercial successes; in 1961, the Tom and Jerry series became the highest-grossing film series of all-time, dethroning the Looney Tunes
series which had held the position for sixteen years; this success was repeated once more in 1962. However, unlike the Hanna and Barbera shorts, none of Deitch's films were nominated nor did they win an Academy Award. The episodes created by Deitch have generally been less favorably received by the general audience and are often labeled as "very disappointing" compared to the rest of the series. In his review for Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Paul Kupperberg of Comicmix called the shorts "perfectly dreadful" and "too often released", as well as a result of "cheap labor".
Deitch has frequently defended his films; in an interview with the New York Times, when asked about working on the Tom and Jerry series, Deitch responded "All the experts say [my shorts are] the worst of the 'Tom and Jerry's, [...] I was a UPA man -- my whole background was much closer to the Czechs. 'Tom and Jerry' I always considered dreck, but they had great timing, facial expressions, double takes, squash and stretch," all of which the interviewer stated were "techniques the Czechs had to learn," negatively adding "The Czech style had nothing in common with these gag-driven cartoons."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. He has been based in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, capital of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and the present-day Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, since 1959. Since 1968, Deitch has been the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston Woods/Scholastic, adapting children's picture books. His studio is located in Prague near the Barrandov studios where many major films were recorded. In 2003, he was awarded the "Annie" by ASIFA Hollywood for a lifetime contribution to the art of animation.
Deitch married his wife Zdenka in 1960. His sons Kim Deitch
Kim Deitch
-Sources:* at Lambiek's Comiclopedia-External links:* Ford, Jeffrey. *Heller, Steven. **...
and Simon Deitch are prominent artists in the underground comix
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
and alternative comics
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
movements. He currently resides with his wife in Prague, 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."
Career
From 1945 to 1951 Deitch was primary graphics contributor, and eventually art director, for The Record Changer, a jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. He was also an amateur recording engineer, who made tape recordings of artists like John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
and Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
. He made recordings of Connie Converse
Connie Converse
Elizabeth Eaton "Connie" Converse was a singer-songwriter who was active in New York City in the 1950s. She disappeared in 1974, after writing goodbye letters to her friends and family, and has not been heard from since...
in the mid-1950s, which led to her rediscovery forty years later.
Deitch has produced animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
s for studios such as UPA
United Productions of America
United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio of the 1940s through present day, beginning with industrial films and World War II training films. In the late 1940s, UPA produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures, most notably the Mr. Magoo series. In...
/Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, Terrytoons
Terrytoons
Terrytoons was an animation studio founded by Paul Terry. The studio, located in suburban New Rochelle, New York, operated from 1929 to 1968. Its most popular characters included Mighty Mouse, Gandy Goose, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Deputy Dawg, Luno and Heckle and Jeckle; these cartoons and all of its...
/20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
(Tom Terrific
Tom Terrific
Tom Terrific was an early animated series on American television, presented as part of the Captain Kangaroo children's television show....
), MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
(Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
), and Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
(Nudnik
Nudnik (cartoon)
Nudnik was a Czechoslovak/Czech animated film series directed by Gene Deitch, produced by William Lawrence Snyder, and distributed by Paramount Studios. The shorts were released during 1965 and 1967 with 12 shorts...
. Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
). He directed, with producer William L. Snyder, a series of made for TV shorts of Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George Herriman, published daily in newspapers between 1913 and 1944. It first appeared in the New York Evening Journal, whose owner, William Randolph Hearst, was a major booster for the strip throughout its run...
for King Features Television from 1962 to 1964. The Bluffers
The Bluffers
The Bluffers is a Dutch children's cartoon series created by Frank Fehmers. It was first screened in 1984. The stories revolved around the inhabitants of the fictitious land of 'Bluffoonia' and their ongoing struggle against the evil tyrant 'Clandestino' and his plans to destroy the forest in...
, which was based on one of Deitch's ideas, was also co-produced by him. He directed the 1966 film Alice of Wonderland in Paris
Alice of Wonderland in Paris
Alice of Wonderland in Paris is a 1966 U.S. animated film directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder.-Plot:Young Alice, having become a celebrity for her adventures in Wonderland, is in her bedroom dreaming about visiting Paris and sharing adventures with story book girl, Madeline...
.
Tom and Jerry
In 1960, Deitch and Rembrandt Films, after collaborating in a pool of producers that made the PopeyePopeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
1960's season for television by King Features
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
, arranged a deal with MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
to revive the Tom and Jerry franchise overseas in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Deitch states that, being a member of the UPA
United Productions of America
United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio of the 1940s through present day, beginning with industrial films and World War II training films. In the late 1940s, UPA produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures, most notably the Mr. Magoo series. In...
, he has always had a personal dislike of Tom and Jerry, citing them as the "primary bad example of senseless violence - humor based on pain - attack and revenge - to say nothing of the tasteless use of a headless black woman stereotype house servant." Stepán Konícek, a student of Karel Ančerl
Karel Ancerl
Karel Ančerl , was a Czech conductor, known for his performances of contemporary music and for his interpretations of music by Czech composers...
and conductor of the Film Symphony Orchestra, and Václav Lídl provided the musical score for the Deitch short, while Larz Bourne, Chris Jenkyns, and Eli Bauer
Eli Bauer
Elias "Eli" Bauer was born in The Bronx, New York to Max and Goldie Bauer. It was his passion for art that took him out of the Bronx and into Manhattan, where he attended the School of Industrial Arts....
wrote the cartoons. The majority of vocal effects and voices in Deitch's films were provided by Allen Swift
Allen Swift
Ira Stadlen , known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor, known for playing characters including Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the Underdog cartoon show...
.
Since the Deitch/Snyder team had seen only a handful of the original Tom and Jerry shorts, and since Deitch and Snyder produced their cartoons on a tighter budget of $10,000, the resulting films were considered unusual, and, in many ways, bizarre. The characters' gestures were often performed at high speed, frequently causing heavy motion blur. As a result, the animation of the characters looked choppy and sickly. The soundtracks featured sparse music, futuristic sound effects, dialogue that was mumbled rather than spoken, and heavy use of reverb
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
. Fans that typically rooted for Tom criticized Deitch's cartoons for having Tom never become a threat to Jerry. Most of the time, Tom only attempts to hurt him when he gets in his way. Tom's new owner, a corpulent and grumpy middle-aged white man (with serious temper problems, often going red in the face similar to Deitch's earlier "Clint Clobber" character at Terrytoons
Terrytoons
Terrytoons was an animation studio founded by Paul Terry. The studio, located in suburban New Rochelle, New York, operated from 1929 to 1968. Its most popular characters included Mighty Mouse, Gandy Goose, Sourpuss, Dinky Duck, Deputy Dawg, Luno and Heckle and Jeckle; these cartoons and all of its...
), was also more graphically brutal in punishing Tom's mistakes as compared to Mammy Two-Shoes, such as beating and thrashing Tom repeatedly, searing his face with a grill and forcing Tom to drink an entire carbonated beverage.
However, all thirteen shorts were commercial successes; in 1961, the Tom and Jerry series became the highest-grossing film series of all-time, dethroning the Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
series which had held the position for sixteen years; this success was repeated once more in 1962. However, unlike the Hanna and Barbera shorts, none of Deitch's films were nominated nor did they win an Academy Award. The episodes created by Deitch have generally been less favorably received by the general audience and are often labeled as "very disappointing" compared to the rest of the series. In his review for Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection, Paul Kupperberg of Comicmix called the shorts "perfectly dreadful" and "too often released", as well as a result of "cheap labor".
Deitch has frequently defended his films; in an interview with the New York Times, when asked about working on the Tom and Jerry series, Deitch responded "All the experts say [my shorts are] the worst of the 'Tom and Jerry's, [...] I was a UPA man -- my whole background was much closer to the Czechs. 'Tom and Jerry' I always considered dreck, but they had great timing, facial expressions, double takes, squash and stretch," all of which the interviewer stated were "techniques the Czechs had to learn," negatively adding "The Czech style had nothing in common with these gag-driven cartoons."