Gene Deitch began his career as an animator at UPA, then joined TerryToons in 1955. He headed a unit that gave the studio's copyrighted characters a very contemporary look. Early on, Gene was into animation for television with episodes of Mighty Manfred and Tom Terrific for the Captain Kangaroo Showin the 50s and 60s. He had a unit at UPA in New York that specialized in TV commercials. In 1958 he produced Sidney's Family Tree which was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1958 he was fired from TerryToons. Gene met his future wife, Zdenk, on a visit to the Czech Republic in 1959 and moved to Prague in 1960. He directed dozens of Tom and Jerry cartoons for MGM plus Krazy Kat, Popeye and Munro. He also directed TV series featuring Beetle Bailey and Friends, Hector Heathcote, How to Live With a Neurotic Dog, Here's Nudnik and, in 1991, the Nudnik Show. He has produced a huge body of animated shorts and series through a European distribution company called Weston Woods. Gene recently was in Hollywood at the Egyptian Theater for a retrospective of his work presented by ASIFA. He still lives in Prague, but tonight he's here.

2005 GOLDEN AWARDS PORTRAITS