“One reason I was part of his life was to help more people understand who he is and the full impact of what he did,” said Beck.Īpparently, Beck’s efforts have succeeded. The artist was written off in the history books. Back when animators were trained to work in the Disney methods, Gene was experimenting with his art, creating these unbelievable films and influencing a lot of people, paving the way for the independent animators of today, like Bill Plimpton.”ĭeitch’s films were rarely shown in theaters or on TV. He was the first original master of independent animation.
“I wanted to know if he understood the importance of what he was doing. It was an art form that he understood and took very seriously. “If you loved animation, people looked at you as if there’s something wrong with your head.
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They were just those little things you saw at the movie theater or that ran on Saturday mornings for children on TV,” Beck said. Gene heard from so many people that animation was a second-class citizen. “He looked at me with very skeptical eyes and asked, ‘What do you know about my work?’” Beck told Arab News from his home in California. That was 30 years ago, on the second floor of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. NEW YORK CITY: When cartoon historian Jerry Beck walked up to Gene Deitch and told him he was his greatest fan, the “Tom and Jerry” and “Popeye” director was taken aback.