Gene Deitch, whose film ‘Munro’ won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1960, has passed away at the age of 95, according to his Czech publisher.
Working behind the Iron Curtain of that time, he directed 13 episodes of the animated Tom and Jerry and also some of the Popeye the Sailor series.
The American-born Czech illustrator, animator, film director and producer died unexpectedly on Thursday in his apartment in Prague, his publisher said. In 2014, Deitch was honoured with Winsor McCay Award for his lifelong contribution to animation.