Gene Deitch – animator of Tom & Jerry and Popeye, dies at 95. This is the news that hit me like a flash.
You see, I am part of an era that grew-up with his cartoons.
So when a news like this arrives, it hits you hard. It leaves you hollow, in a way.
Is there someone out there who doesn’t know the 90’s cartoons Tom & Jerry or Popeye? Is there someone who doesn’t recall Gene Deitch and his illustrations of those series? I don’t think so. But if by any chance there is, let me tell you a bit about these cartoons and their animator.
Gene Deitch – animator of Tom & Jerry and Popeye
Gene Deitch is an Oscar winning animator, illustrator and filmmaker who is behind the all-known cartoons in the golden era – like I like to call it – Tom & Jerry and Popeye.
Who doesn’t remember Tom, the cat who is always on the run for the mouse Jerry, setting-up all kinds of traps to lure him out of his mouse hole and catch him? It’s Gene Deitch’s illustrations that made possible for our minds to carry such beautiful memories to our adulthood.
Or who could forget the eating-spinach loving sailor Popeye?
Although, granted watching Popeye eating spinach didn’t make me love it as well, I was always in for that scene, before any fight, where Popeye eats it and suddenly his muscle mass grows instantly and beats the bad guy. Olive was one lucky woman, I guess.
So when my boyfriend posted on this Facebook wall the news announcing this, my jaw dropped. It is a bit of a shame, you know?
Granted, we don’t live forever. This is the way of life. But nevertheless, we can always leave behind us something. And what Gene Deitch left behind him is a childhood filled with laughter for many of us, who got to live in that past golden era.
May he rest in peace!
Thanks for the awesome memories!
