Tom
&
Jerry
has
been
a
big
part
of
everyone's
childhood
across
the
world.
Over
the
weekend,
it
was
reported
that
Tom
and
Jerry
director
and
well-known
illustrator
Gene
Deitch
passed
away
at
the
age
of
95.
According
to
Unilad,
Gene
Deitch
passed
away
on
April
16,
2020,
in
his
apartment
in
Prague.
The
cause
of
the
death
has
not
been
confirmed
yet,
but
his
publisher,
Petr
Himmel,
confirmed
the
news
of
his
passing,
saying
that
Gene
died
'unexpectedly'.
During
his
long
career,
the
oscar-winning
illustrator,
whose
full
name
was
Eugene
Merrill
Deitch,
was
best
known
for
creating
cartoons
such
as
Munro,
Tom
Terrific,
Nudnik,
as
well
as
Popeye.
He
worked
as
a
creative
director
at
Terrytoons,
under
20th
Century
Fox,
where
he
drew
and
created
characters
like
Sidney
the
Elephant,
Gaston
Le
Crayon,
Clint
Clobber
and
Terr'ble
Thompson.
Gene
reportedly
also
produced
a
number
of
Popeye
cartoons
in
the
60s,
as
well
as
a
dozen
Tom
and
Jerry
cartoons
for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
which
will
always
be
his
greatest
creation.
Deitch
is
survived
by
his
wife
Zdenka
Deitchova
and
three
sons
from
his
first
marriage
with
Marie
Deitch.
Gene's
sons
are
all
writers
and
artists
for
Alternative
comics.