Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist,[3] and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020.

[6] In the 1950s, Deitch was an early supporter and audio engineer for Connie Converse, one of the first American singer-songwriters,[8] recording sessions that made up her debut album How Sad, How Lovely.

[9] In 1955, Deitch took an apprenticeship at the animation studio United Productions of America (UPA), and later became the creative director of Terrytoons,[6] creating such characters as Sidney the Elephant,[10] Gaston Le Crayon,[11] Tom Terrific, and Clint Clobber.

In August 1958, he was fired from Terrytoons and set up his own studio in New York called Gene Deitch Associates, Inc., which primarily produced television commercials.

[21] He also came to see what he perceived as the "biblical roots" in Tom and Jerry's conflict, similar to David and Goliath, stating "That's where we feel a connection to these cartoons: the little guy can win (or at least survive) to fight another day.

[22] Alongside Rembrandt's head William L. Snyder, Deitch co-produced and directed a series of TV shorts of Krazy Kat for King Features from 1962 to 1964.

[23] From 1969 until his retirement in 2008, Deitch was the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston Woods Studios, adapting children's picture books.

Deitch adapted 37 films for Weston Woods, from Drummer Hoff in 1969 to Voyage to the Bunny Planet in 2008.

[26] Several days after arriving in Prague in October 1959, Deitch met Zdenka Najmanová, the production manager at the studio Bratři v triku where he worked.