Tissa David

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Thérèse "Tissa" David (January 5, 1921 – August 21, 2012) was a Romanian-born American animator of Hungarian ethnicity, whose career spanned more than sixty years.[1]

She was one of the pioneering women in animation, a field which had been dominated by male animators.[2][3] Millimeter magazine described her as "one of the few women to have reached the top in the traditionally male-dominated animated cartoon field" and "one of the world's best and busiest" animators in a story published in 1975.[3]

In 1953, she directed Bonjour Paris [fr], becoming the second female animator to direct an animated feature film.[2] David later became one of the first women to create and animate a major character in a film when she designed Raggedy Ann for the 1977 film, Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure.[1]

Biography

Early life

Born in

Cluj,[3] Romania, to an ethnic Hungarian family, Thérèse "Tissa" David[2] was the second oldest of her family's ten children.[2] She first became interested in animation after watching the 1937 Walt Disney animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[2]

David initially earned a degree as a teacher.[2] She then enrolled at the Academy of Beaux Arts in Budapest.[2] However, she dropped out of the school to begin her career as an assistant animator at Magyar Film Iroda, a Budapest studio.[3] In 2002, she described seeing her first animation project as, "the most exciting moment in my life."[2] She survived the bombings during the Siege of Budapest in 1944 by eating beans and horse meat.[2] David became the co-owner of the Studio Mackassy and Trsi after the end of World War II, where she oversaw the animated productions.[2][3]

Bonjour Paris

David moved to Paris, France, in March 1950 with her friend,

Hungarian Communist authorities.[2] She initially worked as a maid and cleaner in Paris while she learned French.[2] David became the animation director and principal animator for the animated film, Bonjour Paris [fr], after less than a year of living in Paris.[2] She became the second woman to direct an animated feature film with her work on Bonjour Paris, which would be released in 1953.[2] (The first female animator to direct an animated film was Lotte Reiniger.)[2] David also worked for Paul Grimault and Jean Image, both of whom were film producers, while living in Paris.[3]

Career in the United States

In 1955, David emigrated to the United States and learned

theatrical short released starring the character, Mr. Magoo.[2]

Her television commercial portfolio, which spanned the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, included spots for

Excedrin.[2]

David also worked on films,

Hubley Studios.[1][3] Her credits with the Hubleys included Of Demons and Men and Eggs, both released in 1970, and the 1974 short film, Cockaboody.[3] David animated the little girls in Cockaboody.[1]

She animated two characters, a man and a woman, for the Hubleys' 1976 independent animated film, Everybody Rides the Carousel. Actress Meryl Streep provided the voice for David's young woman in the film.[2]

David, already an animation pioneer, became one of the first women to animate a major film character with the release of

New York Times that she designed Raggedy Ann as "a plain Jane with a heart of candy – and she's all female."[1] She elaborated on the production during the same interview saying, "If the work is good, then perhaps I will prove a point ... To create a female character in an animated film, you must think like a woman and 'feel' like a woman. In other words, you must be a woman."[1][5]

David began animating for

R.O. Blechman in the late 1970s.[3] Her work with Blechman included television productions, both released in 1977: a television film, Simple Gifts and a special, A Doonesbury Special.[1] In 1988, David was awarded the Winsor McCay Award during the Annie Awards.[3]

David collaborated with Michael Sporn Animation later in her career,[1] working on Sporn's 1990 adaptation of The Marzipan Pig, as well as Ira Sleeps Over, a 1991 animated television film.[1] David also served as the animation director for Poe, based on the life of Edgar Allan Poe, which Sporn released in 2013.[3]

Death

David died from a recently diagnosed brain tumor at her apartment in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, on August 21, 2012, at the age of 91.[1][3][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Passings: Tissa David, master animator who broke ground in the field for women, dies at 91". Los Angeles Times. 2012-08-26. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  2. ^
    Wall Street Journal
    . Retrieved 2012-09-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Master animator Tissa David dies at 91, She was one of first women in male-dominated field". Variety. 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  4. ^ Beck, Jerry (2012-08-22). "Tissa David 1921–2012". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  5. New York Times
    . Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  6. Michael Sporn Animation
    . Retrieved 2012-09-09.

External links

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