This last week, the animation industry lost a giant in every sense of the word. As many of you may know, animator Jerry Eisenberg passed away on the evening of February 11th. Stu Shostak and Mark Evanier broke the news the following night. He was 87 years old and left behind a truly legendary legacy.
The son of the great Harvey Eisenberg, Jerry's animation career started during the final days of MGM. Soon afterward, he moved to WB and, in 1961, found himself at Hanna-Barbera, the studio he would become most associated with. If you can think of a series the company made between '61 and '77, he probably worked on it in some capacity. He did layouts for Jonny Quest, The Flintstones, and more. He created character designs for Wacky Races, Atom Ant, and many others. I could go on for hours.
Though this period of his career is his most famous, Eisenberg continued to work in the animation industry until his passing. He had stints at Ruby-Spears, Marvel, Disney, and WB Animation, to name a few. He even returned to Hanna-Barbera during the 1990s and made his own cartoon for the What a Cartoon! program. His career spanned over six decades, a testament to his talent.
I never got the chance to meet Mr. Eisenberg, but I know several who did. Every single one of them has spoken positively of him. He was a gentle and friendly soul who loved his work. My heart goes out to all who knew him, his wife most of all. He will be sorely missed.
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