Anton C. Loeb (31 March 1908 – 10 December 1984) was a
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
,
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...
and theatrical
animator
An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...
.
Loeb illustrated children's books in the late 1940s, including a collection of
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a Slavery in ancient Greece, slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 Before the Common Era, BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stor ...
in a book called ''Storytime Favorites''. Loeb worked primarily as one of
Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS.
**Paramount Picture ...
's lead theatrical cartoon Background Painters the 1950s, and then moved on to TV animation in the 1960s. He worked for
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...
, which produced the ''
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Wizard Of Oz'', adapted from
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', part of a series. In addition to the 14 ''Oz'' books, Baum penned 41 other novels ...
's 1900 classic original. This
abridge
Abridge is a village in Essex, England. It is on the River Roding, southwest of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Epping Forest and in the parliamentary constituency of Brentwood and Ongar. It is part of the civi ...
d version was published in 1950 by
Random House
Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
.
Loeb was born in Hungary on March 31, 1908, and raised in New York City. When he was 15 he was a scenic designer for the Metropolitan Opera Company. He had already attended the Academy of Design in New York under the sponsorship of banker George Baker. Loeb also sang in the Brooklyn Academy of Music, moved on to Broadway and the lead in musical comedies but laryngitis robbed him of his ability to sing.
Personal life
He was married on Feb 14, 1939 to Frances Ravitz in Miami, Florida, where he was working on the
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...
cartoons. After moving back to New York when Paramount took over the Fleischer studio, he returned to Florida in 1949 and lived on Di Lido Island. He died of cancer in Miami on December 10, 1984, at the age of 76.