Arlene Phyllis Klasky (born May 26, 1949) is an American

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 ...

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

, producer and co-founder of Klasky Csupo with Gábor Csupó. In 1999, she was named one of the "Top 25 Women in Animation" by ''

Animation Magazine ''Animation Magazine'' is an American print magazine and website covering the animation industry and education, as well as visual effects. The print magazine is published 10 times a year in the United States. History ''Animation Magazine'' was f ...

''. She is most known for her work with Nickelodeon in the 1990s and 2000s. She, along with her ex-husband Gábor Csupó and Paul Germain, co-created the animated series '' Rocket Power'' and the series ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-d ...

'' as well as the 2021 revival series of the same name.

Career

Klasky Csupo

Klasky Csupo was formed with Gábor Csupó in the couple's two-bedroom

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

apartment in 1980. The company later was moved to Seward Street in Hollywood. They designed the logos for ''

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired from April 12, 1987 to April 27, 1991, spanning 103 episodes over five s ...

'', '' Anything but Love'' and ''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990, to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions ...

''; produced music videos for

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

and

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

; '' Simpsons'' shorts for ''

The Tracey Ullman Show ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' is an American television sketch comedy variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, as the network's second original primetime series, following '' Married... with Children'', and ran fo ...

''; shorts for ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''; and the opening titles for ''In Living Color''. In 1989, after the birth of Klasky and Csupo's two sons, Klasky Csupo was asked by Nickelodeon for ideas, but Klasky felt she didn't have any since she mainly watched her sons go to the bathroom. ''Rugrats'' was inspired by the boys and what they would say if they could talk. The series started in August 1991 with the unaired pilot "Tommy Pickles and the Great White Thing". ''Rugrats'' went on to become one of Nickelodeon's most iconic and successful television series, winning three

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s. Klasky was the creative force behind the box-office hits '' The Rugrats Movie'' and '' Rugrats in Paris: The Movie''. ''

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. It is the fifth Nicktoons, Nicktoon after ''Doug (TV series), Doug'', ''Rugrats'', ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' and ''Rocko's Modern Li ...

'' premiered on Halloween in 1994, their second cartoon show to be aired on Nickelodeon. In 2003 she made the spin-off '' All Grown Up!''; in the United States, it aired on Nickelodeon from 2003 to 2008, and has since aired reruns on TeenNick and Nicktoons. Arlene and Gabor created the '' Rocket Power'' television series. It was inspired by watching their own kids get involved with extreme sports.

Personal life

Klasky grew up in the beach town of

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

and is very familiar with the sport of

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

, which helped serve as creative inspiration for her television series, '' Rocket Power''. She was married to her business partner Gábor Csupó before they started their animation company; they have two sons together from their marriage. Tommy Pickles' appearance from ''

'' is based on their younger son, Brandon. Their older son, Jarrett Csupó, died in 2018 from

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

at the age of 33. Klasky is of

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

and

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

descent.

References

External links

* * (Hector Navarro, moderator). Published June 3, 2016; listened June 4, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Klasky, Arlene 1949 births Animators from Nebraska Artists from Omaha, Nebraska Living people Showrunners of animated series American graphic designers American women graphic designers 20th-century American Jews American television producers American animated film producers American women television producers California Institute of the Arts alumni Jewish American animators Jewish American artists Jewish women artists American women animators Nickelodeon people Nickelodeon Animation Studio people American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American women 21st-century American women American television show creators