Edith Ida Vernick (April 18, 1906 – May 25, 1992)Ancestry
/ref> was a Ukrainian-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 ...

, hired by 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 ...

in the mid-1920s and became the In between Department Supervisor. Her animation work is uncredited on ''The Fresh Vegetable Mystery'' from 1939. Although Lillian Friedman Astor is generally considered the first female American animator, Vernick's employment at the Fleischer Studios preceded Friedman's in the 1920s.

Early life

Born on April 18, 1906, in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

as Ida Wernick to

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...

, the Vernick's fled to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in order to escape from the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...

. She studied art at Washington Irving High School and took a job at a lampshade factory once she graduated.

Career

After her job at a lampshade factory, Out of the Inkwell Studios hired Vernick in 1923. She first was a cel cutter, then a washer, then an opaquer, and finally an inker. In 1931, she was put in charge of the inbetweening unit and by 1937 she was an assistant animator. She then supervised the assistant animation department for

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

. In 1942, she joined the army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and eventually ended up as a sergeant at the

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC; ) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United S ...

. Edith eventually went out of the army in the summer of 1945. She briefly was at the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (also commonly referred to as MGM Cartoons) was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsi ...

as a supervisor for the assistant animators for the short

The Cat Concerto ''The Cat Concerto'' is a 1947 American one-reel animated cartoon and the 29th ''Tom and Jerry'' short, released to theatres on April 26, 1947. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with musical superv ...

. Edith worked at

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was established as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contr ...

from 1953 to December 1955. In 1955, Vernick was once again at the MGM cartoon studio, this time as a checker, working closely with

Michael Lah Michael Richard Lah (September 1, 1912 – October 13, 1995) was an American animator of Slovene origin. He is best remembered for his work at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, primarily as a member of Tex Avery's animation unit. He first w ...

on the short ''Grin It and Share It''. She then briefly did work for TV Spots, doing commercial work. At the start of 1958 she was working for

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

for

The Huckleberry Hound Show ''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and the second series produced by the studio following '' The Ruff and Reddy Show''. The show first aired in syndication on Septembe ...

, and then she took a vacation in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

that year. Her final piece of work she did for the animation industry was '' Bozo: The World's Most Famous Clown'' at

Larry Harmon Lawrence Weiss (January 2, 1925 – July 3, 2008), better known by the stage name Larry Harmon and as his alter ego Bozo the Clown, was an American entertainer.Dennis McLellanLarry Harmon, 83; entrepreneur made Bozo the Clown a star ''Los A ...

Productions.

Later life and death

She briefly landed a job at the

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

as a file clerk, until layoffs happened there. In November 1965 she worked at the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

and was assigned at the

National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center is an aviation research and development, and test and evaluation facility. The Technical Center serves as the national scientific test base for the Federal Aviation Administration. Technical Center progr ...

. In 1985, Vernick received a Golden Award for her achievements in the animation industry. She died on May 25, 1992, at the age of 86.

References

External links

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Edith Vernick
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernick, Edith American animators American women animators 1906 births 1992 deaths Fleischer Studios people Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people Famous Studios people Hanna-Barbera people Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States