P. D. Eastman

P. D. Eastman
Born Philip Dey Eastman
(1909-11-25)November 25, 1909
Amherst, Massachusetts
Died January 7, 1986(1986-01-07) (aged 76)
Cresskill, New Jersey
Occupation Writer, illustrator, storyboard artist
Nationality United States
Genre Children's literature
Notable works Go, Dog. Go!
Are You My Mother?
Spouse Mary Louise Whitham
Website
pdeastmanbooks.com

Philip Dey "Phil" Eastman (November 25, 1909 – January 7, 1986) was an American screenwriter, children's author, and illustrator. As an author, he is known primarily as P. D. Eastman.

Early life

Eastman was born in Amherst, Massachusetts to Clarence Willis and Ann Hull (Dey) Eastman. After studying at Phillips Academy, Andover and Williston Academy, he graduated from Amherst College in 1933 and later from the National Academy of Design in New York City.

Career

In film and animation

From 1936 to 1941, Eastman worked at Walt Disney Productions in assistant animation, story-sketch, and production design. From 1941 to 1942, he worked in the story department of Leon Schlesinger Productions, Warner Brothers's cartoon unit, and was a member of Local Number Eight Hundred And Thirty-Nine of Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists, the trade union to which cartoonists belonged in the United States.

In 1942, Eastman was inducted into the Army. He was assigned to the Signal Corps Film Unit which was headed by Theodor Geisel, who later became known as Dr. Seuss. Here, Eastman conducted picture planning for animated sequences in orientation and training films, and he also wrote scripts and drew storyboards for the Private Snafu series for Army-Navy Screen Magazine.

From 1945 to 1952, Eastman worked at United Productions of America (UPA). He was a writer and storyboard artist for the Mr. Magoo series. Eastman and Bill Scott co-wrote the screenplay for the animated comedy Gerald McBoing-Boing, which won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Subject in 1951. Eastman also directed educational films and worked on the Flight Safety series for the Bureau of Aeronautics, U.S.N. while at UPA.

As an author

Eastman was a protégé and colleague of Theodor Geisel by the time that Geisel had begun using the pen name of Dr. Seuss. He wrote many books for children in his own distinct style under the Dr. Seuss brand of Random House, many of which were in the Beginner Books series. His titles include:

He was the illustrator for:

He wrote but did not illustrate:

His work is included in:

Other affiliations

Eastman was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, Westport Artists, the Screen Cartoonists Guild, and the Audubon Society.

Family

Eastman was married in 1941 to Mary Louise Whitham of Glendale, California. He had two sons, Alan Eastman and Peter Anthony (Tony) Eastman, an animator, who himself directed video adaptations of Richard Scarry's children's books. Peter has also written and illustrated Fred and Ted Go Camping (2005), Fred and Ted Like to Fly (2007), and Fred and Ted's Road Trip (2011), and contributed new illustrations to several reissues of his father's books, The Alphabet Book (2000), Big Dog... Little Dog (2003), Red Stop! Green Go! (2004), and The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary (2007).

References

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