Lee Gunther Passes Away

Animation editor and producer Lee Gunther passed away on August 25 following a stroke suffered the previous day. He was 63 years old. A memorial service was held on Saturday, August 29 at Forest Lawn in Burbank, California. Starting at Warner Bros. in the 1960s and then at DePatie-Freleng studios from 1964-1978, Gunther was a film editor on more than 85 animated shorts in all. At DePatie-Freleng, he also worked as an executive in charge of production in the 1970s. After DePatie-Freleng ceased production, Gunther was one of the founding producers of Marvel Animation, where he served as executive vice president and executive producer on television series such as "G.I. Joe" (1984, Toei/Sunbow/Marvel) and "The Transformers" (1984, Hasbro/Toei/Sunbow/Marvel), as well as the feature-length animation "Inhumanoids: The Movie" (1986, Hasbro/Starwild and Wildstar Music/Marvel). He also served as vice president of foreign production at Fox Kids Network.

In 1990, he co-founded Gunther-Wahl Productions with Michael Wahl. With Wahl, he served as executive producer of the animated series "Angry Beavers," a Gunther-Wahl production for Nickelodeon. In his lifetime, Gunther earned four Emmy awards, two Humanitas Prizes, two Golden Reel awards and 12 Clio awards. Long-time friend and colleague George Conte, who first met Gunther at DePatie-Freleng said, "Lee's dedication to quality filmmaking, both technically and creatively placed him at the top of his profession. Because of his strong character and gentle ways, he was respected and loved by all who knew him. He will be missed." Lee Gunther is survived by his wife, two brothers, two sons and two granddaughters.


The family requests that donations in Lee Gunther's memory be sent to:


UC Regents Stroke Research Program


Department of Neurology


Attn: Dr. Robert Colins, Chairman


Reed Neurological Institute C-139


404 Hilgard Ave.


Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769, U.S.A.