Alan J. Shalleck (November 14, 1929 – February 6, 2006) was an American writer and producer for children's programming on television, most known for his work on later ''

Curious George Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series. Geor ...

'' books and the 1980s television shorts. Shalleck studied drama at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

and went to work for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in the 1950s, eventually becoming an associate producer on the children's television series ''

Winky Dink and You ''Winky Dink and You'' was a CBS children's television show that aired from 1953 to 1957, on Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m. Eastern / 9:30 Central. It was hosted by Jack Barry and featured the exploits of a cartoon character named Winky Di ...

''. In the early sixties he moved to Montreal where he produced "Like Young", at CFCF-TV, a highly successful teen music/dance show starring Jim McKenna that was eventually picked up and syndicated by Dick Clark Productions. Following his years at CBS, and CFCF-TV Shalleck was a producer at The Network for Continuing Medical Education and then formed his own production company (AJ Shalleck Productions) and produced a number of low-budget children's animated films and television episodes. In 1977, he approached

Margret Rey Margret Elizabeth Rey (born Margarete Elisabeth Waldstein; May 16, 1906 – December 21, 1996) was a German-born American writer and illustrator, known best for the ''Curious George'' series of children's picture books that she and her husband H. ...

about producing a television series based on Curious George, which led to the 1980 television show. Shalleck and Rey wrote more than 100 short episodes for the series. In addition, they collaborated on a number of children's books and

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

s. (Some of these books list Rey as the author and Shalleck as the editor, while others reverse the credits.) In his retirement, Shalleck created the company "Reading By GRAMPS" and visited local elementary schools, bookstores, and other events to read books to children and promote literacy. However, he also experienced financial problems and was forced to supplement his income with part-time jobs. He most recently worked as a bookseller for

Borders Books Borders Group, Inc. (former NYSE ticker symbol BGP) was an American multinational book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. In its final year, the company employed about 19,500 people throughout the U.S., primarily in ...

Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about 57 miles north of Miami. The population was 68,217 at the 2010 census. In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 78,679 according to the University o ...

. On February 7, 2006, a few days before the theatrical release of a ''Curious George'' animated motion picture, Shalleck's body was discovered, partially hidden, at his home in

, a victim of a robbery/

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

. His attackers were tracked down using the victim's phone records. They confessed to the crime. On October 19, 2007, one of Shalleck's murderers, 31-year-old Rex Ditto, was sentenced to life in prison and is not eligible for parole. Ditto's co-defendant, Vincent Puglisi, was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon on June 24, 2008. He was sentenced in July 2008 to life in prison and is also not eligible for parole.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shalleck, Alan American children's writers Television producers from New York (state) 1929 births 2006 deaths 2006 murders in the United States American murder victims Syracuse University alumni Deaths by stabbing in Florida People murdered in Florida Male murder victims People from Boynton Beach, Florida Curious George Television producers from Florida