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

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple 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 gam ...

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

, producer and co-founder of

Klasky Csupo Klasky-Csupo, Inc. (stylized as KLaSKY CSUPO INC., doing business as Klasky Csupo, ) is an American animation studio located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1982 by producer Arlene Klasky and Hungarian animator Gábor Csupó (he ...

with

Gábor Csupó Gábor Csupó ( , ; born September 29, 1952) is a Hungarian-American animator, writer, director, producer and graphic designer. He is co-founder of the animation studio Klasky Csupo, which has produced shows like ''Rugrats'', ''Duckman'', '' S ...

. 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 Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outsi ...

''. She is most known for her work with Nickelodeon in the 1990s and 2000s. She, along with her ex-husband

and

Paul Germain Paul Lazarus Germain (born June 6, 1959) is an American writer, director, and producer. Among the shows Germain has written, produced or directed are ''Rugrats'', '' Recess'', "The Big Splash" from ''Even Stevens'', ''Lloyd in Space'', and '' The ...

, co-created the animated series ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently— Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, ...

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

Career

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 television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...

'', ''

Anything but Love ''Anything but Love'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from March 7, 1989, to June 3, 1992, spanning four seasons and 56 episodes. The show stars Richard Lewis as Marty Gold and Jamie Lee Curtis as Hannah Miller, coworkers at a Chicago ...

'' 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 in a ...

''; produced music videos for

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

and

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

; ''

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

'' shorts for ''

The Tracey Ullman Show ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' is an American television variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, the network's second original primetime series to air following '' Married... with Children'', and ran until May 26, ...

''; shorts for ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American 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 Workshop until June 2000) a ...

''; 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 American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s. Klasky was the creative force behind the box-office hits ''

The Rugrats Movie ''The Rugrats Movie'' is a 1998 American animated comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series ''Rugrats''. It was directed by Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien and was written by David N. Weiss & J. David Stem. The film introd ...

'' and '' Rugrats in Paris: The Movie''. ''

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on three young monsters—Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm—who attend a school for monsters under a city dump and learn to ...

'' premiered on Halloween in 1994, their second cartoon show to be aired on Nickelodeon. In 2003 she made the spin-off ''

All Grown Up! ''All Grown Up!'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. It served as a continuation of the series ''Rugrats'', as explores the daily lives of protagonist Tommy Pickles ...

''; in the United States, it aired on Nickelodeon from 2003 to 2008, and has since aired reruns on TeenNick and Nicktoons.

Personal life

She was married to her business partner

before they started their animation company and have two sons together from their marriage.

Tommy Pickles Thomas Malcolm Pickles is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated children's television series ''Rugrats,'' the reboot, and its spinoff series ''All Grown Up!''. He is also the protagonist of ''The Rugrats Movie'' (1998) and '' ...

' appearance from ''

'' is based on her younger son, Brandon. Her older son's name was Jarrett. She 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 Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

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 pop ...

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 American graphic designers 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 artists Jewish women artists American women animators Nickelodeon 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