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

, hired by the

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is 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, the parent company and the distributor of i ...

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 Lillian Friedman Astor (born April 12, 1912 – July 9, 1989) was the first American female studio animator, working at for the Fleischer Brothers' studio, inking and eventually animating various Betty Boop cartoons, as well as one Popeye ...

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 spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

as Ida Wernick to

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Jewish theology, Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Or ...

, the Vernick's fled to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in order to escape from the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

. 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'', or ''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 clergyman Jonathan ...

. In 1942, she joined the army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 Auxiliaries, 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 U ...

. 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 was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsible for producing animated shorts to a ...

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 is 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 super ...

. 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 founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...

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 ...

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. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

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 September 2 ...

, and then she took a vacation in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

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 ...

Productions.

Later life and death

She briefly landed a job at the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

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

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

and was assigned at the

National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center The National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center (NAFEC) was founded July 1, 1958, by the Airways Modernization Board (AMB) and located in Galloway Township, New Jersey, near Atlantic City, New Jersey. On November 1, 1959, after passage of the ...

. 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