Philip Dey Eastman (November 25, 1909January 7, 1986) was an American screenwriter, children's author, and illustrator.

Early life

Eastman was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to Clarence Willis and Ann Hull (Dey) Eastman. After studying at

Phillips Academy Andover ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

and

Williston Academy Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United S ...

, he graduated from Amherst College in 1933 and later from the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

in New York City.

Career

Film and animation

From 1936 to 1941, Eastman worked at

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

in assistant animation, story-sketch, and production design. From 1941 to 1942, he worked in the story department of Leon Schlesinger Productions,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

's cartoon unit, and was a member of Local Number Eight Hundred And Thirty-Nine of Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists, the trade union representing cartoonists in the United States. In 1942, Eastman was drafted by the Army and assigned to the Signal Corps film unit, which was headed by Theodor Geisel, who later became known as

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' Private Snafu Private Snafu is the title character of a series of black-and-white American instructional adult animated shorts, ironic and humorous in tone, that were produced between 1943 and 1945 during World War II. The films were designed to instruct servi ...

'' series for '' Army-Navy Screen Magazine''. From 1945 to 1952, Eastman worked at

United Productions of America United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio active from the 1940s through the 1970s. Beginning with industrial and World War II training films, UPA eventually produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Picture ...

(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 ''Gerald McBoing-Boing'' is an animated short film about a little boy who speaks through sound effects instead of spoken words. It was produced by United Productions of America (UPA) and given wide release by Columbia Pictures on November 2, 1950. ...

,'' which won an Academy Award for Short Subject, Cartoons, in 1950. Eastman also directed educational films and worked on the Flight Safety series for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...

while at UPA.

Author and illustrator

Eastman, a protégé and colleague of

Theodor Geisel Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
''

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, many of which were in the

Beginner Books Beginner Books is the Random House imprint for young children ages 3–9, co-founded by Phyllis Cerf with Ted Geisel, more often known as Dr. Seuss, and his wife Helen Palmer Geisel. Their first book was Dr. Seuss's '' The Cat in the Hat'' (1 ...

series. His titles include: * ''

Are You My Mother? ''Are You My Mother?'' is a children's book by P. D. Eastman published by Random House Books for Young Readers on June 12, 1960, as part of its Beginner Books series. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the b ...

'' () (Beginner Book #18) (written and illustrated by) * ''

Go, Dog. Go! ''Go, Dog. Go!'' is a 1961 children's literature, children's book written and illustrated by P. D. Eastman. It describes the actions and interactions of a group of highly mobile dogs, who operate automobile, cars and other conveyances in pursuit ...

'' () (Beginner Book #20) * ''The Best Nest'' () (Beginner Book #51) (written and illustrated by) * ''Flap Your Wings'' () (Early Bird Book, later reissued as Random House Pictureback Book formerly and Beginner Book #88 currently) * ''The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary'' () (Beginner Book special) * ''What Time Is It?'' () (Bright and Early Board Books) - currently only available as an ebook * '' Sam and the Firefly'' () (Beginner Book #6) (written and illustrated by) * ''Big Dog...Little Dog'' (), 30th anniversary edition with additional story, words and illustrations by Peter Anthony Eastman (Beginner Book #92) * '' Red, Stop! Green, Go!'' () (Bright and Early Playtime Book) * '' Sam and Gus Light Up The Night'' () (Bright and Early Playtime Book) * ''My Nest Is Best'' () (Bright and Early Playtime Book) * ''The Alphabet Book'' () (Random House Pictureback Book, later Bright and Early Book #41 () with additional materials by Tony Eastman from the Bright and Early Board Book edition) * ''

'' () (Bright and Early Board Book, later reissued as Big Bright and Early Board Book) * ''Big Dog...Little Dog: A Bedtime Story'' () (Random House Pictureback Book) * ''Big Dog...Little Dog'' () (Bright and Early Board Book with additional materials by Peter Anthony Eastman) * ''Aaron is a Good Sport'' () (Step into Reading level 1) adapted from ''Everything Happens to Aaron in the Spring'' (Take Along Books) * ''Aaron Has a Lazy Day'' () (Step into Reading level 1) adapted from ''Everything Happens to Aaron in the Summer'' (Take Along Books) * ''Aaron Loves Apples and Pumpkins'' () (Step into Reading level 1) adapted from ''Everything Happens to Aaron in the Autumn'' (Take Along Books) * ''Aaron is Cool'' () (Step into Reading level 1) adapted from ''Everything Happens to Aaron in the Winter'' (Take Along Books) He was the illustrator for: * '' A Fish Out of Water'' adapted by

Helen Palmer Geisel Helen Marion Palmer Geisel (September 16, 1898 – October 23, 1967), known professionally as Helen Palmer, was an American children's writer, editor, and philanthropist. She was also the Founder and Vice President of Beginner Books, and was ...

(told in the little boy's own words) () (Beginner Book #23) * ''Robert the Rose Horse'' by Joan Heilbroner () (Beginner Book #25) * ''I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words'' by

Michael K. Frith Michael Kingsbury Frith (born 8 July 1941) is a British artist and television producer. He is the former Executive Vice-President and Creative Director of The Jim Henson Company. His contributions to Muppet projects have been extensive and vari ...

() (Bright and Early Book #17, later reissued as Beginner Book in the United Kingdom) * '' Go, Dog. Go!: P.D. Eastman's Book of Things That Go'' () (Bright and Early Board Books, later reissued as Big Bright and Early Board Book) * ''I'll Teach My Dog a Lot of Words'' by Michael K. Frith () (Bright and Early Board Book) He wrote but Eastman did not illustrate: * ''Snow'' illustrated by Roy McKie () (Beginner Book #27) His work is included in: * ''The Big Red Book of Beginner Books'' () (I Want to Be Somebody New!: A Sequel to Put Me in the Zoo, Sam and the Firefly, Stop That Ball!, Robert the Rose Horse, The Very Bad Bunny, and The Digging-est Dog (1995, reprinted in 2010) * ''The Big Blue Book of Beginner Books'' () (Put Me in the Zoo, A Fly Went By,

, The Best Nest and It's Not Easy Being a Bunny) (1994, reprinted in 2008) * ''The Big Purple Book of Beginner Books'' () ( A Fish Out of Water, Snow, I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words, Flap Your Wings, Big Dog...Little Dog and Fred and Ted Go Camping (2012) (his last work after his death in early 1986)

Other affiliations

Eastman was a member of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

, Westport Artists, the Screen Cartoonists Guild, and the

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

Family

In 1941 Eastman married Mary Louise Whitham of

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He had two sons, Alan Eastman and Peter Anthony (Tony) Eastman, an animator, who himself directed video adaptations of

Richard Scarry Richard McClure Scarry (June 5, 1919 – April 30, 1994) was an American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million worldwide. He is best known for his ''Best Ever'' book series that take ...

'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 ''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by the American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red b ...

Beginner Book Dictionary'' (2007).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eastman, P.D. 1909 births 1986 deaths Williston Northampton School alumni American animators American children's writers American illustrators Amherst College alumni 20th-century American writers Writers who illustrated their own writing Phillips Academy alumni National Academy of Design alumni People from Amherst, Massachusetts United States Army personnel of World War II