Frederick George Reinert Jr. (September 14, 1925 – November 5, 2018), known professionally as Rick Reinert, was an American animator and the founder of the defunct studio Rick Reinert Productions.FREDRICKREINERT Obituary-Springfield, VA, The Plain Dealer
/ref>Fredrick Reinert Obituary-Annandale, Virginia, Legacy.com
/ref> In addition to his work on two ''

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

'' projects for

Disney 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 ...

during the early 1980s, he directed intros for ''

After School Special The American Broadcasting Company coined the term Afterschool Special in 1972 with a series of television films, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be ...

'' and ''

ABC Weekend Special ''ABC Weekend Special'' is a weekly 30-minute American television anthology series for children that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1977 to 1997, which featured a wide variety of stories that were both live-action and animated. Similar to bo ...

'', and was also a producer on '' Cap'n O. G. Readmore''.

Career

Beginnings

Beginning in 1945, Reinert began working 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 ...

and ended up at the Army Photo Center Animation Department in New York two years later. He was removed from both companies, but in 1960 he opened his own studio in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Rick Reinert Productions, producing animation for TV ads; ''The Dipsy Doodle Show'', a 1974 TV special (now considered

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

);

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's Saturday morning bumpers; intros for the children's series ''

'' (1972); and ''

'' (1977). In 1980 Reinert relocated his studio to southern California as he was contracted by

Disney Studios The Walt Disney Studios is an American film and entertainment studio, and is the Studios Content segment of the Walt Disney Company. Based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California, the studio is best known for its multifacete ...

. He later produced educational featurettes such as ''Foods and Fun: A Nutrition Adventure'' (1981), ''

Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons ''Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons'' is a short film made by Walt Disney Productions' educational media division, released on September 6, 1981. Plot Christopher Robin presents Pooh with an interesting new gift—a calendar. Pooh has neve ...

'' (1981), and ''

Winnie the Pooh and a Day For Eeyore ''Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore'' is a 1983 American animated featurette based on the sixth chapter of both books ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and '' The House at Pooh Corner'' by A.A. Milne. Produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by B ...

'' (1983).

''Cap'n O. G. Readmore'' and later

In 1983, after the success of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

's ''

Read More About It ''Read More About It'' is a public service announcement campaign created as a joint venture between CBS and the Library of Congress that ran from 1980 to 1999 on CBS. The campaign, which usually aired one at the end of a special primetime progra ...

'', the Library's Center for the Book created '' Cap'n O. G. Readmore'' in association with

. During that period, Reinert created 30- or 60-second spots to promote reading for young viewers. In 1985, he began making 21-minute specials plotting the character, starting with ''Cap'n O. G. Readmore's Jack in the Beanstalk''. He made four more until 1992 when ''Read More About It'' ended. Reinert also produced other specials such as ''The Bollo Caper'' (1985) and ''The Kingdom Chums: Original Top 10'' (1990), a direct-to-video movie that is a sequel to '' The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure'' (1986). In the early 1990s, he produced specials based on Precious Moments figurines, like ''Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas'' (1991). In 1997 he served as an animation supervisor on a half-hour ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

'' special, ''

It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown ''It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown'' is the 38th animated television special based on characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip ''Peanuts''. It is one of two direct-to-video ''Peanuts'' specials that have yet to air on U.S. TV ...

''. In 2008, Reinert briefly return to work on the

Pebbles cereal Pebbles is a brand of breakfast cereal introduced in the United States by Post Consumer Brands on October 20, 1971 featuring characters from the animated series ''The Flintstones'' as spokestoons. The product line includes Cocoa Pebbles and Fruit ...

commercials for

Post Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service **Iraqi Post, Ira ...

for two years. Reinert quietly quit making the advertisements in 2010 after Post got sued for

plagiarizing Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

the use of a

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

caricature.

Death

Reinert died in Annandale, Virginia on November 5, 2018.

Filmography

Television

*''

'' (1972; introduction sequence) *''The Dipsy Doodle Show'' (1974) *''

'' (1977; introduction sequence) *'' Cap'n O. G. Readmore's Jack in the Beanstalk'' (1985) *''The Bollo Caper'' (1985) *'' Cap'n O. G. Readmore Meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1986) *'' Cap'n O. G. Readmore Meets Little Red Riding Hood'' (1988) *'' Cap'n O. G. Readmore's Puss in Boots'' (1988) *''The Kingdom Chums: Original Top 10'' (1990; direct-to-video) *'' Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas'' (1991) *'' Cap'n O. G. Readmore Meet Chicken Little'' (1992) *'' Timmy's Special Delivery: A Precious Moments Christmas'' (1993) *'' Precious Moments presents: Simon the Lamb'' (1994) *'' Precious Moments presents: Who's Who in the Zoo?'' (1995) *'' Little Sparrow: A Precious Moments Thanksgiving'' (1996) *''

'' (1997; supervisor)

Film

*''Foods and Fun: A Nutrition Adventure'' (1981) In His Own Words: Dave Bennett on Disney's "Orange Bird"-Cartoon Research
/ref> *''

'' (1981) *''

'' (1983) *''

Mrs. Doubtfire ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It was written for the screen by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, based on the 1987 novel '' Alias Madame Doubtfire'' by Anne Fine. Robin Williams, who also ...

'' (1993: animation background sequence)

References

External links

*
Rick Reinert Productions 1977 reel on Dailymotion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinert, Rick American animated film directors American animated film producers 1925 births 2018 deaths Artists from Cleveland Animators from Ohio