John Russell Dilworth (born February 14, 1963) 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 games ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

, director,

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and mark ...

, producer and the creator of the

animated television series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

Courage the Cowardly Dog ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' is an American animated comedy horror television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It was produced by Dilworth's animation studio, Stretch Fil ...

''. His work has mainly appeared on PBS,

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 ...

, Showtime, HBO, Fox, ABC,

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Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

, YTV,

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

, Comedy Central and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, among others.

Career

After graduation, Dilworth became an art director at Baldi, Bloom and Whelan Advertising, but continued to work on his own films in his spare time, providing much of his own funding. His animated short, ''The Chicken from Outer Space'', was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in 1996.

later commissioned Dilworth to turn the short into a series, which eventually became ''

''. Dilworth is the president of Stretch Films, a New York-based design and animation studio, which he founded in 1991. He also worked on the original opening for

Nicktoons Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...

and for shows such as ''

Doug Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

'', ''

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, a ...

'', and ''

My Life as a Teenage Robot ''My Life as a Teenage Robot'' is an American animated superhero comedy television series created by Rob Renzetti for Nickelodeon. It was produced by Frederator Studios and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Set in the fictional town of Tremorton, t ...

'', as well as the

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 ...

animated series ''

PB&J Otter ''PB&J Otter'' is an American animated musical television series. It premiered on Disney Channel's preschool block (Playhouse Disney) on March 15, 1998. A total of 65 episodes were produced during the course of its three-season run, with the final ...

''. Dilworth created the series of nine animated 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 ...

based on his independent film, "Noodles & Nedd". "Nedd" is named after the author Nedd Willard, a mentor. Dilworth's short ''Angry Cabaret'' was also featured in

's 1994 ''Animation Weekend''. His breakout film was ''The Dirdy Birdy'', which aired on MTV's

Cartoon Sushi ''Cartoon Sushi'' is an adult-animation showcase program that aired on MTV from 1997 to 1998. It was developed by Eric Calderon and produced by Nick Litwinko, and was the successor to Liquid Television. The title screen opening was illustrated b ...

and on Comedy Central. He was animation consultant of '' Gumby: The Movie'', and was also one of the directors of ''

Drew Carey's Green Screen Show ''Drew Carey's Green Screen Show'' is an American improvisational comedy television series that aired in the fall of 2004 on The WB, and the fall of 2005 on Comedy Central. The show was hosted by Drew Carey, and was somewhat a follow-up to the s ...

''. Dilworth appears in

pixilation Pixilation is a stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor beco ...

sequences in the 2013 animated short '' Subconscious Password'' by Chris Landreth. In 2017, Dilworth completed his latest animation, ''Goose in High Heels''. The 22-minute animated short could be previously be viewed on his YouTube channel, Stretch Films; however, it currently is not available online for viewing.

Stretch Films

Stretch Films, Inc. is a production company that was founded in 1991 by John R. Dilworth. It is best known for ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' on Cartoon Network as well as the many short films screened all over the world.

Filmography

* ''Pierre'' (1985) (student film; appeared on Showtime) * ''The Limited Bird'' (1989; aired on Fox) * ''Earthday Birthday'' (1990) * ''When Lilly Laney Moved In'' (1991; aired on the American Broadcasting Company) * ''Psyched For Snuppa'' (1992) (

Jumbo Pictures The Walt Disney Company has owned and operated several animation studios since the company's founding on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; the current Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, Cal ...

for Nickelodeon) * ''Smart Talk with Raisin'' (1993) (Appeared on MTV's ''

Liquid Television ''Liquid Television'' was an animation showcase that appeared on MTV from 1991 to 1995. It has served as the launching point for several high-profile original cartoons, including ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' and '' Æon Flux''. The bulk of ''Liquid ...

'' in 1994) * ''The Dirdy Birdy'' (1994) (Redux aired in 2014) * ''Angry Cabaret'' (1994) (Also appeared on ''MTV Animation Weekend'') * ''

'' (ID's) (1994–1997) * '' The Chicken from Outer Space'' (1996) Academy Award nominated short * ''Noodles and Nedd'' (1996) (later appeared on ''

'') * '' Big Bag: Ace and Avery'' (1998) * ''Hector The Get-Over Cat'' (1998) – Indent for Nickelodeon. * ''

A Little Curious ''A Little Curious'' is an American children's animated television series that ran on HBO Family for two seasons. The series premiered on February 1, 1999 until its final episode aired on May 1, 2000. The series, produced by Curious Pictures and HB ...

'' (short films) (1999) * ''

'' (series) (1999–2002) * ''Catch Of The Day'' (featuring Noodles and Nedd) (2000) * ''Courage in Scary Monsters'' (2000; ''Web Premiere Toons'' short) * ''The Mousochist'' (2001) * ''Life In Transition'' (2005) * ''The Return of Sergeant Pecker'' (2006, credited as Pierre Delarue) * '' Garlic Boy'' (2008) * ''Rinky Dink'' (2009) * ''Bunny Bashing'' (2011) * '' Pumpkin Reports'' (2012) – CGI pilot episode made by Spanish studio Motion Pictures, S.A., that hired John to direct the pilot. In 2016, was turned in a TV series. * ''The Fog of Courage'' (2014) – A special CGI short starring ''

''. * ''The Dirdy Birdy Redux'' (2014) * ''Dirdy Birdy II: A Night at Club Sheik'' (2015) – A cancelled sequel to ''The Dirdy Birdy''. * ''Prudence and the Imps'' (2016) – An unfinished animated pilot * ''Goose in High Heels'' (2017) * ''Mom got eaten by a Spider Demon'' (2017) * ''Howl if You Love Me'' (TBA)

References

External links

StretchFilms.com, Homepage of Dilworth's Animation Company
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dilworth, John R. Animators from New York (state) American cartoonists American animated film directors American animated film producers Hanna-Barbera people 1963 births Living people School of Visual Arts alumni Artists from New York City 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists Annie Award winners Cartoon Network Studios people