Morton Schindel (April 23, 1918 – August 20, 2016) was an American educator, producer, and founder of Weston Woods Studios, which specializes in adapting

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

into animated films. He named the company after the wooded area outside his home in

Weston, Connecticut Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,354 at the 2020 census with the highest median household income in Connecticut. The town is served by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the ...

.Morton Schindel and Weston Woods
/ref> Born and raised in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

, Schindel went to the University of Pennsylvania, earning a bachelor's degree in 1939 from the Wharton School of Finance. In 1941 he married Ellen Bamberger (of the family famed for the Bamberger's department store chain); the couple had two daughters and one son. In 1948, he worked with Teaching Films Inc. After it declared bankruptcy, he opened his own company, Key Productions, but found film distributors uninterested in his ideas to create animated films of children's picture books.

Weston Woods Studios

In 1949, Schindel received a master's degree in curriculum from Teachers College, Columbia University. In 1953, he founded Weston Woods Studios, which has since produced more than 500 films and film strips, beginning with ''Andy and the Lion'' (1954), adapted from the 1939 Caldecott Honor book by James Daugherty. Weston Woods films were shown at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in 1956, and that same year the films had their

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 ...

television premiere on ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television progra ...

''. In 1963, the studio released its first animated film, '' The Snowy Day'', adapted from the 1962 Caldecott Medal book by

Ezra Jack Keats Ezra Jack Keats (né Jacob Ezra Katz; March 11, 1916 – May 6, 1983) was an American people, American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustrating ''The Snowy Day'', which he also wrote. Keats wr ...

, and the following year, it produced a documentary. ''The Lively Art of Picture Books'', for the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

. ''The Doughnuts'' (1963) was a 28-minute live-action comedy based on a chapter from

Robert McCloskey John Robert McCloskey (September 15, 1914 – June 30, 2003) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He both wrote and illustrated eight picture books, and won two Caldecott Medals from the American Library Association for t ...

's ''Homer Price'' (1943). Beginning in 1968, Gene Deitch became the leading animation director for Weston Woods, working from his studio in Czechoslovakia with his wife, Zdenka Deitchova.

Recognition

Known for remaining faithful to the books he adapted, Schindel was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

'' Doctor DeSoto'' (1984), which he produced with

Michael Sporn Michael Sporn (April 23, 1946 – January 19, 2014) was an American animator who founded his New York City-based company, Michael Sporn Animation in 1980, and produced and directed numerous animated TV specials and short spots. Sporn was nominat ...

. In the tale a mouse-dentist agrees to treat a fox, yet he fears he could be eaten by the fox. Schindel recalled, “This was probably one of our best films. The book it was based on had great illustrations and won a Newbery medal for its writing, so it made for a great film.” Schindel also made documentaries about artists, such as the 18-minute ''Robert McCloskey'' (1964), a documentary which is sometimes screened in art schools. The film shows McCloskey sitting in the Boston Public Garden and intercuts pages from his sketchbook drawings for ''Make Way for Ducklings''. The illustrator discusses experiences that have influenced his work and the relationship of craftsmanship to inspiration. In 1996, Scholastic, Inc. acquired Weston Woods, and Schindel founded the nonprofit Weston Woods Institute to work on such educational endeavors as the Children's Literacy Project.

Awards and honors

Schindel was awarded the

Regina Medal The Regina Medal is a literary award conferred annually by the U.S.-based Catholic Library Association. It recognizes one living person for "continued, distinguished contribution to children's literature without regard to the nature of the contri ...

in 1979. In 2002, Weston Woods was the focus of the Donnell Library Center's "Meet the Maker" film series. "Twentieth-century Mirrors: America Seen through the Eyes of Independent Filmmakers," which featured a panel discussion with Schindel and Deitch as part of a month-long program honoring Weston Woods’ 50 years of films. In 2007, Schindel was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Connecticut Center for the Book, associated with the Library of Congress, and a plaque from the International Storytelling Center acknowledged his contribution to “Blazing New Trails for Storytelling.” Purdue University's College of Education includes a study of Weston Woods films in an undergraduate children's media course, and in 2008 Schindel received an honorary doctoral degree in education from Purdue.Gay, Patricia. "Morton Schindel, Weston filmmaker receives honorary degree from Purdue University," ''Weston Forum'', May 28, 2008.
Schindel's wife, Cari Best, is a prolific children's book author (''Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen'') with Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

References

External links

Oscars Site: Morton SchindelThe Occasional DeitchWeston Woods Timeline
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schindel, Morton 1918 births 2016 deaths Film producers from New Jersey People from Orange, New Jersey University of Pennsylvania alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni