Seymour Reit, Creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost , 83

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

http://www.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/17/us.obit.reit.ap/index.html

Seymour Reit, Casper the Friendly Ghost creator, dies
December 17, 2001 Posted: 1:42 PM EST (1842 GMT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Seymour Reit, an author and illustrator who helped
create the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost, died November
21. He was 83. 

Casper, a young ghost who tries to make friends and does not want to
scare people, was depicted in 55 animated shorts, dozens of comic
books, a television show and a 1995 movie produced by Steven Spielberg.


The character's origin was disputed by Reit and Casper's illustrator,
Joe Oriolo, but according to Reit, he developed the idea for a friendly
ghost in a short story in 1940, and Oriolo then drew up a sketch
featuring Casper in various poses. 

All rights to Casper were sold to Famous Studios at Paramount in the
early 1940s for $200, but Reit said he did not mourn what he might have
lost in the deal. 

Reit was born in New York City on November 11, 1918 -- Armistice Day.
He used his artistic talent during World War II working in a camouflage
unit. He then served with the Army Air Forces in Europe after D-Day. 

After the war, Reit wrote for the comic books "Archie" and "Little
Lulu," contributed to Casper shorts, and penned more than 60 humor
pieces for Mad magazine. 

He also wrote several nonfiction books for adults and more than 80
children's books on subjects ranging from Balto, the hero dog, to the
Confederate ironclad the Merrimack. 

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This mailing list is brought to you by Slick.ORG at http://www.slick.org
to remove yourself from the list, send e-mail to majordomo@slick.org
and include the words "unsubscribe deathwatch" in the message (not in the
subject).  For web-based help, go to:

http://www.slick.org/cgi-bin/majordomo

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *