| Lee Gunther | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 30, 1935 Los Angeles County, California |
| Died | August 25, 1998 (aged 63) Woodland Hills, California |
Lee Gunther (May 30, 1935-August 25, 1998) was a film editor (which, in animation parlance, means sound effects editor) on more than 85 animated shorts in all.
Starting at Warner Bros. in the 1960s, and then at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, he also worked as a production manager in the 1970s. After DePatie-Freleng was sold to Marvel Comics Group in 1981, Gunther became one of the founders of Marvel Productions, Ltd., where he served as executive vice president and executive producer on television series such as Spider-Man, G.I. Joe and The Transformers, as well as the feature-length animation Inhumanoids: The Movie. He also served as vice president of foreign production at Fox Kids.
In 1990, he co-founded Gunther-Wahl Productions with Michael Wahl. With Wahl, he served as executive producer of the animated series Angry Beavers, a Gunther-Wahl production for Nickelodeon and Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa for ABC. He and Wahl also created The Adventures of T-Rex. In his lifetime, Gunther earned four Emmy awards, two Humanitas Prizes, two Golden Reel Awards and 12 Clio awards.
Gunther died of a stroke in 1998. Long-time friend and colleague George Conte, who worked for Murakami Wolf Swenson Films and Fred Wolf Films and who first met Gunther at DePatie-Freleng said, "Lee's dedication to quality filmmaking, both technically and creatively placed him at the top of his profession. Because of his strong character and gentle ways, he was respected and loved by all who knew him. He will be missed."