Mr. William Steig (1907-2003), was an American cartoonist and a writer of many children's books which include Shrek!, Pete's a Pizza and Sylvester & The Magic Pebble. But in 2003, Mr. William Steig who was in his 90's, died from natural causes. During the time when Shrek 2 was made in 2004, the film was dedicated to him in his honor, as shown in the credits of the film. His son Jeremy Steig, played the Pied Piper in Shrek Forever After.
Career[]
Hailed as the "King of Cartoons", Steig began drawing illustrations and cartoons for The New Yorker in 1930, producing more than 2,600 drawings and 117 covers for the magazine. One of his cartoon character, Poor Pitiful Pearl, was made into a popular line of dolls starting in 1956.
Later, when he was 61, Steig began writing children's books. In 1968, he published his first children's book. He excelled here as well, and his third book, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969, won the Caldecott Medal. He went on to write more than 30 children's books, including the Doctor De Soto series, and he continued to write into his nineties.
In 1990, Steig's book Shrek! was released to critical acclaim. The book formed the basis for the DreamWorks Animation film Shrek (2001). After the release of Shrek 2 in 2004, Steig became the first sole-creator of an animated movie franchise that went on to generate over $1 billion from theatric and ancillary markets after only one sequel. Although much of the film's plot and characters deviated from the book, Steig liked the film. In an interview following the film's release, Steig gave his opinion of the film: "It's vulgar, it's disgusting - and I loved it."
Steig had previously been involved with animation with his book Doctor De Soto. In 1984, an animated adaptation of the book, directed by Michael Sporn, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Steig received the CINE Golden Eagle Award in Education for the film adaption of this book.
Death[]
Steig died of natural causes in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 3, 2003, at the age of 95. Shrek 2, which was released seven months after his death, was dedicated to his memory.