Carl Macek, rest in peace.
It is with heavy heart that I pass along some sad news, the passing of Carl Macek on Saturday, 17 April 2010. While his name is not exactly one uttered in households across the country he is known for his work in the world of cinema but animation. He worked for Harmony Hold USA, which is best known for stitching together three anime series (Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA) into the television show that probably introduced a large contingent of people my age to anime as children, Robotech. Macek also helped create Spumco in the late 80's, the animation house best known for Ren and Stimpy. Macek was involved with Streamline Pictures after Ren and Stimpy was sold to Nickelodeon; Streamline Pictures licensed and dubbed a lot of anime that is now considered classic, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Wicked City, and Akira. More recently he was involved in bringing some fan favorite series to the States - the anime juggernauts Naruto and Bleach. Love him or hate him (and his work), you can't deny the impact he had on broadcast culture in the United States. Without Macek bringing dubbed anime to the States and the airwaves, chances are it would never have caught on as strongly as it did. It would certainly have remained the province of a couple of determined fans watching raw anime on tape at conventions without Macek's intervention.
Thanks, Carl.