William L. Snyder
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
One of the first Americans to do business in postwar Eastern Europe, William L Snyder imported European films through his production company Rembrandt Films (founded in 1949). Two years later, he brought Czechoslovakian director Jiri Trnka's adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Emperor's Nightingale" to the USA. This puppet-animation film, featuring a new English narration by Boris Karloff, was released to critical acclaim. Snyder also produced the animated drama "White Mane" (1952), a poignant story of the friendship between a fierce stallion and a small boy. In 1959, he teamed with animator Gene Deitch, the former head of UPA Studios, to produce cartoons in Prague. Five films distributed by Rembrandt Films earned Academy Award nominations and Snyder picked up a statuette for the 1960 Jules Feiffer short "Munro," an eight-minute animated film about a four year old boy mistakenly drafted into the Army. Rembrandt Films also adapted and animated many classic children's books including Ludwig Bemelmans' popular "Madeline" series, James Thurber's "Many Moons" and Eve Titus' "Anatole." The 1964 Oscar-nominee "Nudnik # 2" spawned a series of films including "Here's Nudnik" (1965), "Nudnik on the Roof" and "From Nudnik With Love" (both 1966). Snyder's last film credit was 1966's feature "Alice in Wonderland in Paris," directed by Deitch.
Filmography
Producer (Feature Film)
Production Companies (Feature Film)
Life Events
1949
Founded Rembrandt Films, importing films from Europe
1951
Rembrandt released a Boris Karloff narrated puppet-animation adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Emperor's Nightingale" to critical acclaim
1952
Produced the 38 minute animated drama "White Mane"
1959
Began producing cartoons in Prague with former head of UPA Studios, animator Gene Dietch
1960
Won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Subject for Jules Feiffer's "Munro", a film about a 4-year old boy mistakenly drafted into the Army
1964
Received two Academy Award nominations in the Best Short Subject (Cartoons) category for "Nudnik #2" and "How to Avoid Friendships"
1966
Produced "Alice in Wonderland of Paris", directed by Dietch
Family
Companions
