Zdenek Miler, Czech cartoonist, dies
A file picture taken on July 29, 2011 shows Czech illustrator and animated film director Zdenek Miler posing with a stuffed toy of the Famous Czech cartoon character he created, Little Mole. Credit: Getty Images
PRAGUE -- In the 1950s, Zdenek Miler stumbled over a molehill in woods west of Prague, giving him the idea for an animated cartoon character that has enchanted millions of children around the world and even made it into space on a NASA shuttle.
Miler, creator of the Little Mole character, died yesterday. He was 90 and spent the last months of his life at a nursing home in Nova Ves pod Plesi, southwest of Prague.
Born Feb. 21, 1921, in the town of Kladno, he graduated from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. He illustrated a number of children's books and made several cartoons, but his most famous creation was the mole.
He created the character, which is always cheerful and ready to help those in need, in 1956 after walking in woods near Kladno and tripping over a molehill.
"So, I said to myself: that's it. The mole," Miler said in a 2006 interview.
The very first episode titled "How the Mole got his Trousers," was a hit, winning the Silver Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in Italy.
Since then, 50 episodes have been made, attracting an audience among children in Eastern Europe and countries such as Germany, Austria, China and India.
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