Sam Weiss; Director and Teacher of Animation

Sam Weiss, 74, an award-winning director in the animation industry who earned an Emmy for “The Wrong Way Kid.” Educated at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Weiss taught animation at UCLA and USC during his 47-year career as a director and producer. He worked on design and direction for a number of cartoon series and children’s programs ranging from “Crusader Rabbit” to “Mr. Magoo.” He directed animated short films including “The Legend of Paul Bunyan” and “The Legend of John Henry,” shown as television specials in 1978, and the TV specials “The Incredible Book Escape” and “A Tale of Four Wishes.” Weiss also directed the 1983 special “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” and was producer of the 1984-85 series “G.I. Joe.” In recent years, he wrote and directed business training films. Weiss served in the Navy as a radar operator aboard a destroyer during World War II. On March 24 in Santa Monica of complications after heart surgery.