Bruno Bianchi (cartoonist)

Bruno Bianchi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbruːno ˈbjaŋki], 6 September 1955 – 2 December 2011) was a French cartoonist, comics artist[1] and animation director. Bianchi worked extensively as an artist, director and producer on animated television productions; including Heathcliff, Iznogoud and most notably, Inspector Gadget, which he also co-created.[2][3]

Bianchi started his career at DiC Audiovisuel (later DiC Entertainment) in 1977 at age 22 as a cel painter, then gradually assumed creative positions. His first director's credit was on the 1980 edutainment mini-series Archibald le Magichien (directly translated: Archibald the Magic Dog). In 1983, Bianchi scored his first major directing job on Inspector Gadget, a series he co-created with Andy Heyward and DiC's founder Jean Chalopin.[4] Bianchi served as main character designer and supervising director on the show, which became one of the most iconic series produced by DiC.

Subsequently, Bianchi worked as a director, producer and designer on numerous other DiC Entertainment, Saban Entertainment and SIP Animation television animation productions from the 1980s until the mid-2000s. His credits include Heathcliff (where he co-created the Cats and Company characters together with Jean Chalopin), Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, M.A.S.K., Rainbow Brite, Diplodos (which he co-created and co-wrote with Jean Chalopin), Iznogoud, Princess Sissi and Gadget & the Gadgetinis (a spinoff of Inspector Gadget).[3]

In 2008, following the closure of SIP Animation, Bianchi founded his own studio, Ginkgo Animation.[3] One of Ginkgo's projects had been George and Me (French title Georges et Moi),[5] an adaptation of a 2006 Soleil Productions comic series that had first been picked up by SIP Animation as early as December 2007,[6] and had been planned to start production at SIP at the beginning of 2009.[7] However, by April 2011 this venture of Ginkgo's was considered unsuccessful due to changing priorities in the French animation industry,[5] according to one of the authors of the original comics.[8]

Bianchi died on 2 December 2011 at the age of 56.[3] He was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris on 6 December 2011.[3][4]