Marija Miletic Dail(1934-2022)
- Animation Department
- Producer
- Art Department
Maria Miletic Dail's professional life began in her homeland of Croatia as the first woman to earn the position of animator at world-renowned Zagreb Film. She emigrated first to Canada and then settled in the United States, after being personally invited by William Hanna to work at Hanna-Barbera Studios. Working at a number of famous animation studios, she rose through the ranks before retiring from Universal Studios as a director and producer.
She was interested in meaningful filmmaking using original ideas. Worked in own Animation Cottage studio with twenty artists on ABC network series of specials. Tried to keep all work inside USA. She lectured at UCLA, CalArts and CCLA on animation. For her film "Think Earth" she won Presidential award in 1992.
During her imaginative decades of life, she created several short films as a solo artist, including her award-winning film "Why Not?". Marija was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS); she took seriously her responsibility to vote for the good work of her colleagues and thoroughly enjoyed attending the Oscars. She passed away on October 9, 2022 peacefully at home, surrounded by family, just four days after celebrating 48 years of marriage to Sukhdev Dail.
During her imaginative decades of life, she created several short films as a solo artist, including her award-winning film "Why Not?". Marija was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS); she took seriously her responsibility to vote for the good work of her colleagues and thoroughly enjoyed attending the Oscars. She passed away on October 9, 2022 peacefully at home, surrounded by family, just four days after celebrating 48 years of marriage to Sukhdev Dail.
