Everett Peck, Duckman Creator and Animation Legend, Dies at 71
Everett Peck, an animation legend on television cartoons and creator of the cult comic-turned-animated series Duckman, has passed away. The news was announced on Peck's official Instagram with the caption: "Mr. Peck has left the studio... Oct. 9, 1950 – June 14, 2022." Peck was best known for his work in the field of animation including working as a character designer on The Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters, and others. His own series Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man would become his main calling card, running for four seasons on USA Network from 1994 to 1997, earning him three Primetime Emmy nominations along the way.
Peck's other credits in the animation world included work on The Critic, Dragon Tales, Men in Black: The Series, Godzilla: The Series, the Jumanji cartoon, Rugrats, and the short-lived Squirrel Boy, the series he created in 2006. His series Duckman began life as a one shot published by Dark Horse Comics before making its way to television. The show was produced by fellow animation titans Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo, best known for creating Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. The series featured Seinfeld star Jason Alexander voicing its titular character.
"Well, the funny thing is the comic and the show were developed simultaneously," Peck previously said of Duckman in an interview JGTWO.com. "The comic wasn't published yet, and I was doing some unrelated freelance work for [the production company] Klasky Csupo. Gábor Csupo asked me, 'Hey, do you have any ideas for shows?' And I said, 'Well, I've been working on this comic...' They saw Duckman and liked it, so we entered into agreement to develop it. But yeah, there's always a concern like that, though I kinda set the tone with the comic-all the basic relationships were already there, and all the characters, like Cornfeld and King Chicken, Bernice, et cetera. And I felt confident in Gábor. So we started pitching it to networks....We always intended Duckman to be an adult show. Y'know, The Simpsons has something for adults and it had something for kids, but we strictly wanted to be for adults. I'm not sure FOX would have let us do that."
Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.
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