Igor Khait obit

Animation Producer Igor Khait Dies at 52

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Igor Khait, an animation producer in film and television for 25 years, died Monday at his home in Los Angeles, after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 52.

Khait began his career in 1989 at Amblin Entertainment, and eventually worked at many of the industry’s top animation studios, mentoring many others along the way. Until recently, he had been in Paris working as a co-producer on Illumination Entertainment’s upcoming animated feature “Sing” for Universal Pictures. Additional credits include co-producer on the Touchstone/Rocket Pictures 2011 animated musical comedy “Gnomeo & Juliet”; story department co-producer on “The Lego Movie”; producer on “Everyone’s Hero” from IDT Entertainment/Starz Animation; producer on Disney’s “Leroy and Stitch”; and associate producer on Walt Disney Studios’ “Brother Bear,” a 2004 Academy Award nominee for best animated feature.

Khait was production manager on Disney’s “Atlantis, the Lost Empire,” Warner Bros.’ “Quest for Camelot” and Paramount’s “Bebe’s Kids.” He worked in production on the CBS animated series “Family Dog,” executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton, and on the animated Christmas special “A Wish for Wings That Work,” based on the Bloom County comic strip.

He received a B.A. in fine art from UC Santa Cruz and a second B.A. in film graphics and animation from Cal Arts in Valencia, Calif.

He is survived by his wife Gayle, daughter Isabelle and son Elias; as well as his mother and sister