His career took off in 1957, when he wrote the script for Flebus, followed by 1959 as a producer and director for the animated short film, The Violinist. Narrated by Carl Reiner, the film earned Pintoff an Oscar nomination[3] and illustrated a promising young career in directing film ahead of him.[4]
In 1964, he won an Oscar for his direction of the 1963 film, The Critic,[5] which was narrated by co-creator Mel Brooks and focused on a man with a grumpy voice trying to understand abstractions he observes.[6]
He received the International Animated Film Society's Winsor McCay Award for prolific lifetime contributions to animation in 1998.
Health
After suffering a stroke in 1985, Pintoff retired from film and turned to writing books, including a memoir, Bolt From the Blue and a novel, Zachary and further books on his love of animation. His health declined again in 2001 and he died of a stroke on January 12, 2002.
Personal life
Pintoff was married to Caroline Pintoff and had two children and three grandchildren.[citation needed]