Cartoonist, animator Vladimír Jiránek dies

Prague, Nov 7 (CTK) - Czech political cartoonist Vladimir Jiranek, author of the popular children's animated TV series Bobek a Bobek (Bob and Bobby - Top Hat Rabbits), died during the night at the age of 74 after a serious illness, his family told Lidovky news server Wednesday.

Jiranek studied journalism in Prague, but he started his drawing career soon after graduation. He was a free-lance illustrator and cartoonist for more than 40 years.

In the 1970s, he started making short animated films and his drawings appeared in a number of Czech magazines. One of his short films won the Golden Bear, the main prize at the Berlin film festival, in 1978.

Another Jiranek's children's animated programme, the Pat & Mat series, has become highly popular, too.

After the fall of the Czechoslovak communist regime in 1989, Jiranek started regularly publishing political cartoons in major Czech dailies. His style of humour is considered typically Czech.

In 2005, Jiranek received a medal of merit, a prestigious Czech state decoration, for his achievements in art. He issued more than 15 cartoon and other books.