John R. Dilworth

Jonathan "John" Robert Dilworth (born February 14, 1963), a.k.a. "Dilly", is an American animator, director and actor. He is best known as the producer, director, writer, and creator of the animated television series Courage the Cowardly Dog.

Dilworth attended the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he graduated in 1985 with a Degree Of Bachelor of Arts. After graduation, Dilworth became an art director at Baldi, Bloom and Whelan Advertising, but continued to work on his own films in his spare time, providing much of his own funding.^[1] His animated short, The Chicken from Outer Space, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1996. Cartoon Network later commissioned Dilworth to turn the short into a series, which eventually became Courage the Cowardly Dog. Dilworth is the president of Stretch Films, a New York-based design and animation studio, which he founded in 1991. He also worked on the original opening for Nicktoons and for the show Doug. Dilworth created the series of seven animated shorts for Sesame Street using Keith Haring's artwork produced with Klasky Csupo.

Dilworth's short Angry Cabaret was also featured in MTV's 1994 Animation Weekend. His breakout film was The Dirdy Birdy, which aired on MTV's Cartoon Sushi. He was animation consultant of Gumby: The Movie, and was also one of the directors of Drew Carey's Green Screen Show.

Dilworth appears in pixilation sequences in the 2013 animated short Subconscious Password by Chris Landreth.^[2]

Stretch Films

Stretch Films, Inc. is a production company that was founded in 1985 by John R. Dilworth. It was best known for Courage the Cowardly Dog on Cartoon Network.

Productions

• Pierre (1985) (student film)
• The Limited Bird (1989)
• When Lilly Laney Moved In (1991)
• Psyched For Snuppa (1992) (Klasky Csupo and Jumbo Pictures for Nickelodeon)
• Smart Talk with Raisin (1993) (Appeared on MTV's Liquid Television in 1994)
• The Dirdy Birdy (MTV) (1993) (redux aired in 2014)
• Angry Cabaret (1994) (Also appeared on MTV Animation Weekend)
• Cartoon Network (ID's) (1994–1997)
• The Chicken from Outer Space (1995)
• Noodles and Nedd (1996) (later appeared on Sesame Street)
• Big Bag: Ace and Avery (1998)
• Hector The Get-Over Cat (1998) - Indent for Nickelodeon.
• A Little Curious (short films) (1999)
• Catch Of The Day (featuring Noodles and Nedd) (2000)
• Courage the Cowardly Dog (series) (1999–2002)
• The Mousochist (2001)
• Life In Transition (2005)
• The Return of Sergeant Pecker (2006, credited as Pierre Delarue)
• Garlic Boy (2008)
• Rinky Dink (2009)
• Bunny Bashing (2011)
• The Fog of Courage (2014) - A special CGI short starring Courage the Cowardly Dog.
• Dirdy Birdy II: A Night at Club Sheik (2015) - An unsuccessful Kickstarter project/sequel to The Dirdy Birdy.
• Goose in High Heels (in production)

References

External links

• StretchFilms.com, Homepage of Dilworth's Animation Company
• John R. Dilworth at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Dilworth