Very rare autograph of George Pal. George Pal (February 1, 1908 - May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after emigrating from Europe. He was nominated for Academy Awards for seven consecutive years (1942–1948). As an animator, he made the Puppetoons series in the 1940's, which led to him being awarded an honorary Oscar in 1943 for "the development of novel methods and techniques in the production of short subjects known as Puppetoons". Pal then switched to live-action film-making with The Great Rupert (1950). He is best remembered as the producer of several science-fiction and fantasy films in the 1950's and 1960's, such as When Worlds Collide (1951) and The War of the Worlds (1953). He himself directed Tom Thumb (1958), The Time Machine (1960), and The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962). Here is a wonderful vintage black & white photo of Pal, signed with fountain pen in 1961.