Theodore M Petok

Services will be held Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m.

Beloved husband of the late Dorothy Petok.  Cherished father of William (Barbara) Petok and Fred (Marsha) Petok.  Adoring grandfather of Benjamin (Jessica Simon) Petok and Allison Petok.  Loving brother of Lillian Israel, Goldie Rothenberg and Samuel Petok.  Also survived by loving nieces and nephews.

Theodore M. Petok, Ted to everyone who knew him, grew up in Detroit, the oldest son of Harry and Jenny Petok, where he graduated from Central High School. His early career included a stint in New York where he tried his hand at drawing single panel cartoons for publications such as Boys Life and similar magazines. It was a tough wayto earn a living so he returned to Detroit and went to work for Jam Handy in 1935. Unable to avoid the call of the military as World War 11 broke out, he entered the United States Army and was assigned to the 3146 Signal Corps. While serving in Europe in General Omar Bradley's command he did cartoons for Stars and Stripes and was discharged with the rank of Captain.

On his return to Detroit he married Dorothy Soltar in 1946, opened a studio on Broadway and began to do commercial art. When television created a market for animated advertising, Ted jumped in. His client's included Speedway Gasoline, Michigan Milk Producers, and Faygo soft drinks. At one point he flirted with moving to a bigger studio in Los Angeles, but after a visit to the West Coast realized that working for someone else wasn't his cup of tea. In addition to creating advertising in Detroit he went back to his rootsas a cartoonist, creating a Tom Swifties strip that ran in the Free Press.

In 1971, during a slow period, Ted and 2 Collaborators, Len Maxwell and Joe Pertovich, put their talents together to create a 2 minute 15 second animated short subject, The Crunch Bird. At the prodding of friends in the local movie business the film was entered in the Academy Awards competition. Ted was listed as the producer and when the Bird was nominated for best animated short subject of 1971, he went to Hollywood for the Academy Awards competition. Ted was listed as the producer and when the Bird was nominated for best animated short subject of 1971, he went to Hollywood for the Academy Awards. Clearly surprised at the victory, his acceptance speech was almost as long as the film itself.

Always a fan of magic, in his later years he joined the Ring, a brotherhood of magicians and attended their meetings in the Detroit area. He delighted in performing sleight of hand for his friends, children and grandchildren.