- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMichael Jacques Gnagy
- Jon Gnagy was born on January 13, 1907 in Pretty Prairie, Kansas, USA. He was a producer, known for You Are an Artist (1946), Radio City Matinee (1941) and Wonderama (1955). He died on March 7, 1981 in Idyllwild, California, USA.
- An accomplished artist, he was the first art teacher to appear on television, in 1946. His fifteen-minute "Learn to Draw" program, originally presented live, but later filmed and syndicated throughout the U.S., was seen on Saturday mornings until well into the early 1960's, and encouraged many people to become artists. His "Learn to Draw" kit, complete with chalk, charcoal, and other drawing materials, enabled millions of would-be artists to study his drawings and black-and-white sketches and to draw those same pictures with the help of Gnagy's own written instructions.
- The rock group The James Gang gave thanks to Jon Gnagy in the liner notes to their third album "Thirds" (1971).
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