Jack Chojnacki

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Jack Chojnacki
Born c. 1941 (age 8283) [1]
Milwaukee, Wisconsin [2]
Occupation(s)Co-president of Those Characters from Cleveland, AGC's licensing division
Years active1970s–1980s
Employer American Greetings
Known for Strawberry Shortcake
Care Bears
Holly Hobbie

Jack Chojnacki [nb 1] (born c. 1941) [1] served as the co-president of Those Characters from Cleveland Inc., a division of U.S. greeting card company American Greetings (AGC), in the 1980s. He assisted in the creation of several AGC franchises, including Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears.

Contents

Career

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, [2] Chojnacki graduated from the city's Marquette University High School in 1958. [2] During the 1970s, he was among the staff of American Greetings, a card company based in Cleveland, Ohio; [5] he licensed the Holly Hobbie character early in his tenure there. [6] Later that decade, he set up the company's licensing branch [5] Those Characters from Cleveland [7] [8] with another AGC employee, Tim Wilson (the creator of the comic strip Ziggy ). [9] Its first franchise, Strawberry Shortcake, made its public debut in 1980. [5]

Beginning in the early 1980s, Chojnacki served as co-president of Those Characters from Cleveland [8] along with Wilson, [10] and vice-president of AGC's licensing operations. [11] Starting in February 1981, he assisted in the creation of another American Greetings franchise, the Care Bears. [12] He served as executive producer of 1985's The Care Bears Movie , [13] [14] along with its 1986 prequel A New Generation ; [15] he also was a creative consultant for the 1987 follow-up, Adventure in Wonderland . [16] After the Care Bears, Chojnacki helped out with another two AGC properties, Madballs [17] and Popples. [18] [19] In 1989, the Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA) inducted him into the Murray Altchuler Licensing Industry Hall of Fame, as a charter member. [20]

Notes

  1. The surname's pronunciation has been given variously as "hoy-not-ski", [3] "hoy-nof-ski" [1] and "why-nat-ski". [4]

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