David Pearlmutter, St. Louis native, artist and writer, died of kidney failure, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2007, in Simi Valley, Calif. Mr. Pearlmutter was 66.

Mr. Pearlmutter was a graduate of Ladue Horton Watkins High School, and attended Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, and continued his professional career as an illustrator, graphic designer and screenplay writer.

Mr. Pearlmutter served in the U.S. Army Reserves, and while living in the State of Israel in the 1960s, served in the Israel Defense Forces.

His late father, Morris Pearlmutter, was a vice president for advertising and public relations at Edison Brothers Stores in St. Louis, and was the founder and former board president of the St. Louis Jewish Light. David Pearlmutter’s late mother, Stella Pearlmutter, was a nationally recognized artist. “David had many of the qualities of both our Mom and Dad,” his older brother Daniel Pearlmutter, told the Jewish Light.

David Pearlmutter is survived by an older brother, Daniel Pearlmutter of St. Louis, and Daniel Pearlmutter’s three daughters, Eve and Shana (Simo) Pearlmutter, and Wende (Donald) Meissner, and their mother, Jan Pearlmutter.

Mr. Pearlmutter’s body is to be donated for the advancement of science, a family member said.