EDIT: Hirata was Episode Director for Episode 20 (Eternal Boy) and Storyboard for Episodes 31 (Gideon) and 44 (Into the Dragon's Lair) of the 2003 Astro Boy series.
Hirata also worked on a few Tezuka works over the years, including being Episode Director for Jetter Mars (where he was credited as "Sumiko Chiba"), Director for Unico: Short Story, Director of The Phoenix: Chapter of Yamato, Storyboard for The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion, Assistant Key Animation Supervisor and Key Animation for Metropolis, Art in Kimba the White Lion, "Rendition" for the 1966 movie of Jungle Emperor Leo, and Storyboard for the 1997 movie of Jungle Emperor Leo.
Source: Anime News Network
Anime News Network wrote:Anime Director Toshio Hirata Passes Away
Unico, Pet Shop of Horrors, Barefoot Gen 2 director was 76
Anime director Sunao Katabuchi (Mai Mai Miracle, Black Lagoon) stated over Twitter on Wednesday that he heard of fellow director Toshio Hirata's passing on Monday, August 25. He was 76.
Katabuchi wrote the following Tweets commenting on his passing:
It appears that Toshio Hirata a.k.a. Pon-san passed away on the 25th. I'm so sad that words won't come.... Pon-san was one year older than Sadao Tsukioka, but said, "At Toei, Mr. Tsukioka was my teacher." I was Tsukioka's student in college, so back at Mad House, the two of us often were forced to help Mr. Tsukioka at college. These kind of stories seem like they happened yesterday, but also almost seem so long ago that my hands can't reach.
Katabuchi also mentioned that funeral offerings will be collected by Hirata's friends Gisaburō Sugii, Masao Maruyama, and Rintaro, and will be sent to his grieving family. Maruyama will be accepting the donations at MAPPA's first-floor studio.
Hirata started at Toei Animation in 1960 on Alakazam the Great. He went on to direct projects for Mushi Productions and Mad House, including The Fantastic Adventures of Unico, Pet Shop of Horrors, and Barefoot Gen 2. Recently, he was one of many anime creators to contribute to Space Dandy.
It's a shame to lose him, I'm sure he will be missed.
