My top ten favorite Looney Tunes animators
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- Animation Department
- Director
- Additional Crew
Ken Harris was for 26 years one of the outstanding animators at Warner Brothers. He had no formal art school qualifications -- which effectively precluded him from working for Disney -- having started his career as a sports cartoonist for the "Los Angeles Examiner" and the "Evening Express". His training came courtesy of the genial Robert McKimson at Leon Schlesinger's 'Termite Terrace', where he was first hired as an 'inbetweener' in June 1935. By 1938, Harris had worked his way up from assistant to fully-fledged animator. Assigned to the Chuck Jones unit, he animated the original illustrations of Jones (and, later, those of Maurice Noble), turning out a succession of fast-paced, humorous cartoons, filled with satire, puns and in-jokes. Harris was a master at spacing and timing, of achieving perfect plasticity of movement. He collaborated on many of the classic Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies episodes (often capably assisted by Abe Levitow), including the first instalment of the Coyote/Road Runner series (Fast and Furry-ous (1949)). Other standout contributions must include The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950), Rabbit Fire (1951), Duck Amuck (1953), Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953), One Froggy Evening (1955) and What's Opera, Doc? (1957). Harris remained loyal to Jones and followed him to MGM (1963-66) to animate 'Tom & Jerry' cartoons after the dissolution of the Warner Brothers animation department. In the 70's, Harris resumed working for Warner Brothers on frequent Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck specials. He also became lead animator for the Richard Williams studio in London, notably creating the title sequence of The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). A year before his death in 1982, he was made a recipient of animation's highest accolade, the Winsor McKay Lifetime Achievement Award.- Animation Department
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Rod Scribner was one of the most original and innovative animators of the golden age of Hollywood cartoons. He spent most of his career at the Leon Schlesinger/Warner Bros. cartoon studio working as an animator for the directors Tex Avery (1936-1941), Robert Clampett (1941-1945), and Robert McKimson (1948-1953) on their Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. It was under Clampett's direction, though, that Scribner did his best work. During this period Scribner developed a unique style of animation, one that broke away from the literalistic animation done at the time and into something far more expressive. He employed a level of exaggeration and distortion never before seen in an animated cartoon, which he used to illustrate the inner emotions of the cartoon characters in a humorous way. Examples of this can been seen to great effect in the cartoons Baby Bottleneck (1946) where Porky tries to get Daffy to sit on an egg, stretching the duck's leg several feet in the process; and in the controversial Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943) during Prince Chawmin' frenetic attempts to revive So White. His work influenced the other animators at the studio and they employed some of Scribner's innovations until eventually it became the Warner "house style." Even Scribner's methods were idiosyncratic: he would sometimes animate using a brush and ink. After he left Warners, Scribner worked on a variety of animated commercials at Playhouse Pictures, Cascade, and Jay Ward Productions. He directed a few episodes of The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show (1956) and animated for the _"George of the Jungle" (1967)_ television show. In the 1970s he spent five days working on Fritz the Cat (1972) before quitting.- Animation Department
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Virgil Ross was a legendary animator who worked chiefly at Warner Brothers during the 'Golden Years of Animation'. Having moved through the ranks of the pioneering studios (as a trainee for Charles Mintz, in 1930, for $6 a week salary, and for Walter Lantz -- briefly -- in 1935), Ross joined Tex Avery at Leon Schlesinger's 'Termite Terrace'. He remained there until Warner Brothers dissolved their cartoon department in 1964. Thereafter, he delved into the world of low-budget animation, ending up at Filmation in the 60's and 70's, turning out 'Batman', 'Superman' and 'Star Trek' cartoons. Ross excelled at facial expression and had a keen eye for gesture and movement in his drawings. He was at his best designing action and dance sequences, ideally showcased in episodes like Rhapsody Rabbit (1946) (he was reputedly quite nimble on the dance floor himself). Moreover, he was instrumental in the development and maturation of the character who captained the Looney Tunes ship: Bugs Bunny (his creations included the rabbit's first Oscar-nominated short, A Wild Hare (1940)). During his lengthy tenure as a key member of Friz Freleng's unit, he also perfected perennial favorites Yosemite Sam (Knighty Knight Bugs (1958)) and Sylvester (Bad Ol' Putty Tat (1949), A Mouse Divided (1953),A Street Cat Named Sylvester (1953). etc). In 1988, Ross was honored with the highest accolade in animation, the Winsor McKay Achievement Award in animation.- Director
- Animation Department
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Arthur Davis is among the most overlooked & forgotten members of Warner Brother's "Golden Age". He has been overshadowed by other animation directors, including Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones & Robert Clampett. A serviceable animator, Davis came to Warner Brothers with fellow animator Frank Tashlin, after working for Columbia Screen Gems. Davis continued to work for Tashlin's animation unit until 1944, when Tashlin left to pursue a career in live-action. He then worked as an animator in Bob Clampett's animation unit until 1945, when Clampett left over contract disputes with Edward Selzer. Davis completed several cartoons, that were already in production, such as "The Goofy Gophers" (1947), for which the dialogue had already been recorded. Davis' cartoons can be recognized by their laid-back attitude, and their characters' predilection for wearing bow ties. While not a ground-breaker like Jones, he did manage to direct one of the funniest Bugs Bunny cartoon shorts, of Bowery Bugs (1949), a retelling of the Steve Brodie/Brooklyn Bridge legend, [just like an ode]. Among the most popular Daffy Duck cartoons, (with Elmer Fudd & an unnamed fox), he directed is What Makes Daffy Duck (1948). In the early 1950's, cost-cutting measures at Warner Brothers forced the break-up of the Davis animation unit, and he was folded into Friz Freleng's unit. After spending the rest of the 50's as an animator, Davis directed one final Warner's cartoon, "Quackodile Tears," using Freleng's unit, in 1962. Following this, Davis left Warner Brothers & after working as an animator for Walter Lantz and a story-boarder for Hanna-Barbera, he joined Freleng's production company, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, as a director, in 1968. Once there, Davis made two of the last truly classic Pink Panther cartoon shorts, "Pinkcome Tax" & "In the Pink of the Night." But at the start of the 70's, DePatie-Freleng's cartoons suffered an overall decline in quality. Neither Davis nor any of the studio's other directors were able to bring anything special to generally uninspired stories featuring the Pink Panther and DePatie-Freleng's lower second-rate characters (Ant & Aardvark, Blue Racer & others). At the end of the 70's, DePatie-Freleng dissolved and Freleng returned to Warner's, bringing much of the staff with him. Davis worked briefly as a sequence director for TV specials featuring classic Warner's characters, then moved to Hanna-Barbera. Working once again as a sequence director on their Saturday morning and syndicated cartoon series, Davis stayed there until his retirement in the mid-late 80's. Davis passed away in 2000, at the age of 94. He was 36 days from reaching 95.- Animation Department
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American animator, noted for the crisp, angular style and sleek, fluid movement of his characters. A gent of considerable wit and good humour, Washam made significant contributions to Warner Brothers cartoons under the auspices of Chuck Jones between 1941 and 1963. Two of his trademarks were Bugs Bunny's notably wider cheeks and pointier teeth, plus the fist spinning to a blur to herald a fight. His characters also tended to nod while talking. One of the most famous scenes animated by Washam has Bugs shaving Elmer Fudd's head before making a salad on it in Rabbit of Seville (1950). Washam briefly joined Jones at MGM in the 60's to direct several episodes of 'Tom & Jerry' and later worked on commercial subjects for 'Rocky & Bullwinkle' creator Jay Ward. A skilled and natural pedagogue, he generously provided free weekly tuition to animation students at his home in Laurel Canyon for several years, beginning in 1967. Earlier, he had served two terms as president of the Screen Animators Guild (1948-1949), an experience which led to him to caustically observe that any meeting that did not end "with at least one fistfight in the parking lot was a dud!".- Director
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Robert McKimson was born on October 13, 1910. He started his career in animation, along with many others, as an artist for Walt Disney's Oswald the Rabbit in 1928. After Disney went to produce Mickey Mouse cartoons, Hugh Harman & Rudolph Ising went to Warner Brothers to direct and co-produce cartoon shorts, along with producer Leon Schlesinger. McKimson was one of the many artists who tagged along. During his career at Warner Brothers, Robert McKimson developed into one of the most gifted artists ever. In fact, he was an animator under nearly all the major WB directors. They include Hugh Harman & Rudolph Ising (1930-1933), Friz Freleng (1933-1937), Frank Tashlin (1937-1938), Chuck Jones (1938-1940), Tex Avery (1940-1941), and Bob Clampett (1942-1946; animating under Clampett's supervision was when McKimson's drawing talents truly began to blossom). Robert McKimson was in part responsible for developing Bugs Bunny's popularity during the 1940's. Between 1942 & 1943, Bob Clampett gave a Bugs Bunny modeling assignment to McKimson, which soon became the basic Bugs Bunny model for all Warner Brothers animators. The models are still in use for WB animators of today. He also designed the familiar design in which Bugs Bunny leans on a tree while eating a carrot, which was originally on display at a Los Angeles department store for a holiday sale. McKimson finally got his chance to direct in 1943, in the WWII short, "Return of Mr. Hook, The". His premiere short, "Daffy Doodles", was released in 1946. His earlier supervising efforts was influenced by none other than Bob Clampett, the last director he worked for. During his earlier directing efforts, Robert McKimson's brother, Charles McKimson, became his leading animator, who had previously been working at Warner Brothers as an animator under Tex Avery's supervision. Thomas McKimson, Robert's second brother, was also an animator for Warner Brothers, mainly under Bob Clampett's supervision; he was also a background & layout artist for Clampett's later WB cartoons. Drawing had apparently ran in the McKimson family. As director, Robert McKimson was responsible for the creation of such WB characters as Foghorn Leghorn, Barnyard Dog, Hippity Hopper, Bobo the Elephant, Tasmanian Devil, Sylvester Jr., and Speedy Gonzales, and helped develop the personality of other characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Elmer Fudd. He only directed two Oscar-nominated toons; "Walky Talky Hawky" (1946), and "Tobassco Road" (1957). Robert McKimson's supervising success was partially because of the writing efforts of Warren Foster. However, when Foster was 'permanently' placed under Friz Freleng's writing unit in 1956, McKimson's writing unit was replaced by Tedd Pierce. That was when his supervising talents began to slip. In addition, he lost all his original animators (not nearly having the same dramatic effects for the other Warner Brother directors), including Charles McKimson. Robert did some of the animating under his supervision for a while between 1955 & 1956, until he got a new team of directors, which completely changed his stylization. Along with the change of writers & artists, Robert McKimson soon developed a 'squarer style', which from that point on scarred his cartooning career as his quality began to fall behind the other WB directors. The close-up of the original Warner Brothers' Cartoon Studio in 1963 was when Robert McKimson's career started to hit rock bottom. When the original WB Cartoon Studio closed, Friz Freleng quickly teamed up with David DePatie to form DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, in hopes of creating more WB cartoons. McKimson naturally tagged along, directing most of the less popular toon shorts of the 1960's, even the ones under Billy Hendrick's WB production in the latter of the 60's after DePatie-Freleng left WB in 1967. After the Warner Brothers cartoons' second diminishment in 1970, McKimson returned to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises to direct some Pink Panther cartoons. At that point, the careers of a lot of the remaining cartoonists, whom were once well-known during the 40's & 50's, had been detracted as well. In 1977, on his 66th birthday, McKimson had a doctor's appointment, when he was listed in good health. He decided to celebrate that evening. Unfortunately, while he was dining at a Burbank restaurant with Friz Freleng and other colleagues, Robert McKimson died of a massive heart attack (known as coronary). This came only years before his cartoons became part of the Warner Brothers' 'Looney Tunes renaissance' of the 1980's. Robert McKimson's cartooning career since its decline in the early 1960's, and his relatively early death in 1977 had mostly been pushed in the background from true recognition. But among many of today's cartoonists, McKimson still remains one of the most influential artists ever.- Animation Department
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Robert 'Bobe' Cannon began his career at Leon Schlesinger Productions in 1934, assisting ace animators Robert Clampett and Chuck Jones. After a two-year apprenticeship he graduated to full animator. Cannon became an integral part of that anarchic Warner Brothers in-house cartoon outfit, known as 'Termite Terrace' (due to its cramped and austere quarters). In the process, he laboured on such iconic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters as Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Elmer Fudd. He animated for Tex Avery, Clampett and Jones from 1936 to 1944, after which he became co-founder and a leading light in the innovative United Productions of America (UPA). He served as UPA's vice-president from 1949 to 1957. Unlike at Warners or MGM, his new studio permitted him to direct as well, especially cartoons featuring the famous character Mr. Magoo. Cannon later taught animation at San Fernando Valley State College and was awarded in 1976 with the International Film Society's Winsor McCay Award for Lifetime Achievement.- Animation Department
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Bill Melendez was born on 15 November 1916 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. He was a producer and actor, known for A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969), A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) and He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968). He was married to Helen Antionette Huhn. He died on 2 September 2008 in Santa Monica, California, USA.- Animation Department
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- Soundtrack
Gil Turner was born on 11 September 1913 in the USA. Gil was a director, known for Rebel (1973), Magoo Meets Frankenstein (1959) and The Alvin Show (1961). Gil died in 1967 in the USA.- Animation Department
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Manny Gould was born on 30 May 1904 in New York City, New York, USA. She was a director and writer, known for Rail Rode (1927), The Stork Exchange (1927) and Bird Man (1935). She died on 19 July 1975 in Los Angeles, California, USA.