74-535: Hugh Harman (August 31, 1903 – November 25, 1982) was an American animator. He was known for creating the Warner Bros. Cartoons and MGM Cartoons studios and his collaboration with Rudolf Ising during the Golden Age of American animation . He began his work with Walt Disney in 1922, working on Disney's early Laugh-O-Gram Cartoons . When that company went bankrupt, Harman and partner Rudolf Ising tried to start
148-860: A call for his Kansas City colleagues to join him. Freleng, however, held out until January 1927, when he finally moved to California and joined the Walt Disney studio . He worked alongside other former Kansas City animators, including Iwerks, Harman, Carman Maxwell , and Rudolf Ising . While at Disney, Freleng worked on the Alice Comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons for producers Margaret Winkler and Charles Mintz . Friz said in an interview with Michael Barrier that Walt had shown patience and remorse in letters prior to joining him, but did not show that attitude after he joined Disney and instead Disney became abusive and harassed him. In 1928, Freleng left
222-545: A career in features, echoes Freleng's experience in moving to MGM. Schlesinger's hands-off attitude toward his animators allowed Freleng and his fellow directors almost complete creative control and room to experiment with cartoon comedy styles, which allowed the studio to keep pace with the Disney studio's technical superiority. Freleng's style quickly matured, and he became a master of comic timing . Often working alongside layout artist Hawley Pratt , he also introduced or redesigned
296-495: A few initial cartoons directed by Freleng, Robert McKimson was hired to direct most of the remaining DePatie–Freleng Looney Tunes. In addition to DePatie–Freleng's cartoons, a series of new shorts featuring The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote was commissioned from an independent animation studio, Herbert Klynn 's Format Productions . Veteran Warner animator Rudy Larriva , who had worked for years under Road Runner creator Chuck Jones, assumed directorial duties for these films, and
370-667: A few other former associates of Jones ( Bob Bransford , Ernie Nordli ) came aboard. Even with the Jones connections, Larriva's Road Runner shorts were considered to be inferior and witless compared to Jones' by critics. McKimson also directed an additional two Road Runner shorts with the main DePatie–Freleng team, which are more highly regarded than Larriva's efforts. After three years of outsourced cartoons, Warner Bros. decided to bring production back in-house. DePatie–Freleng had their contract terminated (they subsequently moved to new studios in
444-430: A freelance basis with writing partner Bill Danch. John Dunn and Dave Detiege, both former Disney men, were hired to replace them. During Burton's tenure, Warner Bros. Cartoons branched out into television. In the fall of 1960, ABC TV premiered The Bugs Bunny Show , which was a package program featuring three theatrical Warner Bros. cartoons, with newly produced wraparounds to introduce each short. The program remained on
518-590: A new series based on the Arabian Nights , but were unable to obtain funding. Disney called them back when he began work for Charles Mintz , producing the Alice Comedies live-action/animation hybrid shorts and the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons. After a dispute over money, Mintz forced out Disney in 1928 and lured most of his animators, Harman and Ising included, to join him. After Carl Laemmle replaced Mintz with
592-453: A number of Warner characters, including Yosemite Sam in 1945, the cat-and-bird duo Sylvester and Tweety in 1947, and Speedy Gonzales in 1955. Freleng and Chuck Jones would dominate the Warner Bros. studio in the years after World War II , with Freleng largely concentrating on the above-mentioned characters, as well as Bugs Bunny . Freleng continued to produce modernized versions of
666-587: A separate studio headed by Schlesinger's brother-in-law, Ray Katz. From 1936 until 1944, animation directors and animators such as Freleng, Avery, Clampett, Jones, Arthur Davis , Robert McKimson , and Frank Tashlin worked at the studio. During this period, these creators introduced several of the most popular cartoon characters to date, including Daffy Duck (1937, Porky's Duck Hunt by Avery), Elmer Fudd (1940, Elmer's Candid Camera by Jones), Bugs Bunny (1940, A Wild Hare by Avery), and Tweety (1942, A Tale of Two Kitties by Clampett). Avery left
740-437: A slow start, continuing their one-shot Merrie Melodies and introducing a non canon Bosko replacement named Buddy to serve as the new star of Looney Tunes . The studio then formed the three-unit structure that it would retain throughout most of its history, with one of the units headed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway , and the other by Earl Duvall , who was replaced by Jack King a year later. In 1935, after Buddy proved not to be
814-508: A small building elsewhere on the Sunset lot, which Avery and his team affectionately dubbed "Termite Terrace". Although the Avery unit moved out of the building after a year, "Termite Terrace" later became a metonym for the classic Warner Bros. animation department in general, even for years after the building was abandoned, condemned, and torn down. During this period, four cartoons were outsourced to
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#1733093827736888-527: A stringent five-week production schedule on each cartoon (at least one director, Chuck Jones, cheated the system by spending more time on special cartoons such as What's Opera, Doc? , less time on simpler productions such as Road Runner entries, and had his crew forge their time cards). With less money for full animation, the Warner Bros. story men — Michael Maltese , Tedd Pierce , and Warren Foster — began to focus more of their cartoons on dialogue. While story artists were assigned to directors at random during
962-478: A successful character, Freleng helmed the Merrie Melodies cartoon I Haven't Got a Hat , which introduced the character Porky Pig . Hardaway and King departed, and a new arrival at Schlesinger's, Fred "Tex" Avery , took Freleng's creation and ran with it. Avery directed a string of cartoons starring Porky Pig that established the character as the studio's first bona fide star. Schlesinger also gradually moved
1036-694: A whole series of Pink Panther cartoons. Other original cartoon series, among them The Inspector , The Ant and the Aardvark , Tijuana Toads , The Dogfather , Roland and Rattfink and Crazylegs Crane , soon followed. In 1969, The Pink Panther Show , a Saturday morning anthology program featuring DePatie–Freleng cartoons, debuted on NBC . The Pink Panther and the other original DePatie–Freleng series would remain in production through 1980, with new cartoons produced for simultaneous Saturday morning broadcast and United Artists theatrical release. Layout artist Hawley Pratt, who worked at DePatie–Freleng during
1110-608: A young Walter Lantz in early 1929, Harman and Ising, alongside a number of former Oswald animators put together a pilot short, " Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid", featuring a character Harman created in 1928 as sound films were becoming popular. The short gained them a contract with Warner Brothers studios to produce animated cartoons with Leon Schlesinger as manager. Harman and Ising started the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons in 1930 and 1931, respectively (Harman would direct
1184-503: The Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from the 1930s to the early 1960s. In total he created more than 300 cartoons. He introduced and/or developed several of the studio's biggest stars, including Bugs Bunny , Porky Pig , Tweety , Sylvester , Yosemite Sam (to whom he was said to bear more than a passing resemblance), Granny , and Speedy Gonzales . The senior director at Warners' Termite Terrace studio, Freleng directed more cartoons than any other director in
1258-557: The Merrie Melodies cartoons from black and white, to two-strip Technicolor in 1934, and finally to full three-strip Technicolor in 1935. The Looney Tunes series would be produced in black-and-white for much longer, until 1943. Because of the limited spacing conditions in the Schlesinger building at 1351 N. Van Ness on the Warner Sunset lot, Avery and his unit – including animators Robert Clampett and Chuck Jones – were moved into
1332-527: The San Fernando Valley ), and Format was commissioned to produce three "buffer" cartoons with Daffy and Speedy (again, directed by Rudy Larriva) to fill the gap until Warner Bros.'s own studio was up and running again. The new cartoon studio was to be founded and headed by studio executive William L. Hendricks , and after an unsuccessful attempt at luring Bob Clampett out of retirement, former Walter Lantz Productions and Hanna-Barbera animator Alex Lovy
1406-588: The UCLA Medical Center , aged 89. The WB animated TV series The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries , and the Looney Tunes cartoon From Hare to Eternity (which was the last one directed by Chuck Jones), were both dedicated to his memory. After his death, Cartoon Network aired a variation of one of their station idents with the words "Friz Freleng: 1906–1995" (the birth year is disputed) appearing and an announcer paying tribute to Freleng and his works. He
1480-513: The Ub Iwerks studio; however, Iwerks struggled to adapt his style to the type of humor that the Looney Tunes had developed by this time, and so Clampett took over as director (using Iwerks' staff) for the last two of these outsourced cartoons. Schlesinger was so impressed by Clampett's work on these shorts that he opened a fourth unit for Clampett to head, although for tax reasons this was technically
1554-483: The "Happy Harmonies" series in color (incidentally replacing fellow 1920s-era Disney veteran Ub Iwerks ), in which Harman redeveloped Bosko into a realistic African-American kid. After yet another money-related quarrel, Harman and Ising were fired by MGM in 1937, being replaced by an in-house cartoon studio headed by Fred Quimby . That same year, Disney borrowed the Harman-Ising Ink and Paint unit for Snow White and
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#17330938277361628-742: The 1930s and 1940s, by the 1950s each story man worked almost exclusively with one director: Maltese with Jones, Foster with Freleng, and Pierce with McKimson. With the advent of the 3-D film craze in 1953, Warner Bros. shut its cartoon studio down in June of that year, fearing that 3-D cartoon production would be too expensive (only one Warner Bros. cartoon was ever produced in 3-D, Jones' Lumber Jack-Rabbit starring Bugs Bunny). The creative staff dispersed (Jones, for example, went to work at Disney on Sleeping Beauty , Maltese went to Walter Lantz Productions , and Freleng went into commercial work). Warner Bros. Cartoons re-opened five months after its close, following
1702-515: The 2000s, by which time it had reacquired the rights to the pre-August 1948 shorts it sold to Associated Artists Productions (known as a.a.p.) on June 11, 1956. Musical Directors Orchestrations Friz Freleng Isadore " Friz " Freleng ( / ˈ f r iː l ə ŋ / ; August 21, 1905 – May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator , cartoonist , director , producer , and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on
1776-561: The 50s, while trying to maintain a fully-animated style, and Davis' cartoons (having the smallest budget of the four units) prioritizes its animation and jokes over the stories, as Davis was said to had an insecurity with his story men. Among the Warner Bros. cartoon stars who were created after Schlesinger's departure include Pepé Le Pew (1945, Odor-able Kitty by Jones), Sylvester (1945, Life with Feathers by Freleng), Yosemite Sam (1945, Hare Trigger by Freleng), Foghorn Leghorn (1946, Walky Talky Hawky by McKimson), Marvin
1850-562: The Looney Tune shorts), and produced them until 1933. Following a number of clashes with Schlesinger over budgets, they decided to leave WB and look for another distributor. Harman and Ising took Bosko with them, having previously copyrighted him to avoid facing the same situation Disney had with Oswald. In the meantime, Harman-Ising Pictures outsourced a number of Cubby Bear cartoons for The Van Beuren Corporation . In early 1934, Harman and Ising were hired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , which launched
1924-610: The Martian (1948, Haredevil Hare by Jones), Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (1949, Fast and Furry-ous by Jones), Granny (1950, Canary Row by Freleng), Speedy Gonzales (1953, Cat-Tails for Two by McKimson) and The Tasmanian Devil (1954, Devil May Hare by McKimson). In later years, even more minor Looney Tunes characters such as Freleng's Rocky and Mugsy , Jones's Gossamer and Michigan J. Frog , and McKimson's Pete Puma have become significantly popular. After
1998-730: The Schlesinger studio produced a number of films for the United States military in support of its efforts in World War II . Under the command of the US Air Force 's First Motion Picture Unit , headed from 1942 to 1944 by Major Theodor Seuss Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss ), the studio produced the Private Snafu and (with Walter Lantz Productions ) Mr. Hook cartoons for the servicemen's entertainment. On July 1, 1944, Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. for $ 700,000, which renamed
2072-465: The Schlesinger-Katz studio was taken by Norm McCabe , a Clampett animator whose cartoons focused in war-related humor; McCabe, in turn, lasted barely a year before being drafted, and Frank Tashlin returned to the studio to replace him. By 1942, the Schlesinger studio had surpassed Walt Disney Productions as the most successful producer of animated shorts in the United States. Between 1942 and 1945,
2146-558: The Seven Dwarfs and the studio also outsourced a number of cartoons for the Silly Symphonies series, although Disney ultimately only accepted Merbabies , the other shorts being released by MGM in early 1938, which after a rocky start with the in-house studio, decided to take Harman and Ising back some time later as production supervisors. After leaving Metro in 1941, Harman founded a new studio with Disney veteran Mel Shaw. In 1943,
2220-659: The United States by United Artists (UA) in 1968 because the use of ethnic stereotypes in the cartoons, specifically African stereotypes, was deemed too offensive for contemporary audiences. David DePatie, when asked about the Japanese beetle in Blue Racer in 1996, said this about Friz's view on race, "It seems like poking fun at certain ethnic groups had always spelled success. Friz had always felt that way in his cartoons, especially with Speedy." In September 1937, Freleng left Schlesinger after accepting an increase in salary to direct for
2294-533: The air under various names and on all three major networks for four decades from 1960 to 2000. All versions of The Bugs Bunny Show featured Warner Bros. cartoons released after July 31, 1948, as all of the Technicolor cartoons released before that date were sold to Associated Artists Productions on June 11, 1956. David H. DePatie became the last executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio in 1961. The same year, Chuck Jones moonlighted to write
Hugh Harman - Misplaced Pages Continue
2368-1043: The animation of the lightsaber blades, which was done by Korean animator Nelson Shin . By 1967, DePatie and Freleng had moved their operations to the San Fernando Valley . Their studio was located on Hayvenhurst Avenue in Van Nuys . One of their projects, titled Goldilocks , featured Bing Crosby and his family, and had songs by the Sherman Brothers . At their new facilities, they continued to produce new cartoons until 1980, when they sold DePatie–Freleng to Marvel Comics , which renamed it Marvel Productions . Freleng later served as an executive producer on three 1980s Looney Tunes compilation features, The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981), Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982), and Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (1983), which linked classic shorts with new animated sequences. In 1986, Freleng stepped down and gave his position at Warner Bros. to his secretary at
2442-560: The army and for educational films. After a two year hiatus, Harman returned to the animation industry with The Littlest Angel , a collaboration between his company and Coronet Films . Harman's final film he did (albeit incomplete and entirely shipped to Coronet, completed by Gordon A. Sheehan ) was Tom Thumb in King Arthur's Court. Harman worked on the film extensively with Mel Shaw , but ultimately gave production to Coronet because he couldn't complete it. After Harman-Ising Studios closed in
2516-630: The background of scenes advertising various products called "Friz". The "Hotel Friz" was featured in Racketeer Rabbit (1946) and "Frizby the Magician" was one of the acts Bugs Bunny pitched in High Diving Hare (1949). Freleng was somewhat of a musical composer and a classically trained violinist who timed his cartoons on musical bar sheets. Freleng would time gags that best utilized Carl Stalling 's, Milt Franklyn 's or William Lava 's music. He
2590-401: The cartoon division), forming DePatie–Freleng Enterprises . When Warner decided to reopen their cartoon studio in 1964, due to Freleng asking them if he can rent the studio, eventually settling for $ 500, they did so in name only; DePatie–Freleng produced the cartoons into 1966. The DePatie–Freleng studio's signature achievement was The Pink Panther . DePatie–Freleng was commissioned to create
2664-518: The cartoon failed to generate interest, Freleng moved to New York City to work on Mintz' Krazy Kat cartoons, all the while still trying to sell the Harman-Ising Bosko picture. Freleng was very unhappy living in New York and made the best of it until another opportunity opened for him. Bosko was finally sold to Leon Schlesinger , who would produce the series for Warner Bros. At first, Freleng
2738-456: The company Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. , and Edward Selzer (who by Jones' and Freleng's accounts had no sense of humor or admiration of cartoons), was appointed by Warner Bros. as the new head of the cartoon studio after Schlesinger retired. In September 1944 Frank Tashlin left, and in May 1945, Bob Clampett left. Tashlin's unit was initially taken over by Robert McKimson . The remaining animators of
2812-459: The duo signed a deal with Orson Welles to adapt The Little Prince , in which Welles would play the role of the aviator while a random child actor would portray the prince. A few months later, Welles fell ill with hepatitis, nearly dying while recovering in Florida. After this, the deal fell through and the film was scrapped. From 1945 to 1947, his production company would produce various cartoons for
2886-542: The early 1960s, Harman fell in a state of abject poverty. He lived in a ramshackle house, no longer being able to afford a car, although he often disguised his precarious state by frequently having breakfast at a Beverly Hills restaurant. He had to constantly borrow money from Ising, as well as colleagues Friz Freleng and Roy O. Disney in the 1970s to keep afloat. He also received a monthly allowance from his brother Fred, until Fred's death in January 1982. After that point, Harman
2960-484: The early 1980s. The nickname "Friz" came from his friend, Hugh Harman , who initially nicknamed him "Congressman Frizby" after a fictional senator who appeared in satirical pieces in the Los Angeles Examiner , due to the character's strong resemblance to him. Over time, this shortened to "Friz". William Schallert claimed that Freleng was the model for Mr. Magoo due to his physical appearance. Freleng
3034-755: The end of the 3-D craze. In 1955, the staff moved into a brand new facility on the main Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. KTLA television took over the old studio location on Van Ness; the old Warner Sunset Studios is today called Sunset Bronson Studios . Also on February 19, 1955, Warner Bros. sold its library of black and white Looney Tunes to Guild Films . The package consisted of 191 cartoons which began showing on television that year. By 1958, Selzer had retired, and veteran Warner Cartoons production manager John Burton took his place. Warner Bros. also lost its trio of staff storymen at this time. Foster and Maltese found work at Hanna-Barbera Productions , while Pierce worked on
Hugh Harman - Misplaced Pages Continue
3108-405: The era have more adult-oriented humor than Lovy's. However, on October 10, 1969, Warner Bros. ceased production on all its short subjects and shut the studio down for good when Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was acquired by Kinney National Company . The back catalog of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts would remain a popular broadcast and syndication package for Warner Bros. Television well into
3182-564: The film, I Haven't Got a Hat (1935). Porky was a distinctive character, unlike Bosko or his replacement, Buddy . As a director, Freleng gained the reputation of a tough taskmaster. His unit, however, consistently produced high-quality animated shorts under his direction. Friz Freleng directed the largest number of cartoons on the Censored Eleven , a group of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons originally produced and released by Warner Bros. that were withheld from syndication in
3256-487: The first Looney Tunes cartoon shorts directed by Freleng during his second tenure at the studio was You Ought to Be in Pictures , a cartoon short which blended animation with live-action footage of the Warner Bros. studio (and included staff such as story man Michael Maltese and Schlesinger himself). The plot, which centers around Porky Pig being tricked by Daffy Duck into terminating his contract with Schlesinger to attempt
3330-468: The height of television popularity and decline in moviegoing, DePatie was sent to a board meeting in New York, and he was informed that the cartoon studio was going to be shut down. DePatie completed the task by 1963. The final project at the studio was making the animated sequences, directed by McKimson, for the 1964 Warner Bros. feature The Incredible Mr. Limpet . With the studio closed, Hal Seeger Productions in New York had to be contracted to produce
3404-608: The initial Clampett's unit were assigned to Arthur Davis . Although inheriting most of their staff, these units have been the least known among the four, apart from having lower budgets than Jones and Freleng. In 1948, the studio moved to a larger building on the Sunset Boulevard lot. Davis' separate unit was dissolved in November 1947, and he became an animator for Freleng. The four units became noted by their respective styles, mostly influenced by their budgets: Jones' cartoons (having
3478-591: The insect world (as in Of Thee I Sting (1946) and Ant Pasted (1953)), an inebriated stork delivering the wrong baby (in A Mouse Divided (1952), Stork Naked (1955) and Apes of Wrath (1959)), and characters marrying for money and finding themselves with a shrewish wife and a troublesome step-son ( His Bitter Half (1949) and Honey's Money (1962)). Freleng was occasionally the subject of in-jokes in Warner cartoons. In Canary Row (1950), there were billboards in
3552-435: The largest budgets) featured a more visual and sophisticated art style, and focused more on unique story telling and characterization over traditional gags, Freleng's cartoons (having a smaller budget than Jones) developed a conservative directorial style which uses sharp timing, jokes and use of music for comedic effect McKimson's cartoons (also with a smaller budget) kept up the traditional screwball antics-based direction into
3626-466: The most famous and recognizable characters in the world. Many of the creative staff members at the studio, including directors and animators such as Chuck Jones , Friz Freleng , Robert McKimson , Tex Avery , Robert Clampett , Arthur Davis , and Frank Tashlin , are considered major figures in the art and history of traditional animation . Warner Bros. Cartoons was founded in 1933 by Leon Schlesinger as Leon Schlesinger Productions . Schlesinger sold
3700-604: The musical comedies he animated in his early career, such as Three Little Bops (1957) and Pizzicato Pussycat (1955). He won four Oscars during his time at Warner Bros., for the films Tweetie Pie (1947), Speedy Gonzales (1955), Birds Anonymous (1957) and Knighty Knight Bugs (1958). Other Freleng cartoons, such as Sandy Claws (1955), Mexicali Shmoes (1959), Mouse and Garden (1960) and The Pied Piper of Guadalupe (1961) were Oscar nominees. Freleng's cartoon, Show Biz Bugs (1957), with Daffy Duck vying with Bugs Bunny for theatre audience appreciation,
3774-555: The new Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio headed by Fred Quimby . Freleng served as a director on The Captain and the Kids , an animated series adapted from the comic strip of the same name (an alternate version of The Katzenjammer Kids ). In November 1938, Freleng became a "junior director" under Hugh Harman but quit after 6 months in April 1939. Freleng happily returned to Warner Bros. in mid-April 1939 when his MGM contract ended. One of
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#17330938277363848-657: The opening and closing credits for The Porky Pig Show , which debuted on ABC on September 20, 1964. This marked one of the first times that the Looney Tunes characters were animated outside of the Los Angeles area. David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng started DePatie–Freleng Enterprises in 1963, and leased the old Warner Bros. Cartoons studio as their headquarters. In 1964, Warner Bros. contracted DePatie–Freleng to produce more Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies , an arrangement that lasted until 1967. The vast majority of these paired off Daffy Duck against Speedy Gonzales, and after
3922-500: The opening titles for the feature film The Pink Panther (1963), for which layout artist and director Hawley Pratt and Freleng created a suave, cool cat character. The Pink Panther cartoon character became so popular that United Artists , distributors of The Pink Panther , had Freleng produce a short cartoon starring the character, The Pink Phink (1964). After The Pink Phink won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) , Freleng and DePatie responded by producing
3996-610: The original studio. Shortly after the studio opened, Warner Bros. was bought out by Seven Arts Associates , and the studio renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts . Initially, Lovy's new team produced more Daffy and Speedy cartoons, but soon moved to create new characters such as Cool Cat and Merlin the Magic Mouse , and even occasional experimental works such as Norman Normal (1968), the only cartoon not to be in either series. Lovy's cartoons were not well received, and many enthusiasts regard them (particularly his Daffy and Speedy efforts) as
4070-460: The script for a UPA -produced feature titled Gay Purr-ee . When that film was picked up by Warner Bros. for distribution in 1962, the studio learned that Jones had violated his exclusive contract with Warners and he was terminated in July. Most of Jones' former unit subsequently re-joined him at Sib Tower 12 Productions to work on a new series of Tom and Jerry cartoons for MGM . In late 1962, at
4144-426: The studio (a total of 266), and is also the most officially-honored of the Warner directors, having won five Academy Awards and three Emmy Awards . After Warner closed down the animation studio in 1963, Freleng and business partner David H. DePatie founded DePatie–Freleng Enterprises , which produced cartoons (including The Pink Panther Show ), feature film title sequences, and Saturday-morning cartoons through
4218-512: The studio in 1941 following a series of disputes with Schlesinger, who shortly after closed the studio for two weeks due to a minor strike similar to the better known one that occurred at Disney. A few months earlier he banished all unionized employees in what became known in retrospect as the "Looney Tune Lockout"; this time Schlesinger lost nearly all of his employees of the Avery unit. Clampett and several of his key animators took over Avery's former unit, while Clampett's own position as director of
4292-418: The studio to Warner Bros. in 1944, after which the Warner Bros. Cartoons name was adopted. The studio closed in 1963, and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were subsequently subcontracted to Freleng's DePatie–Freleng Enterprises studio from 1964 to 1967. Warner Bros. Cartoons re-opened that year, under Warner Bros.-Seven Arts , before closing again in 1969. It was succeeded by Warner Bros. Animation , which
4366-482: The studio, due to Disney saying he "forfeited his bonus" along with comments on his animation mistakes. Freleng moved back to Kansas to work at his old job at the United Film Ad Service. Freleng soon teamed up with Harman and Ising (who had also left Disney's employ) to create their own studio. The trio produced a pilot film starring a new Mickey Mouse -like character named Bosko . Looking at unemployment if
4440-567: The time, Kathleen Helppie-Shipley, who ended up being the second-longest producer of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies franchise, behind only Leon Schlesinger . In 1994, the International Family Film Festival presented its first Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Animation award to Freleng, and the award has since been referred to as the "Friz Award" in his honor. On May 26, 1995, Friz Freleng died of natural causes at
4514-500: The time, is credited with the creation of Frito-Lay 's Chester Cheetah , on the Food Network show "Deep Fried Treats Unwrapped", though some sources say it was DDB Worldwide , while others credit Brad Morgan. The studio is also known for creating the color opening title sequence for the I Dream of Jeannie television series. DePatie–Freleng also contributed special effects to the original version of Star Wars (1977), particularly
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#17330938277364588-493: The verdict of the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. anti-trust case in 1948 ended the practice of " block booking ", Warner Bros. could no longer force theaters into buying their features and shorts together as packages; shorts had to be sold separately. Theater owners were only willing to pay so much for cartoon shorts, and as a result, by the late-1950s the budgets at Warner Bros. Cartoons became tighter. Selzer forced
4662-505: The virtues of free-market capitalism: By Word of Mouse (1954), Heir-Conditioned (1955) and Yankee Dood It (1956), all three of which involved Sylvester. Freleng directed all three of the vintage Warner Brothers cartoons in which a drinking of Dr. Jekyll's potion (of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ) induces a series of monstrous transformations: Dr. Jerkyl's Hide (1954), Hyde and Hare (1955) and Hyde and Go Tweet (1960). Other Freleng fancies were man at war with
4736-411: The worst cartoons ever produced by the studio. After a year, Alex Lovy left and returned to Hanna-Barbera, and Robert McKimson was brought back to the studio. He focused on using the characters that Lovy had created (and two of his own creation: Bunny and Claude ). The studio's classic characters appeared only in advertisements (as for Plymouth Road Runner ) and cartoon show bumpers. McKimson's films of
4810-485: Was an American animation studio, serving as the in-house animation division of Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American animation . One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, it was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films. The characters featured in these cartoons, including Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , and Porky Pig , are among
4884-455: Was appointed director at the new studio. He brought his longtime collaborator, Laverne Harding to be the new studio's chief animator, and brought in Disney animator Volus Jones and Ed Solomon who also started at Disney as an assistant, which contributed to make cartoons from this era of the studio stylistically quite different from the studio's "Golden Age". Lovy also brought in animator Ted Bonnicksen and layout artist Bob Givens, both veterans of
4958-473: Was arguably a template for the successful format of The Bugs Bunny Show that premiered on television in the autumn of 1960. Further, Freleng directed the cartoons with the erudite and ever-so-polite Goofy Gophers encountering the relentless wheels of human industry, them being I Gopher You (1954) and Lumber Jerks (1955), and he also directed three cartoons (sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation ) extolling
5032-531: Was born to Louis Mendel Freleng, a Polish Jewish immigrant from Kutno , and Elka (née Ribakoff) Freleng, a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant from Odesa Oblast , in Kansas City, Missouri , where he attended Westport High School from 1919 to 1923 and where began his career in animation at the United Film Ad Service. There, he made the acquaintance of fellow animators Hugh Harman and Ub Iwerks . In 1923, Iwerks' friend, Walt Disney , moved to Hollywood and put out
5106-525: Was established in 1980. Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising originated the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short subjects in 1930 and 1931, respectively. Both cartoon series were produced for Leon Schlesinger at the Harman-Ising Studio on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California , with Warner Bros. Pictures releasing the films to theaters. The first Looney Tunes character
5180-400: Was left with no experienced directors and therefore lured Freleng away from Harman-Ising to successfully fix cartoons directed by Tom Palmer which Warner had rejected. The young animator rapidly became Schlesinger's top director, helming the majority of the higher-budgeted Merrie Melodies shorts during the mid-1930s, and he introduced the studio's first true post-Bosko star, Porky Pig , in
5254-533: Was moved into a house on Chatsworth, the rent being paid by his friends, among them animator Mark Kausler and historian Jim Korkis, who had both met Harman through Bob Clampett in 1973. On November 25, 1982, Harman died after a long illness in his home. He was survived by his son Michael. Harman was married twice, both times ending in divorce. His second wife was a Greek woman named Katia who married him in 1980 but left him soon after gaining her citizenship. Warner Bros. Cartoons Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.
5328-553: Was one of a very few directors at Warner Bros. to have musical knowledge for making cartoons. Every cartoon Freleng directed from the late 1930s to 1963 was made with his creative musical technique. Warner Bros. Cartoons was closed in 1963, leading Freleng to take a job at Hanna-Barbera Productions as story supervisor on their first feature, Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! Freleng rented the same space from Warners to create cartoons with his now-former boss, producer David H. DePatie (the final producer hired by Warner Bros. to oversee
5402-564: Was reluctant to return to California when Harman-Ising asked him to work on the series. At the insistence of his sister Jean, Freleng soon moved back to California to work on the Bosko series, ultimately released under the title Looney Tunes . A prominent animator on the series, Freleng was eventually delegated co-directorial duties on shorts such as Bosko's Picture Show . Harman and Ising (alongside their crew of animators) left Schlesinger's employ over disputes about budgets in 1933. Schlesinger
5476-556: Was the Harman-Ising creation Bosko, The Talk-ink Kid , who competed with Walt Disney 's Mickey Mouse and Max Fleischer 's Betty Boop . In 1933, Harman and Ising parted company with Schlesinger over financial disputes, and took Bosko with them to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . To maintain his contract with Warner Bros., Schlesinger set up his own studio on the Warner Bros. lot on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The Schlesinger studio got off to
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