The Genius of Being Looney!
A Positive Influence
I grew up watching Looney Tunes cartoons. I credit them with my intellectual curiosity, sense of humor - both intelligent and locker room - and my appreciation of classical music. I remember being amazed when I learned these cartoons were made between 1930 and 1969!
When I decided to write a piece about the men who brought these wonderful cartoons to life I knew, if I wanted to honor them properly, I would need to do some research. To be honest, the only thing I knew about them was that they were all dead now. But, I knew they were comic geniuses who were masters of expressing subtle humor. And I could tell that these guys were having fun! There were at least seven major players responsible for creating Looney Tunes, and all their stories are interesting and colorful. I choose four to feature in this story because, well, I'm a product of the media age and I have a short attention span. But, if you're interested in knowing more, visit The Non-Stick Looney Page.
Trivia: The Looney Tunes theme is titled "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down"
So, here are just four of the pioneers whose contributions to Looney Tunes animated shorts set the standard which still holds today.
Bugs Bunny and Witch Hazel.
Mel Blanc
Born Melvin Jerome Blank,1908, in San Francisco, California to Jewish parents and raised in Portland, Oregon, he was known throughout the industry as The Man of a Thousand Voices. Mel began his 60 years in show business doing radio (including The Abbott & Costello Show and Burns & Allen) and television commercials until he found his way to voicing cartoon characters in 1939.
He changed the "k" in his name to a "c" when a teacher told him he would amount to nothing and be, like his name, "blank."
While he was the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety Bird, Porky Pig and many others, his first cartoon voice was that of a drunken bull in a Porky Pig cartoon titled Picador Porky and his natural voice was that of Sylvester the Cat, without the lispy spray.
On January 24th,1961 he was in a near-fatal car accident on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, CA. Along with fractures to both legs and pelvis, he suffered a triple skull fracture which left him in a coma for three weeks. While in the hospital, he received some 15,000 get-well cards from fans, many addressed only to "Bugs Bunny, Hollywood, California." While in the coma, his wife and son swear that when the doctor would ask him "How are you today, Bugs Bunny?", he would answer back in Bugs' voice. He thus credited Bugs Bunny with saving his life. While he was still at home in recovery, he voiced the character of Barney Rubble on The Flintstones. And, contrary to the myth, he was not auditioned by George Lucas for the voice of C-3PO.
Mel Blanc died at the age of 81 from cardiovascular disease in 1989. It was a significant loss to the cartoon industry. No one has since matched his skill, expressive range and volume of characters.
Elmer Fudd, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck
Chuck Jones
Born Charles Martin Jones, 1912, in Spokane, Washington, he was the greatest animation director of all time. His work is noted for refinement of character to the point that a single eyebrow raise or sidewards glance could could say more and be funnier than any dialogue. Chuck Jones was the reason Looney Tunes were so funny and so intelligent.
He joined the Looney Tunes team in 1933 and raised the bar for animation with such critically acclaimed shorts as What's Opera, Doc? In 1996 he was recognized with an Academy Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement. Outside of his Looney Tunes classics, he directed the Tom & Jerry cartoons; How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; Horton Hear a Who!; Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Brothers and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.
Chuck Jones died of heart failure in 2002.
Foghorn Leghorn and "That Dog."
Friz Freleng
Born Isadore Freleng in Kansas City, Missouri, 1906, he was an animator, cartoonist, director and producer. He introduced and/or developed several of Looney Tune's biggest stars, including Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Porky Pig, Sylverter the Cat, Yosemite Sam (to whom he was said to have more than a passing resemblance) and Speedy Gonzalez, and was honored with four Academy Awards.
He joined the Looney Tunes team (at Termite Terrace) in 1940 where his comedic timing quickly matured. Soon, he and Chuck Jones dominated Warner Brothers studios and kept pace with - and gave serious competition to - Walt Disney's cartoons. And it was Freleng who would later create, with Dave DePatie, the Pink Panther cartoons.
Friz Freleng died of natural causes in 1995 at the age of 89.
Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote ... Super Genius!
Tex Avery
Born Frederick Bean Avery (son of judge Roy Bean), 1908, in Taylor, Texas, he was an animator, cartoonist and director and was responsible for creating and/or developing Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Droopy, Screwy Squirrel, Porky Pig and Chilly Willy. He came to the Looney Tunes/Termite Terrace team in 1935 and was soon heading his own animation team.
His unique directing style broke the mold of strict realism established by Walt Disney and encouraged animators to stretch the boundaries of the medium to do things in a cartoon which could not be done in live action.
In 1941 he quit the Looney Tunes team, enraged, after the ending of one of his cartoons was edited and changed by the studio without his consent. He then went to MGM Studios, where he continued to create characters such as Droopy, Screwy Squirrel and Barney Bear. He stayed at MGM until 1953.
Tex Avery died from lung cancer on August 26, 1980, in Burbank, California.
Yosemite Sam
One of my absolute favorites
To these men and all of the Termite Terrace team; Rest in peace. You are missed and your work will remain forever loved.
