Monday 17 December 2018

As A Kid,

I loved cartoons,


the more the merrier, but I never gave much thought to the characters creators, until now, and I have to agree the undisputed King of Cartoons is Frederick Bean Avery, aka Tex Avery, so here are a few high points of the man and his career:

1. Tex was blind in one eye, which actually helped his cartooning.
2. At Leon Schlesinger's studio (later bought by Warner Brothers) Tex gave life to existing characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
 3. At the height of his success at Schlesinger's, he left for MGM in 1941. Reports vary as to his quitting or being fired for insubordination.
4. At MGM, Tex created masterpiece after masterpiece, surpassing his work at Schlesinger's. He quit MGM in 1954, working for Walter Lantz a short time, before leaving theatrical cartoons altogether in favor of animated commercials such as Raid and the Frito Bandido.
5. Tex went full-circle late in life, returning to directing cartoons for Hanna-Barbara, his old friendly rivals at MGM, before his death in 1980,

it should be noted that Tex created the famous Bugs Bunny line 'What's Up, Doc?', claiming later that this was just something that was in the popular vernacular in his high school, more on Tex Avery can be found here and the video at the top of the post is an excellent capsule study of Tex, featuring commentary by those who worked with him, such as fellow director Chuck Jones and voice artist June Foray, so grab a couple of mugs of coffee and see if you agree Tex Avery is the King of Cartoons, it is well worth watching and gives a great insight to the making of so many household favorites.


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