Born in 1908 in Taylor, Texas, Frederick Bean “Tex” Avery was a cartoonist, animator, and director who was famously known for creating and producing animated cartoons during what would be known as the golden age of U.S. animation. He was integral in the development and evolution of Bugs Bunny, created such characters as Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Droopy, and Chilly Willy, among others, and had an innovative approach to cartooning the steered away from sentimentality and more towards duo appeal. Adults and children alike loved his work, which was loaded with irony, sarcasm and speedy jokes.
Nicknamed “Tex,” “Texas,” and “Fred,” he was raised in Taylor, Texas, outside of Austin, and graduated from North Dallas High School in 1926. A descendant of the infamous Judge Roy Bean as well as Daniel Boone, his grandmother told him, “Don’t ever mention you are kin to Roy Bean. He’s a no good skunk!!” The colorful nature of his kin and life in Texas carried forward into his work. A catchphrase which was quite popular at his school was “What’s up, Doc?” Sound familiar?! He would later go on to use it in a number of Bugs Bunny cartoons during the 1940s, eventually making it one of the beloved rabbit’s iconic sayings.
He began his animation career with Winkler studio as an inker for short films in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series, then moving to Universal Studio Cartoons (which would later become known as Walter Lantz Productions). By 1930, he was promoted to the position of animator, but in ’35, he lost his job, got married, and went to work at Leon Schlesinger Productions (which would later be known as Warner Bros. Cartoons), also managing to convince one of the producers that he was an experienced director. This would be where he worked closely with Friz Freleng and Jack King, Bob Clampett and Sid Sutherland, Virgil Ross and Chuck Jones. Their animation unit was assigned to work for the most part on black-and-white Looney Tunes cartoons as opposed to the Technicolor Merrie Melodies.
In 1941, Avery signed with MGM for a five-year contract, giving him the ability to form his own animation unit and direct. It was here that his creativity reached its peak. His cartoons made a name for him, MGM offered him higher quality production levels and larger budgets. His first short released under this contract was “The Blitz Wolf,” which was a parody of Adolf Hitler, and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) in 1942. Following this, he created Droopy (originally called “Happy Hound,”) who was a calm, small, slow-talking dog, and made a number of memorable cartoons under MGM’s direction. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, he turned toward animated TV commercials, including the ones for Raid in which insects screamed “RAID!” and keeled over flamboyantly. And finally, he moved to Hanna-Barbera Productions, where Saturday morning cartoons were filled with his gags and cartoon concepts. Shared by E. Solo.’s YouTube Channel, the clip above is only a small taste of this master cartoonist’s directing style. “Tex” Avery had a hand in many of the cartoon mediums that much of the boomer generation grew up with, and most of their parents got a kick out of. His work continues to be purchased and viewed by collectors, families, and children of all ages, and his legacy of turning laughter through animation into a pop-culture art form will live on for generations to come.
References:
Wikipedia
IMDb
