Friz Freleng

The career of animation giant Friz Freleng encompassed much of the history of his chosen medium. He entered the industry in 1927 during the silent era as an animator on the popular Oswald the Rabbit series produced by the young visionary Walt Disney. Freleng also helped usher in the sound era in cartoons--notably with the three-minute pilot film "Bosko the Talk Ink Kid" (1929)--as the chief animator during the early days of the Harman-Ising studio (which soon evolved into producer Leon Schlesinger's animation unit at Warner Brothers). After a brief but transformative stint as a director at Fred Quimby's cartoon unit at MGM from late 1937 through early 1939, Freleng entered his multi-Oscar-winning glory days at Termite Terrace (the bungalow on the Warner lot where the animation department was housed) in the 1940s and 50s. Even during the artistically diminished era of 60s and 70s Saturday morning TV cartoons, he emerged as a major player in a very different field. Freleng truly saw it all and played a substantial role in making it happen.