Bob McKimson
| Robert McKimson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Robert Porter McKimson October 13, 1910 Denver, Colorado |
| Died | September 29, 1977 (aged 66) Burbank, California |
| Other names | Bob McKimson |
| Occupation | Animator, director, illustrator |
| Years active | 1928–1977 |
| Children | Robert Jr., Marlyn |
Robert Porter "Bob" McKimson, Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. He was also well known for defining Bugs Bunny's look in 1943.
Born in Denver, Colorado, McKimson spent 10 years getting an art education. He then went to work for Walt Disney. He stayed with Disney's studio for two years and then went to work for the Romer Grey Studio located in Altadena, California in 1930, a would-be animation shop started by the son of Western author Zane Grey, and financed by Zane Grey's wife. Several cartoons were animated at the Romer Grey Studio, but due to the Great Depression, the studio was unable to close a distribution deal. None of the shorts was released, with only a handful of them being completed (only one of them is known to exist today).
At the same time he began working for Grey, McKimson was hired by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, first doing the ink-and-paint duties for the very first Looney Tunes, then becoming an in-betweener before becoming an animator by 1931, when the Romer Grey Studio shut down. At that time he had an accident that gave him a concussion. As a result, he was able to visualize better, thus increasing his production and animation. He was the head animator and go-to guy in the late 1930s at the studio, which overwhelmed him. Eventually he worked exclusively with Bob Clampett. He was offered a directorial position by Leon Schlesinger in 1937, but declined, allowing the position to go to animator Chuck Jones. He accepted his own directorial position in late 1944, when Frank Tashlin left Warner Bros. to direct live-action films.
...
Wikipedia