JANUARY 1960
Johnny Burton had surgery… whut’s up wit dat? Ruben Apodaca joins the staff as assistant animator. Bob Gribberoek got a 10k cooking prize – handed to him by James Gardner.
FEBRUARY 1960
MARCH 1960
And so, John Burton retires – and David DePatie steps in with the immediate job of producing The Bugs Bunny Show for ABC in September. Jack L. Warner and Dave’s dad, E.L. DePatie, visit the studio, stating that the cartoon division will be the “focal point of studio management from now on, as a result of the increased television activity.” Mexicali Schmoes is nominated for an Oscar… and returning artists include Ben Schenkman, Ben Washam, Abe Levitow, Phil Monroe, Bob Matz and John Dunn.
McKimson, Jones, DePatie, Freleng and Bill Orcutt – the new executive brain trust at Warner Bros. cartoons beginning this month.
APRIL 1960
The physical cartoon studio expands – the Bugs Bunny Show and TV commercials, along with the theatricals, will now be produced under one roof. Animators Alex Ignatiev and Keith Darling return to the studio. The first episode of The Bugs Bunny Show was completed and screened to the employees.
MAY 1960
JUNE 1960
One item to note here: Treg Brown cuts off part of his finger… Ewwww!
NEXT WEEK: 1960 – part 2
Jerry Beck is a writer, animation producer, college professor and author of more than 15 books on animation history. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He has curated cartoons for DVD and Blu-ray compilations and has lent his expertise to dozens of bonus documentaries and audio commentaries on such. Beck is currently on the faculty of CalArts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [
James Garner was getting ready to walk off “Maverick” in a dispute with Warner Bros. just about the time he handed Gribbroek that cooking award. Any later and Jack Kelly would have had to do it.
A Kaiser Foil promotion with no presentation by Clark Smathers? Hope he was waiting backstage with his mallet.
Sorry to read about Tregoweth’s mishap. Wonder if it was accompanied by an amusingly incongruous sound effect?
Anyone know what theatrical cartoons would’ve been in production during the same time they were producing The Bugs Bunny Show? I would think they would’ve been the cartoons eventually released in late 1961 or early 1962, given the studio’s backlog, but I’m not 100% sure.
Good thing we’ve reached this point now, because I’ve been curious about how Bill Lava and others at the music department went about composing and arranging the opening theme for “The Bugs Bunny Show”.
May ’60 mentions Ken Harris’ return to work after a surgery. I believe this could have been when Ken had been diagnosed with Angina Pectoris. This stopped his smoking and active tennis playing.