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Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (/ˈeɪvəri/; February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His most significant work was for the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he was crucial in the creation and evolution of famous animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Droopy, Screwy Squirrel, The Wolf, Red Hot Riding Hood, and George and Junior.
He gained influence for his technical innovation, directorial style, and brand of humor, which contained many adult-oriented references despite the general assumption that animation was intended especially for children. Avery's attitude toward animation was opposite that of Walt Disney and other conventional family cartoons at the time. Avery's cartoons were known for their essentially darker, sarcastic, ironic, absurdist, irreverent, and sometimes sexual tone in nature. They focused on visual gags, meta humor, physically impossible gags, social satire, surrealist humor, rapid pacing, racial stereotypes, and violent slapstick occurring around brash, outlandish characters who broke the fourth wall, stating that cartoons is meant to do anything.
Avery was born to Mary Augusta "Jessie" (née Bean; 1886–1931) and George Walton Avery (1867–1935) in Taylor, Texas. His father was born in Alabama and his mother was born in Chickasaw County, Mississippi.
Avery graduated in 1926 from North Dallas High School. A popular catchphrase at his school was "What's up, doc?", which he later used for Bugs Bunny in the 1940s. Interested in becoming a newspaper cartoonist, he took a three-month summer course at the Chicago Art Institute but left after a month.
Tex Avery's major inspirations were comedians such as Laurel & Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and especially The Marx Brothers; the latter of which was inspiration for Bugs Bunny. He was especially inspired by Winsor McCay, Pat Sullivan, Otto Messmer, Max Fleischer and Walt Disney in term of animation field. He additionally liked the works of newspaper comic strip artist Virgil Partch, mainly praising for his surrealist gags.
On January 1, 1928, Avery arrived in Los Angeles. He spent the next few months working in menial jobs. According to animation historian Michael Barrier, these jobs included working in a warehouse, working on the docks at night, loading fruits and vegetables, and painting cars. He began his animation career when hired by the Winkler studio (named after producer Margaret J. Winkler and later known as Screen Gems). He was an inker, inking cels for animated short films in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series; the character had been created by Walt Disney. Avery then moved to a new studio, Universal Cartoon Studios (later known as Walter Lantz Productions). He was again employed as an inker, but moved rapidly up the studio's hierarchy. By 1930, Avery had been promoted to the position of animator.
Avery continued working at the Walter Lantz Studio into the early 1930s. He worked on most of the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons from 1931 to 1935. He is shown as "animator" on the original title card credits on the Oswald cartoons. He later claimed to have directed two cartoons during this time.
During some office horseplay at the Lantz studio, a thumbtack or paper clip flew into Avery's left eye and caused him to lose sight in that eye. Some speculate it was his lack of depth perception that gave him his unique look at animation and bizarre directorial style, but it did not stop his creative career. The incident is described in some detail by Barrier, based in part on old interviews with Avery. Part of the typical crude horseplay at the Universal studio was using a rubber band or a paper spitball to target the back of a colleague's head. An animator called Charles Hastings decided to take the game one step further, by using a wire paper clip, instead. Avery heard one of his colleagues telling him to look out. He reacted by turning around. Instead of the back of his head, the paper clip hit Avery in his left eye. He instantly lost the use of his eye.
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Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (/ˈeɪvəri/; February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His most significant work was for the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he was crucial in the creation and evolution of famous animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Droopy, Screwy Squirrel, The Wolf, Red Hot Riding Hood, and George and Junior.
He gained influence for his technical innovation, directorial style, and brand of humor, which contained many adult-oriented references despite the general assumption that animation was intended especially for children. Avery's attitude toward animation was opposite that of Walt Disney and other conventional family cartoons at the time. Avery's cartoons were known for their essentially darker, sarcastic, ironic, absurdist, irreverent, and sometimes sexual tone in nature. They focused on visual gags, meta humor, physically impossible gags, social satire, surrealist humor, rapid pacing, racial stereotypes, and violent slapstick occurring around brash, outlandish characters who broke the fourth wall, stating that cartoons is meant to do anything.
Avery was born to Mary Augusta "Jessie" (née Bean; 1886–1931) and George Walton Avery (1867–1935) in Taylor, Texas. His father was born in Alabama and his mother was born in Chickasaw County, Mississippi.
Avery graduated in 1926 from North Dallas High School. A popular catchphrase at his school was "What's up, doc?", which he later used for Bugs Bunny in the 1940s. Interested in becoming a newspaper cartoonist, he took a three-month summer course at the Chicago Art Institute but left after a month.
Tex Avery's major inspirations were comedians such as Laurel & Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and especially The Marx Brothers; the latter of which was inspiration for Bugs Bunny. He was especially inspired by Winsor McCay, Pat Sullivan, Otto Messmer, Max Fleischer and Walt Disney in term of animation field. He additionally liked the works of newspaper comic strip artist Virgil Partch, mainly praising for his surrealist gags.
On January 1, 1928, Avery arrived in Los Angeles. He spent the next few months working in menial jobs. According to animation historian Michael Barrier, these jobs included working in a warehouse, working on the docks at night, loading fruits and vegetables, and painting cars. He began his animation career when hired by the Winkler studio (named after producer Margaret J. Winkler and later known as Screen Gems). He was an inker, inking cels for animated short films in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series; the character had been created by Walt Disney. Avery then moved to a new studio, Universal Cartoon Studios (later known as Walter Lantz Productions). He was again employed as an inker, but moved rapidly up the studio's hierarchy. By 1930, Avery had been promoted to the position of animator.
Avery continued working at the Walter Lantz Studio into the early 1930s. He worked on most of the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons from 1931 to 1935. He is shown as "animator" on the original title card credits on the Oswald cartoons. He later claimed to have directed two cartoons during this time.
During some office horseplay at the Lantz studio, a thumbtack or paper clip flew into Avery's left eye and caused him to lose sight in that eye. Some speculate it was his lack of depth perception that gave him his unique look at animation and bizarre directorial style, but it did not stop his creative career. The incident is described in some detail by Barrier, based in part on old interviews with Avery. Part of the typical crude horseplay at the Universal studio was using a rubber band or a paper spitball to target the back of a colleague's head. An animator called Charles Hastings decided to take the game one step further, by using a wire paper clip, instead. Avery heard one of his colleagues telling him to look out. He reacted by turning around. Instead of the back of his head, the paper clip hit Avery in his left eye. He instantly lost the use of his eye.