Friz Freleng yearbook photo, 1923. Retrieved from Wikipedia, public domain (accessed: February 7, 2022).
Friz Freleng
, 1906 - 1995
Friz Freleng, actually Isadore "Friz" Freleng, was an American animator and producer of cartoons, working mainly for Warner Bros. "Looney Tunes" series. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His first cartoons were published in the local college newspaper, while he still was in high school. After getting acquainted with Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks, Hugh and Fred Harman, he worked for Walt Disney and his company. After that he joined Warner Brother's animation department headed by Hugh Harman. Later on, he became the head of animation department in Leon Shlesinger's studio (at Warner Bros.) and developed the character of Porky Pig (1935). Freleng worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1937–1939) and was responsible for several propaganda cartoons during WW2. Later, he came back to Schlesinger and Warner Bros. and developed more characters: Yosemite Sam (1945), Sylvester the Cat (1945), Rocky and Mugsy (1946/1954) and Granny (1950), as well as the series "Tweety and Sylvester" (1947) and "Speedy Gonzales" (1955). He was one of the most successful animators in the industry. He also developed Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny for Warner Bros. Cartoons. He won five Academy Awards and three Emmies. Freleng worked on the series about Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Tweety, and many other well-known characters from "Looney Tunes". Later on, he co-founded DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, which produced e.g., The Pink Panther Show (with Freleng as co-creator).
Sources:
Mark Arnold, Think Pink! The Story of DePatie-Freleng, Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media, 2016, 9–14.
lambiek.net (accessed: August 9, 2021).
Bio prepared by Anna Mik, University of Warsaw, anna.m.mik@gmail.com
Records in database:
