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94-499: Clampett was promoted to a directorial position in 1937. During his 15 years at the studio, he directed 84 cartoons later deemed classic, and designed some of the studio's most famous characters, including Porky Pig , Daffy Duck and Tweety . Among his most acclaimed films are Porky in Wackyland (1938) and The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946). He left Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1946 and turned his attention to television, creating

188-494: A Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special". Porky also made cameo appearances in Animaniacs (where he was voiced by Rob Paulsen in ”De-Zanitized”, Greg Burson in “The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special”, and Bob Bergen in “Suffragette City”) and Histeria! (where he was voiced by Billy West ). Porky appears in the movie Space Jam (1996) and collaborates with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and Sylvester in challenging

282-569: A bar called Porky's which often featured attendants that were humanoid versions of other Looney Tunes characters. The bar and Porky also made a cameo in Tom King's Batman series. Porky appears in the preschool series Bugs Bunny Builders which aired on Cartoon Network 's Cartoonito block and HBO Max , where he is once again voiced by Bob Bergen. Porky appears in the Teen Titans Go! episode, "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary". He

376-575: A bi-bi-, son of a bi-bi-, son of a bi-bi-bi-... gun!" He then turns to the viewers and says "Ha-ha-ha! You thought I was gonna say 's-s-son of a bitch ', didn't ya?" This short, so-called " blooper " can also be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 of 2006, under the title Porky Pig Breakdowns of 1939 (with several versions of the clip, making it look like a true "blooper"), and on an Each Dawn I Die DVD box set, also released in 2006. Though

470-517: A book about an animated couple (she also founded Clampett Studio collections after her father's death); and Cheri Clampett, a therapeutic yoga specialist. Porky Pig Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power , and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts featuring

564-486: A cause. She had left the Termite Terrace in 1943 and did not meet Clampett again until 1960. She did, however, hear from people whom Clampett helped break into the animation business and/or mentored. Clampett is survived by his three children who preserve his work. They are Robert Clampett Jr., who worked for his father as a puppeteer at Bob Clampett Productions; Ruth Clampett, an author of several books, including

658-500: A company named Porkybux before it was hacked and ran him out of business. He is later approached by Lex to be in charge of LexCorp 's social media division and lets Lex get away with harassing his employees and stealing their sandwiches as repayment for the second chance. It is later revealed that Lex gave him the position to frame Porky when he used his social media website to steal important passwords from their users. Porky begins an autobiography in prison to expose Lex for his actions. In

752-469: A contract that stipulated Clampett would host the documentary and also have approval over the final cut. Jackson also claimed that Clampett was very reluctant speaking about the other directors and their contributions. Though Clampett's contribution to the Warner Brothers animation legacy was considerable and inarguable, he has been criticized by his peers as "a shameless self-promoter who provoked

846-422: A few months short of graduating in 1931. He found a job at a doll factory owned by his aunt, Charlotte Clark . Clark was looking for an appealing item to sell and Clampett suggested Mickey Mouse , whose popularity was growing. Unable to find a drawing of the character anywhere, Clampett took his sketchpad to the movie theater and came out with several sketches. Clark was concerned with copyright, so they drove to

940-738: A few solo cartoons as well, such as Frank Tashlin 's Brother Brat . Other cartoons dumbed Porky down and cast him as a duck hunter after Daffy, largely paralleling the Elmer Fudd / Bugs Bunny pairings. Chuck Jones perfected the Porky-as-straight man scenarios, pairing the pig with Daffy Duck in a series of film and television parodies such as Drip-Along Daffy , Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century , Rocket Squad , Deduce, You Say! , The Scarlet Pumpernickel and Robin Hood Daffy . Jones also paired Porky with Sylvester in

1034-512: A highly unsuccessful foray into the real world, Porky returns happily to the studio that created him. To this day, Porky remains as a loyal sidekick while Daffy refuses to be a second banana to Bugs Bunny , who rose to prominence shortly after Daffy. Porky always remained a sentimental favorite of the Warner directors. His mild-mannered nature and shy demeanor made him the perfect straight man for zanier characters such as Daffy. He still starred in

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1128-867: A kind of nondescript dinosaur sock puppet that later evolved into Cecil." In high school, Clampett drew a full-page comic about the nocturnal adventures of a cat, later published in color in a Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times . King Features took note and offered Clampett a "cartoonist's contract" beginning a $ 75 a week after high school. King Features allowed him to work in their Los Angeles art department on Saturdays and vacations during high school. King Features occasionally printed his cartoons for encouragement, and paid his way through Otis Art Institute , where he learned to paint in oils and to sculpt. Clampett attended Glendale High School and Hoover High School in Glendale , California , but left Hoover

1222-502: A letter of accusations in 1975 and, according to Gray, distributed copies to every fan he met—seemingly the genesis of the growing controversy. Gray asserts that Clampett was a "kind, generous man [who was] deeply hurt and saddened by Jones's accusations. […] I feel that Bob Clampett deserves tremendous respect and gratitude for the wonderful work that he left us." Other Warner Bros. peers, such as musical coordinator Carl Stalling and animator Tex Avery , stood by Clampett during his talks on

1316-657: A magazine article in 1946, shortly after he left the studio, Clampett repeatedly referred to himself as "the creator" of Bugs Bunny, often adding the side-note that he used Clark Gable 's carrot-eating scene in It Happened One Night as inspiration for his "creation". (Clampett can be observed making this claim in Bugs Bunny: Superstar .) The other two directorial fathers Bugs is claimed to have had are Tex Avery , who directed A Wild Hare , his first official short; and Robert McKimson , who drew

1410-409: A money prize to whichever member of the staff turned in the best original story. Clampett's story won first prize and was made into My Green Fedora , also directed by Freleng. Clampett felt encouraged after these successes and began writing more story contributions. After Schlesinger realized he needed another unit, he made a deal with Tex Avery , naming Clampett his collaborator. They were moved to

1504-470: A ramshackle building used by gardeners and WB custodial staff for storage of cleaning supplies, solvents, brooms, lawnmowers and other implements. Working apart from the other animators in the small, dilapidated wooden building in the middle of the Vitaphone lot, Avery and Clampett soon discovered they were not the only inhabitants - they shared the building with thousands of tiny termites . They christened

1598-545: A rubbery, flexible animation quality visible in all Clampett's shorts, and Maltin noted an "energetic, comic anarchy". While Clampett's cartoons were not as well known in the latter half of the 20th century because television syndicators only had the rights to the post-1948 Warner cartoons, his creations have increased in notoriety and acclaim in recent decades. Martha Sigall recalled Clampett as "an enthusiastic and fun type of guy". She describes him as consistently nice to her and very generous when it came to gifts or donations to

1692-482: A screwy black duck, Daffy . Daffy Duck, the creation of Tex Avery, was by far the most popular, eventually outshining even Porky. In fact, Friz Freleng satirized this phenomenon when he directed You Ought to Be in Pictures (1940), where Daffy convinces Porky to quit his job at Warner Bros. to find better-paying work elsewhere. Porky then convinces studio head Leon Schlesinger to release him from his contract. After

1786-608: A series of cartoons in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in which Porky plays the curmudgeonly and naive owner of the cat and remains clueless that Sylvester is constantly saving him from homicidal mice, space aliens and other threats. Porky was used in regular rotation in television syndication beginning in the 1960s, as were the rest of his Looney Tunes co-stars. A Saturday morning cartoon, The Porky Pig Show , ran from 1964 to 1967. In 1971, he starred in another show, Porky Pig and Friends . Both of these programs were collections of old theatrical shorts. Porky also appeared in all

1880-550: A shy little boy to an immensely fat adult. Though he was still in a supporting role, Porky got most of the laughs. The directors realized they had a star on their hands. Porky shared his stutter with the voice actor who originally played him, Joe Dougherty , who was actually a person who stuttered. Because Dougherty could not control his stutter, however, production costs became too high as his recording sessions took hours, and Porky's additional lines were done by Count Cutelli . Mel Blanc replaced Dougherty in 1937. Blanc continued

1974-449: A single cartoon for Republic, It's a Grand Old Nag , featuring the equine character Charlie Horse and produced at Bob Clampett Productions. Republic management, however, had second thoughts due to dwindling profits, and they discontinued the series. Clampett took his direction credit under the name " Kilroy ". In 1949, Clampett turned his attention to television, where he created the famous puppet show Time for Beany . The show, featuring

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2068-486: A studio-wide drive to get ideas for an animal version of Our Gang commenced. Clampett submitted a drawing of a pig (Porky) and a black cat (Beans), and, in an imitation of the lettering on a can of Campbell's Pork and Beans, wrote "Clampett's Porky and Beans." Porky debuted in the Friz Freleng-directed I Haven't Got a Hat in 1935. Around the same time, Schlesinger announced a studio-wide contest, with

2162-531: A stutterer. Also, some cartoons show Porky as an antagonist ( Porky's Duck Hunt , Porky's Hare Hunt , My Favorite Duck , A Corny Concerto , Duck Soup to Nuts , Daffy Doodles , Daffy Duck Hunt , Boobs in the Woods , Thumb Fun and Cracked Quack ). Eventually, he settled into a kind persona. Clampett's Porky was an innocent traveler, taking in the world's wonders—and in Clampett's universe,

2256-554: A style of cartoon drawing that would later be closely associated with, and credited to, Disney. When producer Charles Mintz ended his association with Disney, the majority of Disney's animators, including Harman and Ising, went to work for Mintz, whose brother-in-law, George Winkler, set up a new animation studio to make the Oswald cartoons. The Oswald cartoons which Harman and Ising produced in 1928 and 1929 already show their distinctive style, which would later characterize their work on

2350-536: Is among the Looney Tunes characters guests for the Warner Bros. centennial celebration, voiced once again by Bob Bergen. A short black-and-white cartoon was made in 1938 as part of a Warner Bros. blooper reel . It was shown on the Warner Bros. 50th Anniversary TV show. Porky is shown doing some carpentry work, pounding nails, when he smacks his thumb with the hammer. Grimacing in pain, he cries, "Oh, son of

2444-404: Is shown to be fatter, like some of his earlier appearances in the mid-1930s. Porky was first mentioned in "Dust Bugster", where he told Bugs about a television series whose name was not mentioned that led to Bugs binge-watching it. In the 2018 DC Comics and Looney Tunes comic crossovers, Porky appeared in a story that paired him with Lex Luthor . This version of Porky was the successful owner of

2538-425: Is still friends with Daffy Duck and often sucked into Daffy's schemes. Porky is also Daffy's nervous, fall guy buddy, similar to their relationship in classic comic books. It is also revealed in the show that in his high school years, he was a jock who bullied Daffy, while during their childhood years, it was Daffy who bullied Porky. In the documentary I Know That Voice (2013), Bob Bergen explains how to recreate

2632-482: The Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon series for Warner Bros. Late in 1929, Universal Pictures who owned the rights to Oswald, started its own animation studio headed by Walter Lantz , replacing Mintz and forcing Harman and Ising out of work. Harman and Ising had long aspired to start their own studio, and had created and copyrighted the cartoon character Bosko in 1928. After losing their jobs at

2726-642: The Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios. In 1929, the studio was founded under the name Harman-Ising Productions , producing Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Leon Schlesinger from 1930 to 1933. From 1934 to 1938, Harman-Ising produced the Happy Harmonies series, with William Hanna as their employee. Harman and Ising first worked in animation in 1922 at Laugh-O-Gram Studio , Walt Disney 's studio in Kansas City . When Disney moved operations to California , Harman

2820-621: The "Eager Young Space Cadet" in the animated series Duck Dodgers (2003–2005), again voiced by Bob Bergen. Porky has a descendant in Loonatics Unleashed (2005–2007) named Pinkster Pig (who was also voiced by Bob Bergen). Pinkster had been an old friend of Danger Duck ( Daffy Duck 's descendant), but became a villain when he was adopted by Stoney and Bugsy (descendants of Rocky and Mugsy ). Porky also appears in most episodes of Cartoon Network 's animated series The Looney Tunes Show (2011–2014), voiced again by Bob Bergen . He

2914-594: The "blooper" was made a year before Gone with the Wind famously used the word in the line " Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn ", due to the Motion Picture Production Code the "blooper" was not shown publicly until the aforementioned special, which by that point FCC regulations softened enough for the word "bitch" to be used on television. The blooper was also shown as part of a package of other vintage bloopers on Warner Cable pay-per-view in

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3008-573: The 1951 film "Good Wrinkles" made for the California prune industry. Harman also freelanced to write the 1954 Woody Woodpecker Cartune " Convict Concerto " for his former colleague Walter Lantz. In 1960, Harman-Ising produced a pilot episode for a made for TV cartoon series titled The Adventures of Sir Gee Whiz on the Other Side of the Moon . The unsold pilot for the never produced series

3102-510: The 80s. The blooper was animated by Rod Scribner , widely considered as one of the best Looney Tunes animators of all time. Porky was ranked number 47 on TV Guide ' s list of top 50 cartoon characters. He was shown on one of that issue's two covers in a crossover scene with Duck Dodgers and The Powerpuff Girls . See also List of cartoons featuring Porky Pig Harman and Ising Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were an American animation team and company known for founding

3196-585: The American Television Archive. Some of this animosity appears to have come from Clampett's perceived "golden boy" status at the studio (Clampett's mother was said to be a close friend of cartoon producer Leon Schlesinger ), which allowed him to ignore studio rules that everyone else was expected to follow. In addition, Mel Blanc , the voice actor who worked with Clampett at the same studio for ten years, also accused Clampett of being an "egotist who took credit for everything." Beginning with

3290-687: The Bosko character to star in a new series of cartoons he dubbed Looney Tunes (the title being a parody of Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies ). In 1930, the pair's first theatrical Bosko short, Sinkin' in the Bathtub , was a success. In 1931, Harman took over direction of the Looney Tunes starring the character, while Ising took a sister series called Merrie Melodies that consisted of one-shot stories and characters. The two animators broke off ties with Schlesinger later in 1933 over budget disputes with

3384-583: The Disney studio. Walt and Roy Disney were delighted, and they set up a business not far from the Disney studio. Clampett recalled his short time working for Disney: "Walt Disney himself sometimes came over in an old car to pick up the dolls; he would give them out to visitors to the studio and at sales meetings. I helped him load the dolls in the car. One time his car, loaded with Mickeys, wouldn't start, and I pushed while Walt steered, until it caught, and he took off." Clampett was, in his words, so "enchanted" by

3478-663: The Nerdlucks to a basketball game. He tries to get Michael Jordan 's autograph when the basketball star is first recruited to join the team and later plays for the Tune Squad in the game itself, scoring one basket. Porky tries to end the movie with his famous line but is prevented by the combined efforts of Bugs, Daffy, and the Nerdlucks. He was voiced by Bob Bergen . Porky is the star of the Super NES video game Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday (1995). He also made appearances in

3572-534: The Warner Bros. cartoons. Clampett, whose collection of drawings, films and memorabilia from the golden days of Termite Terrace was legendary, provided nearly all of the behind-the-scenes drawings and home-movie footage for the film; furthermore, his wife, Sody Clampett, is credited as the film's production coordinator. In an audio commentary recorded for Bugs Bunny: Superstar , director Larry Jackson claimed that in order to secure Clampett's participation and access to Clampett's collection of Warners history, he had to sign

3666-531: The Winkler studio, Harman and Ising founded Harman-Ising Productions, with most of the Disney and Winkler animators as staff. The studio produced a short Bosko demonstration film called Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid . The cartoon featured Bosko at odds with his animator – portrayed in live-action by Ising. Impressed, Leon Schlesinger , who worked at Warner Bros. , hired Harman and Ising. Schlesinger wanted

3760-602: The animation industry in the 1960s and 1970s. Clampett died of a heart attack on May 2, 1984, in Detroit, Michigan , six days before his 71st birthday, while touring the country to promote the home video release of Beany & Cecil cartoons. He is buried in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills . Since 1984, The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award is given each year at the Eisner Awards . Recipients of

3854-451: The armed forces, Frank Tashlin rejoined Schlesinger as director, and that unit was eventually turned over to Robert McKimson . Milton Gray notes that from The Hep Cat (1942) on, the cartoons become even more wild as Clampett's experimentation reached a peak. Clampett later created the character of Tweety , introduced in A Tale of Two Kitties in 1942. His cartoons grew increasingly violent, irreverent, and surreal, not beholden to even

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3948-585: The award include June Foray , Jack Kirby , Sergio Aragonés , Patrick McDonnell , Maggie Thompson , Ray Bradbury and Mark Evanier . Clampett's Tin Pan Alley Cats (1943) was chosen by the Library of Congress as a "prime example of the music and mores of our times" and a print was buried in a time capsule in Washington, D.C. , so future generations might see it. Porky in Wackyland (1938)

4042-690: The backup story stylized more like Looney Tunes, Porky tries selling Acme office supplies to Lex but ends up stopping Lex from defeating Superman . Porky's latest appearance is in Looney Tunes Cartoons , where he is once again voiced by Bob Bergen. His personality is based on the earlier shorts, however, his appearance is based on later shorts like The Looney Tunes Show for example. He is mostly paired with Daffy Duck who always drives him crazy. A humanoid version of Porky also appeared in Tom King's Batman/Elmer Fudd Special , where he ran

4136-407: The building " Termite Terrace ", a name eventually used by historians to describe the entire studio. The two soon developed an irreverent style of animation that would set Warner Bros. apart from its competitors. They were soon joined by animators Chuck Jones , Virgil Ross and Sid Sutherland , and worked virtually without interference on their new, groundbreaking style of humor for the next year. It

4230-426: The character being discontinued. They also tried unsuccessfully to create new cartoon stars for their new distributors. Their cartoons, though technically superior to those they had made for Schlesinger at Warner's, were still music-driven shorts with little to no plot. When the new Happy Harmonies series ran significantly over-budget in 1937, MGM fired Harman and Ising and established its own in-house studio , which

4324-521: The character, however; his appearance, age, and personality all varied from picture to picture. Several such cartoons show Porky as a child with parents: father Phineas ( Porky the Rainmaker , Milk and Money , Porky's Poppa , and Porky and Teabiscuit ) and an unnamed mother ( Wholly Smoke and Porky's Hero Agency ). Bob Clampett finally pinned Porky down in 1939, making him a permanent young adult: cuter, slimmer, smarter, and eventually less of

4418-468: The character. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky continued to be popular with moviegoers and, more importantly, the Warners directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles. He is known for his signature line at the end of many shorts, "(stutter) that's all, folks!" This slogan (without stuttering) had also been used by both Bosko and Buddy and even Beans at

4512-518: The classic film-feature compilations in the 1970s and 1980s. Another such collection was the 1986 film, Porky Pig in Hollywood , which ran in art and college theaters. Porky made an appearance in the Disney / Amblin film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) at the end of the film where he, being paired with Disney's Tinkerbell , closes the movie with his famous line "Th-Th-Th-That's All Folks!". It

4606-528: The completed cartoon and finally released it in the 1940s. In 1934, Harman and Ising signed a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to start a new series of shorts, Happy Harmonies . Harman and Ising, having maintained the rights to Bosko, occasionally featured the character in the new series. The two maintained the same division of work they had used at Warner Bros.: Harman worked on Bosko shorts, and Ising directed one-shots. In 1935, Harman redesigned Bosko into an identifiable African-American boy, ultimately leading to

4700-533: The definitive Bugs Bunny model sheet. Depending on the source, Bugs' primary creator could be either Jones or Freleng. Some argue that, based on a viewing of the early Bugs cartoons of the late 1930s and early 1940s, the character was not "created" by one director, but evolved in personality, voice, and design over several years through the collective efforts of Clampett, Avery, Jones, Freleng, McKimson, Mel Blanc, Cal Dalton , Ben Hardaway and Bob Givens . In Bugs Bunny: Superstar , Clampett also takes credit for drawing

4794-522: The end of Looney Tunes cartoons. Porky is the oldest continuing Looney Tunes character. Porky's most distinctive trait is a severe stutter , for which he sometimes compensates by replacing his words; for example, "What's going on?" might become "What's guh-guh-guh-guh—   ...   what's happening?" Porky's age varied widely in the series; originally conceived as an innocent seven-year-old piglet (explicitly mentioned as such in Porky's Preview ), Porky

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4888-478: The end of the movie, Porky tries to say his classic line, but stutters so much, the lights are turned off around him as the studio closes for the night; so an irritated Porky simply says, "G-g-go home, folks." Porky appears as a toddler version of himself in Baby Looney Tunes (2002), albeit only in the show's musical numbers. Petunia functioned as the show's more major pig character. Porky appears as

4982-467: The evils of humanity, which was nominated for an Oscar . The following year, Ising produced William Hanna and Joseph Barbera 's first cartoon, Puss Gets the Boot , a cartoon featuring characters later known as Tom and Jerry , but according to Barbera, Ising never came into the room, but got credited. Despite the popularity of Puss Gets the Boot , Ising's The Milky Way was more successful and became

5076-511: The faintest hint of real-world physics, and his characters have been argued to be easily the most rubbery and wacky of all the Warner directors'. Clampett was heavily influenced by the Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí , as is most visible in Porky in Wackyland (1938), wherein the entire short takes place within a Dalí -esque landscape complete with melting objects and abstracted forms. Clampett and his work can even be considered part of

5170-501: The financially ailing Ub Iwerks , whom Schlesinger subcontracted to produce several Porky Pig shorts. These shorts featured the short-lived and generally unpopular Gabby Goat as Porky's sidekick. Despite Clampett and Jones' contributions, however, Iwerks was the only credited director. Clampett's first cartoon with a directorial credit was Porky's Badtime Story . Under the Warner system, Clampett had complete creative control over his own films, within severe money and time limitations (he

5264-615: The first non-Disney film to win the Academy Award. Despite the success of these and other cartoons, MGM's production under Harman and Ising remained low. In 1941, Harman left MGM and formed a new studio with Disney veteran Mel Shaw , while Ising was still at MGM. In 1942, Ising also quit MGM, in his case to join the United States Army Air Forces animation unit. By 1951, Harman and Ising were back together and making industrial and commercial films such as

5358-574: The games Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal , Looney Tunes: Marvin Strikes Back! , Looney Tunes: Space Race , Looney Tunes: Back in Action , Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage and The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout . Bob Bergen reprises his role in these games. In the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), Porky (Bob Bergen again) makes a cameo appearance alongside Speedy Gonzales , where they both lament their politically incorrect status. At

5452-399: The hero and rotoscoped it into the film. Clampett planned to leave Leon Schlesinger Productions, but Schlesinger offered him a promotion to director and more money if he would stay. Clampett was promoted to director in late 1936, directing a color sequence in the feature When's Your Birthday? (1937). This led to what was essentially a co-directing stint with fellow animator Chuck Jones for

5546-468: The lead in the Buffalo Billy television show. In the late 1950s, Clampett was hired by Associated Artists Productions to catalog the pre-August 1948 Warner cartoons it had just acquired. He also created an animated version of the puppet show called Beany and Cecil , whose 26 half-hour episodes were first broadcast on ABC in 1962 and were rerun on the network for five years. Clampett's studio

5640-443: The model sheet for the first Porky Pig cartoon, I Haven't Got a Hat (1935), even though it was actually drawn by Friz Freleng . Animation historian Milton Gray details the long and bitter rivalry between Clampett and Jones in his essay "Bob Clampett Remembered". Gray, a personal friend of Clampett, calls the controversy "a deliberate and vicious smear campaign by one of Bob's rivals in the cartoon business". He reveals that Jones

5734-421: The new medium of sound cartoons that he tried to join Disney as an animator. While Disney wanted to hire Clampett, they ultimately turned him down due to them having had enough animators at that time, so Clampett instead joined Harman-Ising Studios in 1931 for ten dollars a week. Leon Schlesinger viewed one of Clampett's 16mm films and was impressed, offering him an assistant position at the studio. His first job

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5828-471: The new studio. In his first years at the studio, Clampett mostly worked for Friz Freleng , under whose guidance Clampett grew into an able animator. By the time he joined Harman-Ising, Clampett was only 17 years old. By 1934, Schlesinger was in a bit of a crisis trying to find a well-known cartoon character. He noted that the Our Gang series consisted of nothing but "little kids doing things together," and

5922-427: The peak of his creativity and against everyone's advice. In 1946, two years after Warner Bros. bought out Leon Schlesinger's studio, his key executives Henry Binder and Ray Katz went to Screen Gems , the cartoon division of Columbia Pictures , and asked Clampett to join them as the studio's creative head. He ultimately worked as a screenwriter and gag writer for the studio. Clampett was now working for three studios at

6016-409: The permanent voice of Porky until his death in 1989. In later interviews, Blanc often said that he intended Porky's stutter to be suggestive of the grunting of actual pigs. Porky's Duck Hunt was also the first film of another Looney Tunes star, Daffy Duck . Porky Pig is currently voiced by Bob Bergen . Porky starred in dozens of films in the late 1930s. The directors still did not have a grasp on

6110-474: The pig's famous stutter, demonstrating how difficult it is to do it without practice. He finishes the segment by joking "Nobody [else] can do that, and that's why I have job security !" Porky appears in the direct-to-video movie Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (2015), reprised by Bob Bergen. Porky Pig appears as a recurring character in New Looney Tunes , voiced once again by Bob Bergen. Here, he

6204-468: The producer who had vetoed their demands for bigger budgets, and went to Van Beuren Studios , which was making cartoons for RKO Radio Pictures . There, they were offered a contract to produce the Cubby Bear cartoon series. Harman and Ising produced two released cartoons for this series, but were in the midst of making a third cartoon when a contractual dispute arose. The pair left Van Beuren, but kept

6298-476: The producers thought he "looked naked". Meanwhile, as Clampett noted, nothing was ever made of the fact that "all those years, Porky never wore any pants!" However, Porky was seen with pants in Porky's Badtime Story , Tick Tock Tuckered and Brother Brat . Porky's post at the pinnacle of the Warners' pantheon was short-lived. In 1937, the studio tried pairing Porky with various sidekicks, such as love interest Petunia Pig , cantankerous foil Gabby Goat , and

6392-636: The puppet show Time for Beany in 1949. A later animated version of the series, Beany and Cecil , was initially broadcast on ABC in 1962 and rerun until 1967. It is considered the first fully creator-driven television series and carried the byline "a Bob Clampett Cartoon". In his later years, Clampett toured college campuses and animation festivals as a lecturer on the history of animation. His Warner cartoons have seen renewed praise in decades since for their surrealistic qualities, energetic and outrageous animation, and irreverent, wordplay-laden humor. Animation historian Jerry Beck lauded Clampett for "putting

6486-532: The same time: Warner Bros., Screen Gems, and his new independent studio, Bob Clampett Productions. Deciding "this was too much of a good thing" and seeking more creative freedom than WB would allow, he made the decision to leave WB shortly after joining Screen Gems. That same year, Republic Pictures incorporated animation (by Walter Lantz ) into its Gene Autry feature film Sioux City Sue . It turned out well enough for Republic to dabble in animated cartoons. Bob Clampett, now working solely for his own studio, directed

6580-417: The studio in 1933, taking the studio's star character Bosko with them, Looney Tunes had been kept afloat by cartoons featuring the bland Buddy. Porky's introduction ushered Buddy out the door and pointed to things to come. Tex Avery was hired to the studio in 1935, and his film Gold Diggers of '49 reused much of the cast from I Haven't Got a Hat , albeit in wildly different roles. Porky transitioned from

6674-493: The studio in May 1945, leaving a handful of shorts unfinished before they were picked up again by other studio directors. The generally accepted story was that Clampett left over matters of artistic freedom, despite some people claimed that he left the studio on his own. Clampett's style was becoming increasingly divergent from those of Freleng and Jones. In any event, Clampett was fired by Leon Schlesinger's successor, Edward Selzer , who

6768-443: The studio, as RKO Radio Pictures , Disney's distributor, did not want to release another studio's cartoons. Harman and Ising sold the cartoons to MGM, and Quimby later agreed to hire the animators back to the studio. Ising created the character Barney Bear for MGM at this time, basing the sleepy-eyed character partially on himself. In 1939, Harman created Peace on Earth , a downbeat morality tale about two squirrels discovering

6862-485: The stutter; however, it was harnessed for a more precise comedic effect (such as stumbling over a simple word only to substitute a longer word without difficulty, or vice versa). This is parodied in A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court , where Bugs Bunny struggles to pronounce the word "porcupine", which Porky pronounces with no trouble. Porky's Duck Hunt was released in 1937, and Blanc officially became

6956-771: The surreal movement, as it incorporated film as well as static media. It was largely Clampett's influence that would impel the Warners directors to shed the final vestiges of all Disney influence. Clampett was also known for creating some brief voices or sound effects in some of the cartoons. One of these became a personal trademark: a vocal sound accompanying the iris-out closing of every Clampett cartoon (" Bay-woop! ") Clampett liked to bring contemporary cultural movements into his cartoons, especially jazz ; film, magazines, comics, novels, and popular music are referenced in Clampett shorts, most visible in Book Revue (1946), where performers are drawn onto various celebrated books. Clampett

7050-587: The talents of voice artists Stan Freberg and Daws Butler , would earn Clampett three Emmys . Groucho Marx and Albert Einstein were both fans of the series. In 1952, he created the Thunderbolt the Wondercolt television series and the 3D prologue to Bwana Devil featuring Beany and Cecil. In 1954, he directed Willy the Wolf (the first puppet variety show on television), as well as creating and voicing

7144-726: The word 'looney' in Looney Tunes ." Clampett was born on May 8, 1913 in San Diego, California to Robert Caleb Clampett and Mildred Joan Merrifield. His father was born in Nenagh , County Tipperary , Ireland in 1882, and immigrated to the United States with his parents at age two in 1884. Clampett showed art skills by the age of five. From the beginning, he was intrigued with and influenced by Douglas Fairbanks , Lon Chaney , Charlie Chaplin , Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd , and began making film short-subjects in his garage when he

7238-548: The world is a very weird place. This principle is perhaps best demonstrated in Porky in Wackyland , a film that sends Porky on a quest to find the last of the surreal Dodos, Yoyo Dodo. Porky in Wackyland was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2000. In his commentary as part of the 1970s documentary film Bugs Bunny: Superstar , Clampett said that his early version of Tweety Bird had to be redesigned after his first picture because

7332-545: The wrath of his former Warner's colleagues in later years for allegedly claiming credit for ideas that were not his." Chuck Jones particularly disliked Clampett and deliberately avoided making any mention of his association with him in his 1979 compilation film The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (compiled by Jones, in which Jones lists himself and other Warners directors), though he did briefly mention working with Clampett in his 1989 autobiography Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of An Animated Cartoonist and his 1998 interview for

7426-633: Was 12. Living in Hollywood as a young boy, he and his mother Joan lived next door to Charlie Chaplin and his brother Sydney Chaplin . Clampett also recalled watching his father play handball at the Los Angeles Athletic Club with another of the great silent comedians, Harold Lloyd. From his teens on, Clampett showed an interest in animation . He had made hand puppets as a child and, before adolescence, completed what animation historian Milt Gray describes as "a sort of prototype,

7520-501: Was a good source for censorship stories, though the accuracy of his recollections has been disputed. According to an interview published in Funnyworld #12 (1971), Clampett had a method for ensuring that certain elements of his films would escape the censors' cuts. He added extremely suggestive or objectionable gags aimed just at the censors; they would focus on cutting those and thus leave in the ones he actually wanted. Clampett left

7614-511: Was a wild place with an almost college fraternity -like atmosphere. Animators would frequently pull pranks such as gluing paper streamers to the wings of flies. Leon Schlesinger , who rarely ventured there, was reputed on one visit to have remarked in his lisping voice, "Pew, let me out of here! The only thing missing is the sound of a flushing toilet!!" On the side, Clampett directed a sales film, co-animated by Chuck Jones and in-betweened by Robert Cannon. Clampett filmed Cannon in live action as

7708-489: Was angry at Clampett for making some generalizations in his 1970 interview with Funnyworld that gave Clampett too much credit, including taking sole credit for not only Bugs and Daffy but also Jones's Sniffles character and Freleng's Yosemite Sam . He writes that Jones began making additional accusations against Clampett, such as that Clampett would "go around the studio at night, looking at other directors' storyboards for ideas he could steal for his own cartoons." Jones wrote

7802-426: Was animating secondary characters in the first Merrie Melodie , Lady, Play Your Mandolin! (1931). The same year, Clampett began attending story meetings after submitting an idea eventually used for Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! . The two series were produced at Harman-Ising until mid-1933 when Harman and Ising left Schlesinger, who went on to found Leon Schlesinger Productions . Clampett left Harman and Ising and joined

7896-482: Was at 729 Seward Street in Hollywood, later a Klasky Csupo studio. In his later years, Bob Clampett toured college campuses and animation festivals as a lecturer on the history of animation . In 1974, he was awarded an Inkpot Award at the San Diego Comic Convention . In 1975, he was the focus of a documentary entitled Bugs Bunny: Superstar , the first documentary to examine the history of

7990-535: Was back at United Film Ad Service and Ising had a photofinishing business. Their plans went nowhere, however, and the men soon came back to Disney on June 22, 1925, to work on his Alice Comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit films. Ising was fired from Disney in March 1927, when Disney signed the contract to distribute Oswald films to Universal Pictures . It was during this time that Harman and Ising developed

8084-452: Was far less tolerant of him than Schlesinger had been. The Warner style that he was so instrumental in developing was leaving him behind. Warner Bros. had recently bought the rights to the entire Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies studio from Schlesinger and, while his cartoons of 1946 are today considered on the cutting edge of the art for that period, at the time, Clampett was ready to seek new challenges. Clampett left at what some considered

8178-516: Was founded and headed by Fred Quimby . Harman and Ising still found work at the time as animation freelancers. Harman and Ising lent their former ink-and-painters to Walt Disney while Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was behind schedule. Disney afterward commissioned Harman and Ising to produce a Silly Symphony cartoon ( Merbabies ), in return. Disney later reneged on a deal he had made for two other Harman-Ising cartoons to be produced for

8272-550: Was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2000, deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Animator John Kricfalusi , best known for being the creator of Nickelodeon 's The Ren & Stimpy Show , got to know Clampett in his later years and has reflected on those times as inspirational. Kricfalusi cited Clampett as his favorite animator and Clampett's The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946) as his favorite cartoon: "I saw this thing and it completely changed my life, I thought it

8366-490: Was introduced in the 100th short, I Haven't Got a Hat (first released on March 2, 1935), directed by Friz Freleng . Studio head Leon Schlesinger suggested that Freleng do a cartoon version of the popular Our Gang films. Porky only has a minor role in the film, but the fat little stuttering pig quickly became popular. Porky's name came from two brothers who were childhood classmates of Freleng, nicknamed "Porky" and "Piggy". Since Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising had left

8460-465: Was more frequently cast as an adult, often being cast as the competent straight man in the series in later years. At the ending of many Looney Tunes cartoons, Porky Pig bursts through a bass drum head, and his attempt to close the show with "The End" becomes "Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks!" Porky Pig appeared in 153 cartoons in the Golden age of American animation . The character

8554-549: Was only given $ 3,000 and four weeks to complete each short). During production of Porky's Duck Hunt in 1937, Avery created a character that would become Daffy Duck and Clampett animated the character for the first time. Clampett was so popular in theaters that Schlesinger told the other directors to imitate him, emphasizing gags and action. When Tex Avery departed in 1941, his unit was taken over by Clampett while Norman McCabe took over Clampett's old unit. Clampett finished Avery's remaining unfinished cartoons. When McCabe joined

8648-472: Was profiled on episode 6 of Cartoon Dump . Rudy Ising was the voice of Sir Gee Whiz. After Gee-Whiz, both Harman and Ising retired from their careers in animation. Although Harman and Ising contributed to much of what would later be known as the Disney style, they have been dismissed as mere copycats. In reality, Harman and Ising never attempted to imitate Disney; they were attempting to make refined polished cartoons whose quality would shine in comparison to

8742-548: Was the greatest thing I'd ever seen, and I still think it is." Animation historian Leonard Maltin has called Clampett's cartoons "unmistakable". Milton Gray believes that Schlesinger put Clampett in charge of the black and white cartoon division in order to save it, and many historians have singled out a scene in Porky's Duck Hunt , in which Daffy exits, as a defining Clampett moment. Maltin called it "a level of wackiness few moviegoers had ever seen". Historian Charles Solomon noted

8836-414: Was the last time that Mel Blanc voiced Porky before his death in 1989. In the 1990s animated series Tiny Toon Adventures , Porky appears as the mentor of Hamton J. Pig . He was voiced by Bob Bergen in "Animaniacs" and "Hero Hamton", Rob Paulsen in "The Wacko World of Sports", Noel Blanc in "Fields of Honey", "The Acme Bowl" and "Hero Hamton", Joe Alaskey in "Music Day", and Greg Burson in "It's

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