Friz Freleng

Isadore "Friz" Freleng ( FREE-ləng; August 21, 1905 – May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons (WB) on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from the 1930s to the early 1960s. In total, he created more than 300 cartoons. He introduced and/or developed several of the studio's biggest stars, including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Tweety, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam (to whom he was said to bear more than a passing resemblance), Granny, and Speedy Gonzales. The senior director at WB's Termite Terrace studio, Freleng directed more cartoons than any other director in the studio (a total of 266) and is also the most officially honored of the WB directors, having won five Academy Awards and three Emmy Awards. After WB closed down the animation studio in 1963, Freleng and business partner David H. DePatie founded DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, which produced cartoons (including The Pink Panther Show), feature-film title sequences, and Saturday-morning cartoons. After the company's dissolution in 1981, Freleng joined Warner Bros.' relaunched animation division and produced several Looney Tunes one-off specials and compilation films. The nickname "Friz" came from his friend, Hugh Harman, who initially nicknamed him "Congressman Frizby" after a fictional senator who appeared in satirical pieces in the Los Angeles Examiner, due to the character's strong resemblance to him. Over time, this shortened to "Friz". William Schallert claimed that Freleng was the model for Mr. Magoo due to his physical appearance.