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Thursday, December 15, 2005

McKIMSON, Robert

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Birth/Death

Birth: October 13, 1910 in Denver, Colorado


Death: September 29, 1977 in Burbank, California

Occupation/Title

Animator, Director

Bio Summary

Robert McKimson began his career by studying animate and inanimate objects with oils, pencil, charcoal, watercolors, and pastels. In 1928 Robert worked on Mickey Mouse for Disney after ten years of art schooling. After two years with Disney he moved to Romer Grey’s studio and then to Harmon-Ising. After that he moved to Leon Schlesinger’s studio before it was bought out by Warner Brothers, where he stayed until 1963. In 1945 he replaced Frank Tashlin as a director for Warner Bros cartoons. His ability to draw quickly and cleanly gave him the ability to make graphically strong model-sheets which influenced the entire visual identity of WB. He was responsible for the creation of the Tasmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn, Bobo the Elephant, Barnyard Dog, Sylvester Jr., Speedy Gonzales and Hippety Hopper.

Early Life/Family

Brothers: Charles and Tom (both animators as well)
Wife: Died 1963
Son: Robert Jr.

Education/Training

Ten years of art education.

Career Outline

Started out with Disney working on Mickey mouse, then moved on to Haraman and Ising. Then he worked for Warner Bros’ Bob Clampett as an animator until 1945 when he was promoted to director. In 1955 – 1956 Warner Brothers closed and he lost all his original animators and worked on his own projects until the studio re-opened in 1967. None of McKimson’s animators returned so he built up his unit with castoffs from other units. His style became blander and he began to fall behind the other WB directors. He stayed with WB until they finally shut down in 1969. 1970, McKimson returned to DePatie-Freleng where he directed Pink Panther cartoons. In 1977, he attended a lunch with his friends and died of a heart attack.

Comments On Style

Robert McKimson is mostly criticized for his mediocre work. He was known to be strict about what his animators did and his art style was not the most unique at the studio. His style has been described as prosaic, literal, boring, and uncreative. He preferred his characters to be hammy and overstated and the subjects of his cartoons were said to be extremely violent and irreverent. He didn’t like his animators to be too wacky or extreme, and tried to keep things rather believable.
Character design was his strongest point, some say. He pushed many new and varying elements to display what his characters were like. Some believe that his characters were the best looking and most life like.

Influences

Disney was probably the strongest influence to Robert McKimson throughout his career. He would push his animators to look to Walt for influence and commented about how he didn’t like cartoons from animators such as Fleischer, saying that the looked like children drew them.

Personality

He was a pretty down to earth guy. He wasn’t too innovative or creative and when put alongside other animators like Jones and Pierce he was considered “square”. He was also extremely shy, which cost him publicity.

Anecdotes

He made Looney Toon cartoons, but didn’t like his toons to be very loony.

Miscellaneous

He was the creator for the famous portrait of Bugs Bunny leaning against a tree, smiling as he ate a carrot.

Filmography

Director:

The Return of Mr. Hook (1945)
Daffy Doodles (1946)
Hollywood Canine Canteen (1946)
Acrobatty Bunny (1946)
Walky Talky Hawky (1946)
The Mouse-Merized Cat (1946)
One Meat Brawl (1947)
Birth of a Notion (1947)
Hobo Bobo (1947)
Easter Yeggs (1947)
Crowing Pains (1947)
Gorilla My Dreams (1948)
Daffy Duck Slept Here (1948)
Hop, Look and Listen (1948)
The Up-Standing Sitter (1948)
The Shell Shocked Egg (1948)
Hot Cross Bunny (1948)
The Foghorn Leghorn (1948)
A-Lad-in His Lamp (1948)
A Horsefly Fleas (1948)
Paying the Piper (1949)
Daffy Duck Hunt (1949)
Rebel Rabbit (1949)
Henhouse Henery (1949)
The Grey Hounded Hare (1949)
The Windblown Hare (1949)
Swallow the Leader (1949)
Hippety Hopper (1949)
A Ham in a Role (1949)
Hurdy-Gurdy Hare (1950)
Boobs in the Woods (1950)
Strife with Father (1950)
The Leghorn Blows at Midnight (1950)
An Egg Scramble (1950)
What's Up Doc? (1950)
It's Hummer Time (1950)
Hillbilly Hare (1950)
A Fractured Leghorn (1950)
Pop 'im Pop! (1950)
Bushy Hare (1950)
Hare We Go (1951)
A Fox in a Fix (1951)
Corn Plastered (1951)
Early to Bet (1951)
French Rarebit (1951)
Leghorn Swoggled (1951)
Lovelorn Leghorn (1951)
Sleepy Time Possum (1951)
Dog Collared (1951)
Big Top Bunny (1951)
The Prize Pest (1951)
Who's Kitten Who? (1952)
Thumb Fun (1952)
Kiddin' the Kitten (1952)
Sock a Doodle Do (1952)
The Turn-Tale Wolf (1952)
Oily Hare (1952)
Hoppy-Go-Lucky (1952) 
... aka Hippety Hopper and Sylvester in Hoppy-Go-Lucky (USA: complete title)
The EGGcited Rooster (1952)
The Super Snooper (1952)
Rabbit's Kin (1952)
Fool Coverage (1952)
Upswept Hare (1953)
A Peck o' Trouble (1953)
Muscle Tussle (1953)
There Auto Be a Law (1953)
Plop Goes the Weasel (1953)
Cat-Tails for Two (1953)
Easy Peckin's (1953)
Of Rice and Hen (1953)
Cats A-Weigh! (1953)
Wild Wife (1954)
Design for Leaving (1954)
Bell Hoppy (1954)
No Parking Hare (1954)
Little Boy Boo (1954)
Devil May Hare (1954)
The Oily American (1954)
Gone Batty (1954)
Quack Shot (1954)
Feather Dusted (1955)
All Fowled Up (1955)
Lighthouse Mouse (1955)
The Hole Idea (1955)
Dime to Retire (1955)
Too Hop to Handle (1956) 
Weasel Stop (1956)
The High and the Flighty (1956)
Mixed Master (1956)
The Unexpected Pest (1956)
Stupor Duck (1956)
Half-Fare Hare (1956)
Raw! Raw! Rooster! (1956)
The Slap-Hoppy Mouse (1956)
Wideo Wabbit (1956)
The Honey-Mousers (1956)
Bedevilled Rabbit (1957) 
Cheese It, the Cat! (1957)
Fox-Terror (1957)
Boston Quackie (1957)
Tabasco Road (1957)
Ducking the Devil (1957)
Mouse-Taken Identity (1957)
Rabbit Romeo (1957)
Don't Axe Me (1958)
Tortilla Flaps (1958)
Feather Bluster (1958)
Now, Hare This (1958)
Dog Tales (1958)
Weasel While You Work (1958)
Pre-Hysterical Hare (1958)
Gopher Broke (1958)
Mouse-Placed Kitten (1959)
China Jones (1959)
The Mouse That Jack Built (1959)
A Mutt in a Rut (1959)
Backwoods Bunny (1959)
Cat's Paw (1959)
Bonanza Bunny (1959)
A Broken Leghorn (1959)
People Are Bunny (1959)
West of the Pesos (1960)
Wild Wild World (1960)
Crockett-Doodle-Do (1960)
Mice Follies (1960)
The Dixie Fryer (1960)
Dog Gone People (1960)
Cannery Woe (1961)
Hoppy Daze (1961)
Strangled Eggs (1961)
Birds of a Father (1961)
Daffy's Inn Trouble (1961)
What's My Lion? (1961)
Wet Hare (1962)
Fish and Slips (1962)
Bill of Hare (1962)
The Slick Chick (1962)
"The Bugs Bunny Show" (7 episodes, 1961-1962)
- A Tale of Two Kitties (1962) TV episode 
- The Honeymousers (1962) TV episode 
- What's Up Dog? (1962) TV episode 
- Foreign Legion Leghorn (1962) TV episode 
- De-Duck-Tive Story (1962) TV episode 
(2 more)
Mother Was a Rooster (1962)
Good Noose (1962)
Fast Buck Duck (1963)
The Million Hare (1963)
Banty Raids (1963)
Aqua Duck (1963)
Claws in the Lease (1963)
A Message to Gracias (1964)
Bartholomew Versus the Wheel (1964)
Freudy Cat (1964)
Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (1964)
False Hare (1964)
"The Porky Pig Show" (1964) TV series (theatrical cartoons) 
... aka Porky Pig and His Friends (USA: syndication title)
Moby Duck (1965)
Assault and Peppered (1965)
Well Worn Daffy (1965)
Suppressed Duck (1965)
Rushing Roulette (1965)
Tease for Two (1965)
Chili Corn Corny (1965)
Go Go Amigo (1965)
The Astroduck (1966)
Mucho Locos (1966)
Mexican Mousepiece (1966)
Daffy Rents (1966)
A-Haunting We Will Go (1966)
Snow Excuse (1966)
Cock-a-Doodle Deux-Deux (1966)
A Squeak in the Deep (1966)
Feather Finger (1966)
"The Super 6" (1966) TV series
"The Road Runner Show" (1966) TV series
Swing Ding Amigo (1966)
Sugar and Spies (1966)
A Taste of Catnip (1966)
Toulouse La Trick (1966)
Daffy's Diner (1967)
Le Quiet Squad (1967)
Bomb Voyage (1967)
"Super President" (1967) TV series
"The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour" (1968) TV series
Bunny and Claude: We Rob Carrot Patches (1968) (as Bob McKimson)
The Great Carrot-Train Robbery (1969) (as Bob McKimson)
Fistic Mystic (1969) (as Bob McKimson)
Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too! (1969) (as Bob McKimson)
Shamrock and Roll (1969) (as Bob McKimson)
Bugged by a Bee (1969) (as Bob McKimson)
"The Pink Panther Show" (1969) TV series (unknown episodes)
... aka The New Pink Panther Show (USA: third season title) 
... aka The Pink Panther Meets the Ant and the Aardvark (USA: second season title)
Injun Trouble (1969)
"The Houndcats" (1972) TV series (as Bob McKimson)
Fowl Play (1973) (as Bob McKimson)
Skateroo to the Carlsbad Clue!/To Win or Toulouse (1973) TV episode (as Bob McKimson)
Rahja and Out/Ghost of a Clue (1973) TV episode (as Bob McKimson)
"Bailey's Comets" (4 episodes, 1973)
- Episode #1.4 (1973) TV episode (as Bob McKimson) 
- Episode #1.3 (1973) TV episode (as Bob McKimson)
Pink Da Vinci (1975)
"The Oddball Couple" (1975) TV series
It's Pink, But Is It Mink? (1975)
Mama (1976)
Sweat Hog Shark (1976)
Mystic Pink (1976)
The Pink Pro (1976)
Sherlock Pink (1976)
"The Sylvester & Tweety Show" (1976) TV series
"The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show" (1976) TV series (original material)
Bugs Bunny's Easter Special (1977) (TV) (also classic cartoons) 
... aka Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies (USA: video title)
"Baggy Pants & the Nitwits" (1977) TV series
"What's New, Mr. Magoo?" (1977) TV series (unknown episodes)
To Catch a Halibut (1978)
"The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show" (1978) TV series (senior)
Bugs Bunny's Howl-Oween Special (1978) (TV) (original material)
Bugs Bunny's Valentine (1979) (TV) (original material) 
... aka Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers (USA: video title)
The Bugs Bunny Mother's Day Special (1979) (TV) (original material)
Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982) (classic cartoons) 
... aka Bugs Bunny's 1001 Rabbit Tales (USA: short title)
Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983) (classic cartoons) 
... aka Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (USA: short title)
"The Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes Comedy Hour" (1985) TV series (original material)
"The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show" (1986) TV series (original material)
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988)
Bugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video Stars (1988) (TV) (classic cartoon clips) (as R. McKimson)
Fifty Years of Bugs Bunny in 3 1/2 Minutes (1989) (classic cartoon clips)
Merrie Melodies: Starring Bugs Bunny and Friends" (1990) TV series (original material)
Merrie Melodies: Starring Bugs Bunny and Friends" (1990) TV series (original material)
"The Bugs n' Daffy Show" (1996) TV series (original material)



Animator:

Bosko and Honey (1932) (animator)
Bosko's Store (1932) (animator)
Bosko the Drawback (1932) (animator)
Bosko's Dizzy Date (1932) (animator)
Bosko in Person (1933) (animator)
Bosko's Knight-Mare (1933) (animator)
The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon (1933) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Buddy and Towser (1934) (animator)
Buddy's Adventures (1934) (animator)
Goin' to Heaven on a Mule (1934) (animator)
Why Do I Dream These Dreams? (1934) (animator)
Shake Your Powder Puff (1934) (animator)
Buddy's Circus (1934) (animator)
Country Boy (1935) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Along Flirtation Walk (1935) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Buddy's Bug Hunt (1935) (animator) 
The Lady in Red (1935) (animator) 
The Fire Alarm (1935) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
The Cat Came Back (1936) (animator)
Fish Tales (1936) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
When I Yoo Hoo (1936) (animator)
Sunday Go to Meetin' Time (1936) (animator)
Toy Town Hall (1936) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
The CooCoo Nut Grove (1936) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Pigs Is Pigs (1937) (animator)
She Was an Acrobat's Daughter (1937) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Sweet Sioux (1937) (animator)
Dog Daze (1937) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
My Little Buckeroo (1938) (animator)
A Star Is Hatched (1938) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Now That Summer Is Gone (1938) (animator)
A-Lad-In Bagdad (1938) (animator) (uncredited)
Cracked Ice (1938) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Little Pancho Vanilla (1938) (animator)
Robinhood Makes Good (1939) (animator)
Old Glory (1939) (animator)
Little Brother Rat (1939) (animator) (uncredited)
Sniffles and the Bookworm (1939) (animator) (uncredited)
Elmer's Candid Camera (1940) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Tom Thumb in Trouble (1940) (animator)
A Wild Hare (1940) (animator) (uncredited) 
... aka The Wild Hare (USA: reissue title)
Ghost Wanted (1940) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Sniffles Bells the Cat (1941) (animator)
The Crackpot Quail (1941) (animator)
The Heckling Hare (1941) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
All This and Rabbit Stew (1941) (animator) (uncredited)
The Cagey Canary (1941) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Any Bonds Today? (1942) (animator) 
... aka Bugs Bunny Bond Rally (USA: video title) 
... aka Leon Schlesinger Presents Bugs Bunny (USA: complete title)
Horton Hatches the Egg (1942) (animator) 
Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942) (animator) (uncredited)
The Hep Cat (1942) (animator)
A Tale of Two Kitties (1942) (animator) (uncredited) 
Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943) (animator) (uncredited)
Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
A Corny Concerto (1943) (animator) 
 Falling Hare (1943) (animator) (uncredited)
Fighting Tools (1943) (animator) (uncredited)
An Itch in Time (1943) (animator) (uncredited)
What's Cookin' Doc? (1944) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Hare Ribbin' (1944) (animator) (as Bob McKimson)
Jasper Goes Hunting (1944) (animator: "Bugs Bunny" sequence) (uncredited)
Buckaroo Bugs (1944) (animator) (uncredited)
The Old Grey Hare (1944) (animator)
A Gruesome Twosome (1945) (animator)
The Bashful Buzzard (1945) (animator) (uncredited)
Book Revue (1946) (animator) 
... aka Book Review
Baby Bottleneck (1946) (animator) (uncredited)
The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946) (animator)
The Hole Idea (1955) (animator)
Dime to Retire (1955) (animator)
Too Hop to Handle (1956) (animator)
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) (sequence animation director)
"Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo" (animation director) (4 episodes, 1964)
... aka Mister Magoo (USA: informal short title) 
... aka Mister Magoo and Friends (USA) 
... aka Mr. Magoo 
... aka The Mister Magoo Show (USA) 
- Mr. Magoo's Robin Hood: Part 4 (1964) TV episode (animation director) (as Bob McKimson) 
- Mr. Magoo's Robin Hood: Part 3 (1964) TV episode (animation director) (as Bob McKimson) 
- Mr. Magoo's Robin Hood: Part 2 (1964) TV episode (animation director) (as Bob McKimson) 
- Mr. Magoo's Robin Hood: Part 1 (1964) TV episode (animation director) (as Bob McKimson) 
Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary (1986) (TV) (director: classic animation) 


Writer:
Banty Raids (1963) (story)
Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island (1983) (stories) 
... aka Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (USA: short title) 
Taz in Escape from Mars (1994) (VG) (character) 

Producer:
Bugs Bunny Superstar (1975) (associate producer) 


Honors

Annie Award: Winsor McCay Award 1984


Related Links

A-HAA: Filmography: Coal Black And De Sebben Dwarfs

http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/10/40s-cartoons-mckimson-and-our-dads.htmlhttp://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/12/solid-elmer-mckimson-head-rotations.htmlhttp://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/12/bugs-dies-1-mckimson-disney-principles.htmlhttp://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/12/bugs-death-2-solid-drawing-adding.htmlhttp://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/12/foghorn-smacks-dog-big-antics-for-big.htmlhttp://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/10/40s-cartoons-daffy-duck-hunt-extreme.htmlhttp://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/10/40s-cartoons-foghorn-leghorn.htmlhttp://www.animationusa.com/resources/aboutmckimson.html

Bibliographic References

http://www.animationusa.com/resources/aboutmckimson.html
http://neohumanism.org/r/ro/robert_mckimson.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0571781/
http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2004/08/bob-mckimson.html

BIO-AAA-115

Contributors To This Listing

Jessie A. Niessink (History of Animation student)

To make additions or corrections to this listing, please click on COMMENTS below...

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