Robert McKimson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

McKimson's career began in 1930 at Romer Grey's studio, where he and his brother Tom worked on unreleased cartoons featuring Binko the Bear Cub. After that studio failed due to the Great Depression, McKimson joined Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, starting with ink-and-paint duties before becoming an animator by 1931. He returned to Leon Schlesinger Productions alongside Friz Freleng and Rollin Hamilton. Although offered a directorial position in 1938, he declined it; Chuck Jones was already a director by that time. McKimson eventually accepted the directorial role himself in late 1944 after Frank Tashlin left. His first directorial effort was 'Daffy Doodles' (1946); the earlier short 'The Return of Mr. Hook' (1945) was directed by Friz Freleng.

In Their Own Story

In June 1953, a shutdown occurred at Warner Bros. due to the costly 3-D fad, but McKimson's unit had already been disbanded two months prior. He made an Oldsmobile commercial before persuading studio heads to reopen his unit with fewer resources and less money. Unable to rehire most former animators like Rod Scribner or his brother Charles, he assembled a new team including layout man Robert Gribbroek and animators Warren Batchelder, Ted Bonnicksen, George Grandpré, and Tom Ray. During this period, he animated on four of his own shorts: The Hole Idea (where he was the sole credited animator), Dime to Retire, Too Hop to Handle, and Weasel Stop. He continued directing through the studio's decline in the 1960s, working on The Incredible Mr. Limpet and later returning in 1968 for Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, where he was forbidden from using Bugs Bunny due to budget restrictions.

Reader's Guide

McKimson created Foghorn Leghorn, the Tasmanian Devil, and Speedy Gonzales (for the 1953 short Cat-Tails for Two), while directing every Hippety Hopper/Sylvester pairing. His notable shorts include Hillbilly Hare, A-Lad-In His Lamp, Stupor Duck, The Windblown Hare, Walky Talky Hawky, and Big Top Bunny. He also animated a cameo of Bugs Bunny in the 1943 Puppetoon film Jasper Goes Hunting, an unprecedented collaboration between rival studios Paramount and Warner Bros. After leaving DePatie–Freleng Enterprises temporarily, he returned to direct The Pink Panther Show shorts starting in 1972. His final Warner Bros. cartoon was Injun Trouble featuring Cool Cat; it was shortlisted for an Academy Award but not nominated. McKimson died of a sudden heart attack on September 29, 1977, just two days after his doctor declared him healthy.

Did You Know?

• McKimson did not develop Bugs Bunny's design; the character's look was already standardized by earlier shorts.
• He was not the only person to work at the Warner Bros. studio from the start of Looney Tunes through its closure in 1969; Friz Freleng and others also had long tenures.
• In 1953, he animated on four of his own shorts, including The Hole Idea where he was the sole credited animator.
• Speedy Gonzales first appeared in the 1953 short 'Cat-Tails for Two' directed by Friz Freleng, but the character was created and designed by Robert McKimson himself.
• On September 27, 1977, just two days before his death, McKimson bragged to Friz Freleng that he would outlive him due to a family history of living past 90.