1939 in animation
Events in 1939 in animation.
Events
January
January 13: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Donald's Lucky Day premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.January 28: Tex Avery's Hamateur Night premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions.February
February 18: Hamilton Luske's Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Surprise Party premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.February 23: 11th Academy Awards: The Walt Disney Company's Ferdinand the Bull, directed by Dick Rickard, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.- February 25: Milt Gross' Count Screwloose cartoon Jitterbug Follies premieres, produced by MGM.
March
March 11: Tex Avery's A Day at the Zoo premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions.March 17: The Walt Disney Company releases Goofy and Wilbur, the first solo Goofy cartoon, directed by Dick Huemer.March 25: Chuck Jones' Prest-O Change-O premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, starring the Bugs Bunny prototype.April
April 7: The Ugly Duckling, directed by Jack Cutting and Clyde Geronimi, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, premieres, Its the final short in the Silly Symphonies series.April 22: Chuck Jones' Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, this was Jones' first short starring Daffy Duck.April 28: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon The Hockey Champ premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Huey, Dewey, and Louie.May
May 19: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Donald's Cousin Gus premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.May 20: Chuck Jones' Naughty but Mice premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, which marks the debut of Sniffles the Mouse.June
June 9: Clyde Geronimi's first Donald Duck cartoon Beach Picnic premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Pluto.June 10: Harman & Ising's The Bear That Couldn't Sleep is first released, produced by MGM which marks the debut of Barney Bear.June 30: Dick Lundy's first Donald Duck cartoon Sea Scouts premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Huey, Dewey, and Louie.July
July 1: Chuck Jones' Porky Pig cartoon Old Glory premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions which stands out for being a serious and educational propaganda cartoon about the Pledge of Allegiance.July 7: The final Betty Boop cartoon Rhythm on the Reservation, produced by the Fleischer Brothers, premieres.July 21: Clyde Geronimi's Mickey Mouse cartoon The Pointer premieres, produced by the Walt Disney Animation Studios. In the cartoon Mickey and Pluto go hunting and encounter a bear.August
August 5: Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton's Hare-um Scare-um premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, starring the Bugs Bunny prototype. The prototype rabbit is seen with grey fur for the first time, which would end up being the final design for Bugs.August 11: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Donald's Penguin premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.September
September 1:- * Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon The Autograph Hound premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
- * BBC Television Service broadcasts the Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Gala Premier, produced by the Walt Disney Animation Studios. Afterwards it ceases all broadcasting because of the outbreak of World War II. An urban legend about this final broadcast claims that due to the sudden outbreak of the war the BBC cut the cartoon short and when BBC-TV resumed after the conflict, it was picked up at the very point it had been interrupted. Despite this widespread belief, the cartoon was shown in its entirety and then followed by tuning signals. On 7 June 1946, the day BBC television broadcasts resumed after the war, Mickey's Gala Premier was shown again.
- September 22: Clyde Geronimi's first Donald Duck cartoon Officer Duck premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Pete .
October
October 7: Chuck Jones' The Little Lion Hunter premieres in which Inki and the Mynah Bird make their debuts.October 9: Walter Lantz's Life Begins for Andy Panda premieres, which marks the debut of Andy Panda.December
December 9: Hugh Harman's Peace on Earth premieres, produced by MGM which will become a classic.December 22: The Fleischer Studios release Gulliver's Travels, the second American feature-length animated film.Specific date unknown
- In Antwerp Ray Goossens, Henri Winkeler, Jules Luyckx and Edmond Roex establish their own animation studio, AFIM. It will exist until 1944.
- Kenzō Masaoka's Benkei tai Ushiwaka premieres.
Films released
- July 1 - The Golden Key
- December 22 - ''Gulliver's Travels''
Births
January
January 10: Harrie Geelen, Dutch illustrator, film director and animator.January 23:- * Greg Hildebrandt, American poster artist and character designer,.
- * Tim Hildebrandt, American poster artist, and character designer,.January 25: Angela Thorne, British actress,.
February
February 2: Jackie Burroughs, English-born Canadian actress,.February 6: Mike Farrell, American actor.February 7: Vladimir Tarasov, Russian animator and animation director.February 12: Michele Kalamera, Italian actor,.February 13: Vittoria Febbi, Italian actress.February 15: Taichirō Hirokawa, Japanese voice actor,. February 27: David Mitton, English television and film director and producer, model maker and special effects technician,.March
March 1: David Weatherley, British-born New Zealand actor,.March 5:- * Camillo Teti, Italian production manager, film producer and director.
- * Samantha Eggar, English-American actress,.
April
April 10: Shinji Mizushima, Japanese manga artist,.April 13: Paul Sorvino, American actor,.April 23:- * Lee Majors, American actor.
- * Patrick Williams, American composer, arranger and conductor,.April 28: Michiyo Yasuda, Japanese animator,.
May
May 10: Noreen Young, Canadian actress,.May 22: Paul Winfield, American actor,.May 25: Ian McKellen, English actor.May 28: Beth Howland, American actress,.May 30: Baoan Coleman, Vietnamese-American actor,.June
June 13: Siegfried Fischbacher, German-American magician, entertainer and producer,.June 26: Stu Rosen, American voice director and actor,.July
July 19: Stanisław Lenartowicz, Polish animator,.July 26: Bob Baker, English screenwriter,.July 30:- * Peter Bogdanovich, American director, writer, actor, producer, critic and film historian,.
- * Alois Švehlík, Czech actor,.
August
August 16: Carole Shelley, English actress,.August 22: Valerie Harper, American actress,.August 30: John Peel, English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist,.September
September 1: Lily Tomlin, American actress.September 5:- * Stephen J. Lawrence, American composer,.
- * George Lazenby, Australian actor.September 13: Richard Kiel, American actor,.September 17: Shelby Flint, American singer-songwriter, and actress.September 28: Rudolph Walker, Trinidadian-British actor.
October
October 2: Yoshisada Sakaguchi, Japanese voice actor,.October 24: F. Murray Abraham, American actor.October 27: John Cleese, English actor, comedian,, and screenwriter.October 30: Danny Goldman, American actor and casting director,.November
November 10: Russell Means, American activist and actor,.November 18: Brenda Vaccaro, American actress.November 26: Tina Turner, Swiss-American singer and actress,.November 30: Andrei Khrzhanovsky, Russian animator.December
December 4:- * Juli Erickson, American actress,.
- * Robert Glass, American sound engineer,.December 23: Nathalie Dupree, American cookbook writer and television personality,.December 26: Ron Campbell, Australian film director, producer and animator,.
Specific date unknown
- Suzanne Baker, Australian film producer.
- Nelson Shin, Korean animator, director and producer.
- David Brown, American businessman,.
- Sam Cornell, American animator, background artist, storyboard artist, writer and director,.
- David Hamilton Grant, English pornographic producer and convicted criminal,.