1944 in animation
Events in 1944 in animation.
Events
January
January 4: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny short Little Red Riding Rabbit premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions.January 8: Bob Clampett's Bugs Bunny short What's Cookin' Doc? premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, in which Bugs competes for an Academy Award for Best Actor.January 28: Jack Kinney's Goofy cartoon How to Be a Sailor premieres, produced by the Walt Disney Company.February
February 3: Hans Fischerkoesen's Der Schneemann premieres.February 12: Chuck Jones' Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoon Tom Turk and Daffy premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions.February 18: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Trombone Trouble, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, premieres.February 26:- * Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, which marks the debut of The Three Bears.
- * Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon The Zoot Cat premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio.
March
March 2: 16th Academy Awards:- * Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short The Yankee Doodle Mouse, produced by MGM, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short, the first of seven Oscars the franchise will win over the years.
- * George Pal wins the Academy Honorary Award.March 10: Jack Kinney's Goofy short How to Play Golf, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, is first released.March 25: Chuck Jones' war-time cartoon The Weakly Reporter premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions.March 31: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Donald Duck and the Gorilla, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, is first released. Also starring Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
April
April 1: Tex Avery's Screwball Squirrel premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio; marks the debut of Screwy Squirrel.April 8: Bob Clampett's Porky Pig and Daffy Duck cartoon Tick Tock Tuckered premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions. It is a remake of the 1937 short Porky's Badtime Story, with Daffy taking Gabby Goat's place.April 21: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Contrary Condor, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, is first released.April 22:- * The classic Woody Woodpecker short The Barber of Seville premieres, produced by Walter Lantz Productions.
- * Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, a war propaganda cartoon where Bugs Bunny fights the Imperial Japanese Army.
May
May 6:- * Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon The Million Dollar Cat premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio.
- * Frank Tashlin's Porky Pig cartoon Swooner Crooner premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions. Also starring caricatures of the following famous singers as Roosters: Frank Sinatra, Nelson Eddy, Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante, Cab Calloway, and Bing Crosby.May 20: Bob Clampett's Russian Rhapsody premieres, a wartime propaganda short produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, in which a group of gremlins ridicule Adolf Hitler.May 27: Friz Freleng's Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoon Duck Soup to Nuts premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions.
June
June 2: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon Commando Duck premieres, a wartime propaganda cartoon produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios where Donald fights Japanese soldiers.June 3: Chuck Jones's Angel Puss premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, a one-shot cartoon which will later become part of the Censored Eleven.June 17: Friz Freleng's Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoon Slightly Daffy premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions. It is a color remake of Bob Clampett's short Scalp Trouble.June 23: Charles Nichols' Springtime for Pluto, produced by the Walt Disney Company, is first released.June 24:- * Tex Avery's Screwy Squirrel cartoon Happy-Go-Nutty, produced by MGM, is first released.
- * Bob Clampett's Bugs Bunny cartoon Hare Ribbin' premieres, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions.
July
Hell-Bent for Election is released, a propaganda cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and produced by UPA meant to promote presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt.July 1: Leon Schlesinger sells his cartoon studio to Warner Bros. and is renamed Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. Schlesinger also retires and is replaced by Edward Selzer.July 15: Frank Tashlin's final Porky Pig cartoon Brother Brat premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.July 22:- * Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon The Bodyguard premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio. This short introduced what Spike's character would become in later shorts in the franchise.
- * Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny cartoon Hare Force premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.July 28: The Puppetoons short film Jasper Goes Hunting premieres which features a cameo by Bugs Bunny.
August
August 26: Bob Clampett's Buckaroo Bugs premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Bugs Bunny. This is the final cartoon produced by Leon Schlesinger before he retired. It is the first Bugs Bunny short to be labeled as Looney Tunes instead of Merrie Melodies.September
September 1: Jack King's Donald Duck cartoon The Plastics Inventor premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.September 2: Friz Freleng's Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons premieres. This is the first cartoon to be produced by Edward Selzer.September 15: Jack Kinney's Goofy cartoon How to Play Football, produced by the Walt Disney Animation Studios, is first released.September 16: Frank Tashlin's war-time propaganda cartoon Plane Daffy is first released, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, in which Daffy Duck fights a female Nazi spy and fools Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Göring.October
October 28:- * Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Puttin' On the Dog premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio.
- * Bob Clampett's Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoon The Old Grey Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
November
November 3: The Hungarian film Svatba v korálovém moři premieres.November 8: Hans Fischerkoesen's Das dumme Gänslein premieres.November 23: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Mouse Trouble premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio.November 25: Frank Tashlin's Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd short The Stupid Cupid premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.December
December 8: Jack Hannah's first Donald Duck cartoon Donald's Off Day premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Huey, Dewey, and Louie.December 21: The Walt Disney Company releases The Three Caballeros, directed by Norman Ferguson, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts and Harold Young. It marks the debut of Panchito Pistoles. During its initial release, the film was infamous for its depictions of Donald Duck's sexuality towards women. Storyline relations to bestiality were against the regulations of the Hays Office Code at the time. The film would become a cult classic in later years.December 30: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd cartoon Stage Door Cartoon premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.Films released
- December 21 - ''The Three Caballeros''
Births
January
January 2: Vincent Davis, Australian-American animator, storyboard artist, character designer, lip sync artist, sheet timer, art director, production designer, writer, director and producer,.January 3: Albert Jelenic, Croatian-born American voice actor and father of Michael Jelenic,.January 5: J.R. Horne, American actor,.January 10:- * Frank Sinatra Jr., American singer, songwriter, actor and conductor,.
- * William Sanderson, American actor.January 11: Maciej Damięcki, Polish actor,.January 12: Joe Frazier, American professional boxer,.January 19: Shelley Fabares, American actress.January 22: Pamela Salem, British actress,.January 28: Bobby Ball, British comic, actor, singer and television host,.
February
February 2: Geoffrey Hughes, English actor,.February 6: Barry Bruce, American animation director and designer,.February 13:- * Jerry Springer, English-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, and politician,.
- * Stockard Channing, American actress.
- * Sal Bando, American former professional baseball player,.February 18: Anthony Jackson, English actor,.February 19: Donald F. Glut, American writer.February 25: Kristina Holland, American actress,.February 29: Dennis Farina, American actor,.
March
- March 16: Granville Van Dusen, American actor.
- March 24: R. Lee Ermey, American actor and Marine drill instructor,.March 31: Myfanwy Talog, Welsh actress,.
April
April 4: Craig T. Nelson, American actor.April 21: Toyoo Ashida, Japanese film director and character designer and producer,.April 29: Michael Angelis, English actor,.May
May 1: Theresa Plummer-Andrews, English animation television producer,.May 4:- * Russi Taylor, American voice actress,.
- * Walker Boone, Canadian actor,.May 5:
- * John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor.
- * Roger Rees, Welsh actor and director,.May 11: Nigel Lambert: English voice actor,.May 12: Vitaly Peskov, Russian caricaturist, illustrator, animator and film director,.May 14: George Lucas, American film director, producer, screenwriter, and entrepreneur.May 16: Danny Trejo, American actor.May 19: Peter Mayhew, English-American actor,.May 25: Frank Oz, American actor, filmmaker, and puppeteer.May 30: Meredith MacRae, American actress,.
June
June 2: Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor,.June 8: Don Grady, American actor, composer and musician,.June 20: Gillian Hanna, Irish actress,.June 24: Julian Holloway, British actor,.June 27: Will Jennings, American lyricist,.June 29: Gary Busey, American actor.July
July 4: Susan Kellermann, American actress.July 8: Jeffrey Tambor, American actor.July 22: Peter Jason, American actor,.July 23: Pepe Serna, American actor.July 30: Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican composer and actor,.August
August 4: Richard Belzer, American actor,.August 7: John Glover, American actor.August 9: Sam Elliott, American actor.August 11: Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor.August 18: Bodo Wolf, German actor,.August 27: G.W. Bailey, American actor.September
September 3: David Landsberg, American actor,.September 6:- * Frank Mouris, American animator.
- * Swoosie Kurtz, American actress.September 12:
- * B. J. Ward, American actress.
- * Barry White, American singer and songwriter,.September 19: Bob Hathcock, American animator, storyboard artist, sheet timer, producer and director.September 25: Michael Douglas, American actor and producer.
October
October 3: Roy Horn, German-American magician, entertainer and producer,.October 7: Jill Frappier, English-Canadian actress.October 8: Thom Huge, American voice actor and producer.October 9: John Entwistle, English musician and member of The Who,.October 14: Udo Kier, German actor,.October 15: Haim Saban, Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, and producer of records, film, and television.October 22: David W. Allen, American stop-motion animator,.October 23: Mike Harding, English musician, comedian, author, and poet.October 28: Dennis Franz, American retired actor.October 29: Nicola Cuti, American comic book artist, animator, art director and background artist,.November
November 2: Michael Buffer, American ring announcer.November 4: Linda Gary, American actress,.November 10: Tim Rice, English lyricist.November 17:- * Gary Goldman, American film producer, director, animator, writer and actor.
- * Danny DeVito, American actor.
- * Lorne Michaels, Canadian-American television writer and film producer.November 18: Susan Sullivan, American actress.November 21: Harold Ramis, American actor,, comedian, director and writer,.November 25: Ben Stein, American actor, comedian, and political commentator.November 27: Bruce Adler, American actor and singer,.
December
December 9: Clive Endersby, Canadian actor and television writer.December 11: Teri Garr, American actress,.December 12: Sandy Benenati, American ink and paint artist, production assistant and animation checker.December 17: Bernard Hill, English actor,.December 31: Neil Ross, English-American actor.Specific date unknown
- Robert Taylor, American animator, producer, writer and film director,.
- Clive A. Smith, English animator.
- Francoise Brun-Cottan, French-American actress.
- Beau Billingslea, American actor.