1951 in animation


Events in 1951 in animation.

Events

January

January 6:

February

February 3: Friz Freleng's Sylvester cartoon Canned Feud premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.February 10: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam cartoon Rabbit Every Monday premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.February 24: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Putty Tat Trouble premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. This short marks the debut of Sylvester's friendly rival Sam Cat.

March

March 3: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Jerry and the Goldfish premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio.March 10: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon Bunny Hugged premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons in which Bugs participates in a wrestling match.March 24: Chuck Jones' Pepé Le Pew cartoon Scent-imental Romeo premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Penelope Pussycat.March 29: 23rd Academy Awards: John Hubley's Gerald McBoing-Boing, produced by UPA, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.

April

April 7: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Jerry's Cousin premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio.April 14: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam cartoon The Fair-Haired Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.

May

May 19: Chuck Jones' short Rabbit Fire premieres; starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, & Elmer Fudd; produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, the first short in his Hunting Season trilogy. It also marks a significant change in Daffy's personality, where the originally silly go-happy character now transforms into a more sane, selfish, unsympathetic loser.May 26: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Sleepy-Time Tom premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio.

June

June 2: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Room and Bird premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny and Hector the Bulldog.June 16:

July

July 7: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon His Mouse Friday premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio. This particular short was deemed controversial for its heavy depictions of African American stereotypes as its availability became limited since the 1990s. July 14: Chuck Jones' Porky Pig cartoon, The Wearing of the Grin, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons is released, It's the final solo cartoon for Porky.July 26: The Walt Disney Company releases Alice in Wonderland, produced by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske.July 28: Robert McKimson's Foghorn Leghorn cartoon Leghorn Swoggled premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Henery Hawk & Barnyard Dawg.

August

August 11: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny cartoon His Hare-Raising Tale premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. This short marks the debut of Bugs' nephew Clyde Bunny. The short features footage from previous Bugs Bunny cartoons, such as Freleng's own Baseball Bugs & Stage Door Cartoon, Chuck Jones' Rabbit Punch & Haredevil Hare, and Bob Clampett's Falling Hare.August 25: Chuck Jones' short Cheese Chasers premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Hubie and Bertie, Claude Cat, & the debut of Marc Antony the bulldog.

September

September 8:

Fall

  • The U.S. government educational short Duck and Cover, by Anthony Rizzo, begins airing in U.S. schools. The film teaches children what to do in case of a nuclear attack and features an animated sequence starring Bert the Turtle.

October

October 6:

November

November 15: John Hubley's Rooty Toot Toot, produced by UPA, premieres.November 17:

December

December 1: Robert McKimson's Bugs Bunny cartoon Big Top Bunny premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.December 8: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Cat Napping premieres, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio.December 15: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Tweet Tweet Tweety premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.December 22: Robert McKimson's Porky Pig and Daffy Duck cartoon The Prize Pest premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.December 29: Jack Kinney's Goofy cartoon No Smoking, produced by the Walt Disney Company, premieres. It is controversial and rarely broadcast because the plot revolves around Goofy trying to quit smoking.

Specific date unknown

Films released

Births

January

January 3: Paul Christie, American voice actor.January 12: Rush Limbaugh, American conservative political commentator,.January 30: Phil Collins, English drummer and musician, and actor.

February

February 5:

March

March 17: Kurt Russell, American actor.March 18: Bruce Baum, American comedian.March 19:

April

April 11: Dennis Snee, American screenwriter,.April 17: Olivia Hussey, British-Argentine actress,.April 21: Tony Danza, American actor.April 24: Steven Lisberger, American film director, producer and writer.April 27: Ace Frehley, American guitarist and songwriter,.

May

May 5: Nicholas Guest, English-American actor.May 14: Jim McLean, American animator and storyboard artist,.May 16: Unsho Ishizuka, Japanese voice actor,.May 18:

June

June 2: Michael E. Uslan, American lawyer and film producer.June 6: Ralph Guggenheim, American video graphics designer and film producer.June 9: James Newton Howard, American composer and music producer.June 13: Stellan Skarsgård, Swedish actor.June 16: Paul McGuinness, American industry executive and manager of U2.June 20: Tress MacNeille, American voice actress.June 24: Mark Klastorin, American voice actor and television writer,.June 27: Julia Duffy, American actress.

July

July 1:

August

August 3: Jay North, American actor,.August 12: Hiroshi Ogawa, Japanese animator and film director,.August 14: Carl Lumbly, American actor.August 17: Wesley Eure, American actor, singer, author, director, educator and producer.August 21: Randy Thom, American sound designer.August 22: Earl Kress, American animation historian, storyboard artist and screenwriter,.August 28:

September

September 2: Mark Harmon, American actor.September 3: Lou Richards, American actor.September 4: Scott Shaw, American comic book artist, animator, storyboard artist, character designer, writer and producer.September 5: Michael Keaton, American actor.September 10: Steve Kehela, American actor.September 12: Joe Pantoliano, American actor.September 13:

October

October 2: Sting, English musician, composer and actor.October 17: Luis Pérez Pons, Venezuelan actor,.October 18: Pam Dawber, American actress.October 26: Peter S. Seaman, American screenwriter and producer.October 28:

November

November 2: Ginny McSwain, American voice director.November 9: Lou Ferrigno, American actor and retired professional bodybuilder.November 15: Beverly D'Angelo, American actress.November 16: Miguel Sandoval, American actor.November 17: Stephen Root, American actor.November 20: Rodger Bumpass, American actor and comedian.November 23: David Rappaport, English actor,.November 29: Carl Finch, American musician and member of Brave Combo.

December

December 1:

Specific date unknown

  • Richard Bowman, American animator, director and sheet timer,.
  • Jeff Kwitny, American television writer.
  • Bruce Faulconer, American composer, musician, and record producer.

Deaths

March

March 30: Edwin George Lutz, German-American cartoonist, illustrator, and non-fiction writer of training manuals about art and drawing techniques,, dies at age 82.

April

April 5: Harry Hemsley, English comedian, radio presenter, comics artist, illustrator, actor and animator, dies at age 73.

May

May 5: Larry Grey, English magician, dies at age 56.

June

June 3: Rollin Hamilton, American animator, dies at age 52.

July

July 2: Sam Cobean, American cartoonist, dies at age 37.

August

August 14: William Randolph Hearst, American film producer, newspaper publisher, and politician,, dies at age 88.August 24: Henri Rivière, French painter and designer,, dies at age 87.

November

November 20: Lou Skuce, Canadian cartoonist, illustrator and animator, dies at age 65.

December

December 26: Wally Maher, American actor, dies at age 43.