1955 in animation

Events in 1955 in animation.

Events

January

January 14: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon No Hunting premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Bambi and his mother make a cameo in this short.January 15: Robert McKimson's Foghorn Leghorn cartoon Feather Dusted premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Egghead Jr. & Miss Prissy.January 29: The pilot episode of Art Clokey's Gumby airs. It will become a full series a year later.

February

February 12: Chuck Jones' Beanstalk Bunny premieres, starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.February 19: Robert McKimson's Foghorn Leghorn cartoon All Fowled Up premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Barnyard Dawg & Henery Hawk.February 26: Friz Freleng's Daffy Duck cartoon Stork Naked premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring The Drunk Stork.

March

March 12:

* Robert McKimson's Sylvester and Hippety Hopper cartoon Lighthouse Mouse premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.
* Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Southbound Duckling, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.March 26: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam cartoon Sahara Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Daffy Duck makes a cameo appearance at the end of the short.March 30: 27th Academy Awards: The Mr. Magoo short film When Magoo Flew, produced by UPA and directed by Pete Burness, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.

April

April 2: Friz Freleng's Tweety and [Sylvester the Cat|Sylvester the Cat|Sylvester] cartoon Sandy Claws premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny.April 9: Tex Avery's Field And Scream for MGM premieres.April 11: Tex Avery's The Legend of Rockabye Point premieres, produced by Walter Lantz.April 16: Robert McKimson's The Hole Idea is first released, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, an animated short he directed and animated almost entirely on his own.April 26 - May 10: 1955 Cannes Film Festival: Jiří Trnka's The Good Soldier Schweik premieres.April 30:

* Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Pup on a Picnic, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.
* Chuck Jones' Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short Ready, Set, Zoom!, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, premieres.

May

May 7: Friz Freleng's Hare Brush premieres, starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.May 21:

* Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Mouse for Sale, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.
* Chuck Jones' Pepé Le Pew cartoon Past Perfumance premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Penelope Pussycat.

June

June 4: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Tweety's Circus premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.June 6: Tex Avery's animated short Sh-h-h-h-h-h is first released, produced by Walter Lantz Productions. It is the final theatrical animated short made by him before his retirement.June 11: Chuck Jones' Rabbit Rampage premieres starring Bugs Bunny, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The short is a spiritual successor to Jones' Daffy Duck cartoon Duck Amuck. Elmer Fudd is revealed to be the animator at the end of the short.June 22: The Walt Disney Company releases Lady and the Tramp, directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske, It was the first animated film to be filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen film process.

July

July 9: Friz Freleng's This Is a Life? premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, & Granny. The short features footage from Freleng's previous Bugs Bunny cartoons such as A Hare Grows in Manhattan, Hare Do, and Buccaneer Bunny.July 17: Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California.

August

August 5: Karel Zeman's Journey to the Beginning of Time premieres.August 6: Chuck Jones' Porky Pig and Sylvester cartoon Jumpin' Jupiter premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. This is the final pairing of Porky and Sylvester in the Golden Age of Animation.August 19: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Bearly Asleep premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Humphrey the Bear.August 20: Friz Freleng's cartoon A Kiddies Kitty premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Sylvester and Hector the Bulldog.August 27: Friz Freleng's cartoon Hyde and Hare premieres starring Bugs Bunny, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.

September

September 2:

* Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Beezy Bear premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Humphrey the Bear.
* Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Designs on Jerry, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.September 3: Robert McKimson's Porky Pig and Daffy Duck cartoon Dime to Retire premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. This is the final short to feature Porky as an annoyed victim, following cartoons would star him as the more successful sidekick to Daffy's highly egoistical character.September 9: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Tom and Chérie, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.September 16: Vladimir Polkovnikov and Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya's The Enchanted Boy premieres, an animated feature based on Nils Holgersson by Selma Lagerlöf.September 17: Speedy Gonzales, who was earlier created by Robert McKimson, appears in a remodeled version in the Friz Freleng cartoon Speedy Gonzales, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It launches the character as the star of a long-running series. Sylvester also appears in the short as the main antagonist.September 23: Jack Hannah's Donald Duck cartoon Up a Tree premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Chip 'n' Dale.

October

October 1: Chuck Jones' Knight-mare Hare premieres starring Bugs Bunny, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.October 3: The first episode of The Mickey Mouse Club airs on television.October 14: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short Smarty Cat, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.October 15: Chuck Jones' Pepé Le Pew cartoon Two Scent's Worth premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Penelope Pussycat.October 28: MGM releases Deputy Droopy, a cartoon starring Droopy, directed by Tex Avery. Avery left the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio in 1953, but the cartoon was only finished and released after he left.October 29: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Red Riding Hoodwinked premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny.

November

November 11: The Tom and Jerry short film Pecos Pest, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres. This was the last Tom and Jerry Cartoon to be produced in the Academy format ratio, all following shorts would be produced in the CinemaScope format.November 12: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam short film Roman Legion-Hare, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, is first released.November 19: Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry short That's My Mommy, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.November 25: MGM releases Cellbound, a cartoon starring Spike the bulldog, directed by Tex Avery. Avery left MGM in 1953, but the cartoon was only finished and released after he left.November 26: Friz Freleng's Sylvester and Elmer Fudd cartoon Heir-Conditioned premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Tweety makes a cameo at the beginning of the short.

December

December 10:

* Chuck Jones' Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short Guided Muscle, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, premieres.
* The first episode of Mighty Mouse Playhouse airs.December 15: The first episode of A Rubovian Legend airs.December 17: Friz Freleng's Sylvester cartoon Pappy's Puppy premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring The Drunk Stork.December 31: Chuck Jones' One Froggy Evening, premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It marks the debut of Michigan J. Frog.

Specific date unknown

Belvision Studios creates several animated television shorts for Belgian television, based on Suske en Wiske and Till Eulenspiegel by Willy Vandersteen, which are broadcast during the children's show Kom Toch Eens Kijken.
Alberta Siegel conducts a study on the effect of cartoon violence on young children, under the title: Film-Mediated Fantasy Aggression and Strength of Aggressive Drive. She shows the Ub Iwerks cartoon The Little Red Hen and Woody Woodpecker cartoon Ace in the Hole as test subjects and notices the children play more aggressively after watching the Woody Woodpecker cartoon. A year later the test will cause debate and concern among moral guardians.

Films released

June 22 - Lady and the Tramp
September 16 - The Enchanted Boy
December 23 - The Enchanted Village
Specific date unknown - ''The Devil and Kate''

Television series

October 3:
* Captain Kangaroo debuts on CBS.
* The Mickey Mouse Club debuts on ABC, on Disney Channel, and in syndication.
December 10 - Mighty Mouse Playhouse debuts on CBS.
December 15 - A Rubovian Legend debuts on BBC.

Births

January

January 2: Tex Brashear, American actor.January 3: Hal Rayle, American voice actor.January 6: Rowan Atkinson, English actor, comedian and writer.January 9: J. K. Simmons, American actor.January 12: Tom Ardolino, American rock drummer and member of NRBQ,.January 14: Nancy Linari, American actress.January 15:

* Mayumi Tanaka, Japanese actress.
* Miyuki Hoshikawa, Japanese animator and storyboard artist.January 16: Steven Weisberg, American film editor,.January 21: Karsten Kiilerich, Danish film and television director, screenwriter and animator.January 22: John Wesley Shipp, American actor.January 27: Kerrigan Mahan, American actor.

February

February 1: David Wise, American television scriptwriter,.February 7: Miguel Ferrer, American actor,.February 8: Jerry Beck, American animation historian, author, blogger and video producer.February 9:

* Jim J. Bullock, American actor and comedian.
* Charles Shaughnessy, English actor.February 15: Christopher McDonald, American actor.February 16: Peter Siragusa, American actor,.February 19: Jeff Daniels, American actor.February 21: Kelsey Grammer, American actor.February 23: Tom Bodett, American writer and radio host.February 24: Steve Jobs, American business magnate,.February 27: Lou Hirsch, American actor.February 28: Gilbert Gottfried, American actor and comedian,.

March

March 5: Penn Jillette, American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter and author.March 6: Larry Cedar, American actor.March 12: Celia Kendrick, American animator, storyboard artist, writer and director.March 15: Dee Snider, American musician and actor.March 19: Bruce Willis, German-born American retired actor.March 28: Reba McEntire, American country singer.March 29:

* Marina Sirtis, English actress.
* Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor.March 30:
* Humberto Vélez, Mexican voice actor.
* Daniel Fanego, Argentine actor,.

April

April 5: Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist and character designer,.April 6: Michael Rooker, American actor.April 15: Ryūtarō Nakamura, Japanese film director and animator,.April 18: Keith Kaczorek, American television writer.April 29:

* Kate Mulgrew, American actress.
* Richard Epcar, American actor.
* Leslie Jordan, American actor,.Specific date unknown: Terry Brain, British animator,.

May

May 1: Eric Goldberg, American animator, actor and film director.May 8: Raoul Trujillo, American actor.May 10:

* Chris Berman, American sportscaster.
* Mbongeni Ngema, South African musician,.May 13: María Cecilia Botero, Colombian actress.May 14: Dave Hoover, American comics artist and animator,.May 17:
* Pat Irwin, American composer and musician.
* Bill Paxton, American actor and filmmaker,.
* Marc Weiner, American actor.May 25: Mark Watters, American composer.May 29: David Kirschner, American film and television producer and screenwriter.May 30: Jake Roberts, American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler.May 31: Susie Essman, American comedian, actress, writer and producer.

June

June 2: Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian.June 3: Phil Nibbelink, American animator, storyboard artist and film director.June 4: Mary Testa, American actress.June 6:

* Sam Simon, American television director, producer, designer and writer,.
* Sandra Bernhard, American actress.June 9: Teddy Eccles, American actor.June 16:
* Laurie Metcalf, American actress.
* Tree Rollins, American former professional basketball player.June 26:
* Gedde Watanabe, American actor and comedian.
* Yvette Kaplan, American animator, storyboard artist, sheet timer, consultant, voice director, writer, producer and director.

July

July 1: Ian Wilcox, American background artist,.July 3: Jesse Corti, American actor and theater director.July 10: Denise Sirkot, American production manager and producer.July 22: Willem Dafoe, American actor.July 24: Hideyuki Umezu, Japanese voice actor,.July 26: Michele Pillar, American singer, songwriter and actress.July 29: Dave Stevens, American illustrator and comics artist,.

August

August 3: Corey Burton, American actor.August 4: Billy Bob Thornton, American actor.August 7: Wayne Knight, American actor.August 18: Kōzō Shioya, Japanese voice actor,.August 19: Peter Gallagher, American actor.August 21: Gary Apple, American television writer.August 24: Kevin Dunn, American actor.August 29: Vera Lanpher-Pacheco, American animator and voice actor,.

September

September 6: Bruno Bianchi, French animator and comics artist,.September 7: Mira Furlan, Croatian-born American actress and singer,.September 8: Stephen J. Lineweaver, American production designer, art director and visual consultant.September 9:

* John Kricfalusi, Canadian former animator, storyboard artist, blogger, voice actor, director and producer.
* Edward Hibbert, English actor.September 11: Mike Docherty, Scottish comics artist and animator,.September 12: Peter Scolari, American actor,.September 15:
* Bruce Reitherman, American actor and son of Wolfgang Reitherman.
* Nathan Carlson, American voice actor, musician and writer.September 17: Charles Martinet, American voice actor.September 18: David Mirkin, American screenwriter, director and producer.September 26: George Daugherty, American conductor, director, writer and producer.

October

October 6: Joel Paley, American screenwriter,.October 12: Russell Calabrese, American animator, storyboard artist, background artist, animation checker, sheet timer, writer and director.October 14: Arleen Sorkin, American actress, and screenwriter,.October 20: Thomas Newman, American composer.October 29: Gary Leib, American cartoonist, musician and animator,.October 30: Daryl L. Coley, American singer,.

November

November 3: Flint Dille, American screenwriter.November 13: Whoopi Goldberg, American actress, comedienne, author and television personality.November 15: Michael Peraza, Cuban-American animator, art director, conceptual artist and animation historian.November 19: Debbi Besserglick, Israeli actress,.November 25:

* Cheri Steinkellner, American television writer and producer.
* Don Hahn, American film producer.November 27: Bill Nye, American television personality and engineer.November 29: Howie Mandel, Canadian comedian, television personality, screenwriter, actor, producer, director, entrepreneur, game show host and author.November 30: Kevin Conroy, American actor,.

December

December 3: Andrea Romano, American voice director.December 5: Richard Gibbs, American music producer and composer.December 6: Steven Wright, American actor, comedian, writer and film producer.December 14: Stefan Gossler, German actor,.December 16:

* Xander Berkeley, American actor.
* Catherine Peterson, American ink & paint artist and animation checker,.December 18: Mitch Schauer, American animator, storyboard artist, writer, director, producer, and voice actor.December 19: Bronwen Barry, Canadian-American animator, storyboard artist and character designer.December 21: Jane Kaczmarek, American actress.December 24:
* David Richardson, American television writer and producer,.
* Randy Crenshaw, American actor and singer.December 29: Dan Kuenster, American animator and director.December 30: Sheryl Lee Ralph, American actress.

Specific date unknown

Antón Cancelas, Spanish actor,.
Kent Melton, American animation sculptor,.
Marc Scott Zicree, American author writer, and screenwriter.

Deaths

July

July 4: Perce Pearce, American animation director, producer, writer and actor, dies at age 55.

August

August 25: Kitazawa Rakuten, Japanese manga artist and nihonga-style painter, considered the first professional cartoonist in Japan and the founding father of modern manga,, dies at age 79.

October

October 24: Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky, Russian animator, cinematographer, film director and screenwriter, dies at age 66.

Specific date unknown

Erich F.T. Schenk, German-American painter, illustrator, animator and comics artist, dies at age 53 or 54.