1956 in animation
Events in 1956 in animation.
Events
January
January 14: Chuck Jones' Bugs' Bonnets premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.January 27: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon The Flying Sorceress, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.January 28: Robert McKimson's Sylvester and Hippety Hopper cartoon Too Hop to Handle premieres, produced Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Sylvester Jr.February
February 24: Jack Kinney's Donald Duck cartoon Chips Ahoy premieres, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Also starring Chip 'n' Dale.February 25: Chuck Jones' Broom-Stick Bunny is first released, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Bugs Bunny and Witch Hazel.March
March 10: Chuck Jones' Rocket Squad premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons and starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.March 21: 28th Academy Awards: Speedy Gonzales, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.March 23: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon The Egg and Jerry, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres. It is a CinemaScope remake of the 1949 Tom and Jerry short Hatch Up Your Troubles.March 24: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Tweet and Sour premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny & Sam Cat.March 31: Chuck Jones' Pepé Le Pew cartoon Heaven Scent premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Penelope Pussycat.April
- Gene Deitch becomes head of animation at Terrytoons until August 1958.April 28: Friz Freleng's Rabbitson Crusoe premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam.
May
May 4: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Busy Buddies, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.May 5: Chuck Jones' Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.May 19: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Tree Cornered Tweety premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The short is a parody of the popular police procedural franchise Dragnet.May 25: Peter Foldes and Joan Foldes' A Short Vision airs during an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show and causes controversy over its anti-atomic power message.June
June 2: Robert McKimson's Sylvester cartoon The Unexpected Pest premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.June 16: Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny cartoon Napoleon Bunny-Part premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.June 23: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon Tugboat Granny premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Granny .July
July 21: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny cartoon Barbary Coast Bunny premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Nasty Canasta.July 26: Pete Burness' Mr. Magoo cartoon Magoo's Puddle Jumper, produced by UPA, premieres.August
August 18: Robert McKimson's Bugs Bunny cartoon Half-Fare Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The short features caricatures of Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton from the TV series The Honeymooners.September
September 1: Robert McKimson's Sylvester and Hippety Hopper cartoon The Slap-Hoppy Mouse premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Sylvester Jr.September 7: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Muscle Beach Tom, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.September 15: Friz Freleng's A Star Is Bored premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, and Elmer Fudd.September 29: Chuck Jones' Deduce, You Say! premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.October
October 13: Friz Freleng's cartoon Yankee Dood It premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Elmer Fudd and Sylvester.October 21: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Down Beat Bear, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.October 27: Robert McKimson's cartoon Wideo Wabbit premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.November
November 10: Chuck Jones' Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon There They Go-Go-Go! premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.November 16: The Tom and Jerry cartoon Blue Cat Blues is first released, produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio. It features a controversial ending in which the duo commit suicide by waiting on a railroad track for the train to come. Contrary to urban legend, though, it is not the final episode of the series. The final short produced at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was Tot Watchers in 1958, and the final short overall was Purr-Chance to Dream, produced by Chuck Jones in 1967.December
December 8: Robert McKimson's The Honey-Mousers, a spoof of The Honeymooners, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, premieres.December 14: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon Barbecue Brawl, produced by MGM's Cartoon Studio, premieres.December 15: Chuck Jones' Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote cartoon To Hare Is Human premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.December 16: The first episode of The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show airs on CBS. Broadcast at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday evenings, it was a showcase for UPA's cartoons, including Dusty of the Circus, The Twirlinger Twins, and Punch and Judy. The program proved too expensive to continue and lasted only three months.Specific date unknown
- Ivan Ivanov-Vano's The Twelve Months is released.
- Te Wei's The Proud General is released.
- Walt Disney Productions shuts down its shorts division. Disney shorts would only be produced on a sporadic basis from this point on.
Films released
- December 31 - The Twelve Months
- Specific date unknown - ''The Heavenly Creation''
Television series
- May 1 - The Gumby Show debuts on CBS and in syndication.
- Specific date unknown - The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show debuts on CBS.
Births
January
January 3: Mel Gibson, American actor.January 9: Imelda Staunton, English actress and singer.January 12: Ellen Byron, American television writer and producer.January 21:- * Robby Benson, American actor and singer.
- * Geena Davis, American actress.January 22: Michael Kopsa, Canadian actor,.January 24: Peter Woodward, English actor.January 26: Pat Musick, American voice actress.January 27: Susanne Blakeslee, American actress.
February
February 3:- * Nathan Lane, American actor.
- * Lee Ranaldo, American musician and member of Sonic Youth.February 7: Bob Camp, American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer.February 12: Arsenio Hall, American actor, comedian, talk show host, film producer and writer.February 15: Olga Merediz, American actress.February 25: Thomas W. Lynch, American television writer and producer.February 28: Lloyd Sherr, American actor.
March
March 1: Tim Daly, American actor and producer.March 7: Bryan Cranston, American actor and filmmaker.March 11:- * Rob Paulsen, American actor and comedian.
- * J.J. Sedelmaier, American animator, illustrator, designer, author, director, and producer.March 13: Dana Delany, American actress.March 16: Stephen Sustarsic, American television producer and writer,.March 24: William Wray, American cartoonist, animator and landscape painter.March 29: John Debney, American composer and conductor.
April
April 8: Diane Michelle, American actress.April 9: Mark Thomas, British composer,.April 12: Andy García, American actor, director and musician.April 14: Keith Crofford, American former television producer.April 18: Eric Roberts, American actor.April 19: Mo Henry, American film negative cutter,.April 21: John Walker, American film producer and actor.April 23:- * Kevin Meaney, American actor and comedian,.
- * Caroline Thompson, American novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer.
May
May 5: Marva Hicks, American singer and actress,.May 7: S. Scott Bullock, American voice actor.May 10:- * Jonathan Roberts, American screenwriter.
- * Paige O'Hara, American actress and singer.May 13:
- * Kirk Thornton, American voice actor, director and writer.
- * Fred Melamed, American actor, comedian and writer.May 15: Dan Patrick, American sportscaster, radio personality and actor.May 17: Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, television host and director,.May 19:
- * Steve Pepoon, American screenwriter,.
- * Tom Sito, American animator, animation historian and teacher.May 22: Claudio Rissi, Argentine actor,.May 23: Cal Dodd, Irish-Canadian voice actor and singer.May 30: Charles M. Howell IV, American television writer, producer and animator.
June
June 4: Keith David, American actor.June 21: Arunee Nanthiwat, Thai voice actress,.June 22: Tim Russ, American actor.June 25: Anthony Bourdain, American celebrity chef, author and travel documentarian,.June 26: Chris Isaak, American musician and actor.June 27: Philippe Adamov, French illustrator, animator and comics artist,.June 30: David Alan Grier, American actor and comedian.July
July 9: Tom Hanks, American actor, and producer.July 11:- * Rodney Saulsberry, American actor.
- * Sela Ward, American actress.July 27: Betty Cohen, American businesswoman and media executive.
August
August 5: Maureen McCormick, American actress.August 10: Peter Robbins, American former child actor,.August 12: Bruce Greenwood, Canadian actor and musician.August 13: Jacques Muller, French animator,.August 14: Jackée Harry, American actress.August 18: John Debney, American composer.August 21: Kim Cattrall, British and Canadian actress.August 23: Robert L. Manahan, American actor and re-recording mixer,.August 24: Gerry Cooney, American former professional boxer.August 30: Frank Conniff, American actor, comedian, producer and writer.September
September 10: Desirée Goyette, American singer, composer, lyricist and voice over artist.September 11: Victor Aaron, American actor,.September 13: Kathleen Helppie-Shipley, American voice actress and animation producer.September 16:- * Peter Francis James, American actor.
- * David Copperfield, American magician.September 20: Gary Cole, American actor.September 23: Peter David, American comic book writer and screenwriter,.September 26: Linda Hamilton, American actress.
October
October 2:- * Charlie Adler, American voice actor and director.
- * Mike Scully, American television writer and producer.October 3: Hart Bochner, American actor.October 4: Christoph Waltz, German and American actor.October 7: Shinji Miyazaki, Japanese composer and arranger.October 8:
- * Danny Jacob, American guitarist, songwriter and composer.
- * Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress and daughter of Efrem Zimbalist Jr..October 18: Craig Bartlett, American animator.October 20: Peter Morwood, Irish novelist and screenwriter,.October 21: Carrie Fisher, American actress,.October 24: Holly du Rivage, American animation checker and sheet timer.October 28: Russell Marcus, American television producer and writer.October 29: Darrell Van Citters, American animator, director and author.October 31: Swinton O. Scott III, American animator, storyboard artist, background artist, sheet timer, producer and director.
November
November 2: Bob Jaques, Canadian-American animator, storyboard artist, sheet timer, voice director, writer, producer and director.November 5: Mark Kirkland, American animator and director.November 10:- * Kathy Waugh, American television writer.
- * Peter Rangmar, Swedish comedian and actor,.
- * Sinbad, American actor and comedian.November 15: Jerry Rees, American film director and animator.November 17: Kelly Ward, American actor and voice director.November 21: Alessandra Valeri Manera, Italian screenwriter and songwriter,.November 22: Richard Kind, American actor and comedian.November 26: Don Lake, Canadian actor, writer, and television producer.
December
December 1: Larry Charles, American comedian, actor, director, writer and producer.December 3: Michael Gough, American actor.December 7:- * Larry Bird, American former professional basketball player and coach.
- * Mark Rolston, American actor.December 17: Peter Farrelly, American film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist.December 18: T. K. Carter, American actor,.December 27: Richard Raynis, American animator and television producer.
Specific date unknown
- Cordell Barker, Canadian animator, film director,
- Glenn Eichler, American television producer and writer.
- George Meyer, American television writer and producer.
- Michael J. Deas, American painter and illustrator.
- Jon Walmsley, American musician and actor.
- Biff Wiff, American actor,.