1961 in animation
Events in 1961 in animation.
Events
January
January 7: Robert McKimson's Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester cartoon Cannery Woe premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.January 21: Chuck Jones' Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon Zip 'N Snort premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.January 24: Voice actor Mel Blanc suffers a car accident which leaves him in a coma for two weeks. He is brought back to consciousness by addressing his Looney Tunes characters, in whose voices he replies.January 25: Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians premieres, directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske and Clyde Geronimi.January 30: The first episode of The Yogi Bear Show is broadcast, marking the debuts of Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle.February
February 11: Robert McKimson's Sylvester and Hippety Hopper cartoon Hoppy Daze premieres, produced Warner Bros. Cartoons.February 20: Wolfgang Reitherman's Goofy cartoon Aquamania premieres.February 25: The first episode of Art Clokey's Davey and Goliath is broadcast.March
March 18: Robert McKimson's Foghorn Leghorn cartoon Strangled Eggs premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Henery Hawk & Miss Prissy.April
April 1: Robert McKimson's Sylvester cartoon Birds of a Father premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Sylvester Jr.April 7: The Flintstones concludes its first season on ABC with the episode "Fred Flintstone: Before and After".April 17: 33rd Academy Awards: Munro wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.April 22: Friz Freleng's Sylvester cartoon D' Fightin' Ones premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The short is a parody of the 1958 film The Defiant Ones.May
May 1: The first episode of Otogi Manga Calendar is broadcast, the first anime TV series.May 20: Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble's Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoon The Abominable Snow Rabbit premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.June
June 3: Chuck Jones and Abe Levitow's Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon Lickety-Splat premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.June 21: Hamilton Luske's The Litterbug, the final theatrical Donald Duck cartoon premieres.June 24: Chuck Jones' Pepé Le Pew cartoon A Scent of the Matterhorn premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. Also starring Penelope Pussycat.July
July 15: Friz Freleng's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon The Rebel Without Claws premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. This is the final Tweety and Sylvester cartoon to be solely directed by Friz Freleng, as he would go on to direct two more shorts with Hawley Pratt.July 29: Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble's Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote cartoon Compressed Hare premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons.August
August: The first episode of Pingwings is broadcast.August 19: Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt's Speedy Gonzales and Sylvester cartoon The Pied Piper of Guadalupe premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It was nominated for an Academy Award.September
September 2: Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt's Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam cartoon Prince Violent premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The short was later renamed as "Prince Varmint" for TV airings.September 7: Switchin' Kitten, the first Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by Gene Deitch premieres.September 15: Season 2 of The Flintstones begins on ABC with the premiere of the episode "The Hit Song Writers", guest starring Hoagy Carmichael. September 23: Robert McKimson's Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoon Daffy's Inn Trouble premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. This is McKimson's final short starring Porky.September 24: The first episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color premieres, in which Ludwig von Drake makes his debut. September 27:- * The first episode of Hanna-Barbera's Top Cat is broadcast.
- * The first episode of Jay Ward's Dudley Do-Right is broadcast.
October
October 4: The first episode of The Alvin Show is broadcast.October 26: Gene Deitch's Tom and Jerry cartoon Down and Outing premieres. This short marks the debut of Tom's negatively-received owner who constantly abuses the feline for the latter's actions.November
November 11: Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble's Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon Beep Prepared premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. This was the only Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short to be nominated for an Academy Award.December
December 2: Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt's Tweety and Sylvester cartoon The Last Hungry Cat premieres, produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The short is a parody of the anthology horror TV-show Alfred Hitchcock Presents.December 7: Gene Deitch's Tom and Jerry cartoon It's Greek to Me-ow! premieres.December 30: Chuck Jones' Nelly's Folly produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, premieres.Specific date unknown
- Bagdasarian Productions is founded by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. to produce works based on his fictional characters, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Their first production was the animated series The Alvin Show.
- Lev Atamanov's The Key premieres.
- Arthur Lipsett's Very Nice, Very Nice premieres.
Films released
- January 25 - One Hundred and One Dalmatians
- March 5 - The Coyote's Lament
- June 28 - Cipollino
- July 19 - The Orphan Brother
- December 8 - The Strange History of the Citizens of Shilda
- Specific date unknown - ''The Key''
Television series
- January 1 - The Dick Tracy Show debuts in syndication.
- January 30 - The Yogi Bear Show debuts in syndication.
- April 3 - Minna no Uta debuts on NHK.
- May 1 - Otogi Manga Calendar debuts on TBS.
- September - The Dudley Do-Right Show debuts on ABC.
- September 1 - Tales of the Wizard of Oz debuts in syndication.
- September 27 - Top Cat debuts on ABC.
- October 3 - Calvin and the Colonel debuts on ABC.
- October 4 - The Alvin Show debuts on ABC and NBC.
- Specific date unknown:
- * Out of the Inkwell and The Underseas Explorers debut in syndication.
- * Pingwings debuts on ITV.
Births
January
January 2: Gabrielle Carteris, American actress.January 3: Robert N. Skir, American writer,January 4: Graham McTavish, Scottish actor.January 9:- * Candi Milo, American voice actress.
- * Al Jean, American writer, animator and producer.January 10: Steve Hickner, American animator and director.January 13: Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, American actress and comedian.January 14:
- * Japhet Asher, English-born American television producer and writer.
- * Robert Walker, Canadian-American animator, storyboard artist, background artist and director,.January 18: Bob Peterson, American animator, director, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and actor.January 28:
- * Michael Paraskevas, American illustrator, cartoonist, and producer.
- * Robbyn Kirmsse, American singer and actress.January 29: Michael Ferris, American television writer and script consultant.January 30:
- * Denys Cowan, American television producer, storyboard artist, and co-founder of Milestone Media.
- * Dexter King, American civil rights activist,.
February
February 4: Ron Scalera, American marketer and promotion executive,.February 5:- * Bruce Timm, American artist, character designer, animator, writer, producer, and actor.
- * Tim Meadows, American actor, comedian, and writer.February 13: Henry Rollins, American singer, writer, actor, and presenter.February 23: Don Rhymer, American screenwriter and film producer,.February 27:
- * Grant Shaud, American actor.
- * Michaela Pavlátová, Czech animator and film director.
March
March 4: Steven Weber, American actor.March 8:- * Jess Winfield, American novelist, television writer, and voice actor.
- * Camryn Manheim, American actress.March 11: Greg Kramer, British-Canadian author, actor, director and magician,.March 13: Paul Berry, British animator and director,.March 14: Penny Johnson Jerald, American actress.March 19: Jonathan Collier, American television producer and writer.March 20: Louis Chirillo, American-Canadian former actor.March 21: Kathy Zielinski, American animator and character designer.March 25: Aron Warner, American film producer and voice actor.March 29: Amy Sedaris, American actress and comedian.
April
April 2: Christopher Meloni, American actor.April 3: Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian.April 8: Gregg Vanzo, American animator, overseas supervisor, director and producer.April 12: Magda Szubanski, Australian comedy actress, author, singer and LGBT rights advocate.April 13: Liz Callaway, American actress and singer.April 18:- * Joe Whyte, American actor and artist.
- * Jane Leeves, English actress.April 20: Don Mattingly, American former baseball baseman, coach and manager.April 21: Cathy Cavadini, American voice actress.April 23: George Lopez, American comedian and actor.April 28: Jamieson Price, American actor.
May
May 3: Joe Murray, American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, designer, writer, producer and director.May 6:- * Wally Wingert, American voice actor.
- * George Clooney, American actor and filmmaker.May 12: Robert Cait, Canadian voice actor.May 16: Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and comedian.May 21: Anne D. Bernstein, American television writer,.May 27: Peri Gilpin, American actress.May 29: Linda Wallem, American actress, comedienne, singer, writer, director and producer.May 31: Anthony Agrusa, American animator, storyboard artist, overseas supervisor and director.
June
June 5: Mary Kay Bergman, American voice actress,.June 9: Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American retired actor.June 10: Manny Coto, American television writer and producer,.June 12: Jefferson R. Weekley, American background artist and prop designer.June 18: Ron Hughart, American animator, storyboard artist and director.June 22: Joe Aaron, American screenwriter and producer.June 25: Ricky Gervais, English actor, comedian, writer and director.June 27:- * Bernie Mireault, Canadian comic book artist and animator,.
- * Meera Syal, English actress, comedian and writer.June 29: Sharon Lawrence, American actress.
July
July 4: Ted Elliott, American screenwriter and film producer.July 5: Patrizia Scianca, Italian actress.July 15:- *Forest Whitaker, American actor, producer, director, and activist.
- *Bill White, American animator and comics artist,.July 23:
- * David Kaufman, American voice actor.
- * Woody Harrelson, American actor and playwright.
- * Felix Dexter, English actor, comedian and writer,.July 28: Gene Laufenberg, American television producer and writer.July 30: Laurence Fishburne, American actor.Specific date unknown: Daniel St. Pierre, American film director, art director,, voice actor, animator,, and musician.
August
August 4:- * Chris Landreth, American animator.
- * Lauren Tom, American voice actress.
- * Barack Obama, American politician and 44th president of the United States.August 5: Tawny Kitaen, American actress, model and media personality,.August 7: Maggie Wheeler, American actress.August 8:
- * The Edge, English-born Irish musician and member of U2.
- * Natatcha Estébanez, Puerto Rican-born American television producer,.August 9: Ted Stearn, American comics artist, animator, storyboard artist and director,.August 13: Dawnn Lewis, American actress.August 20: Tuck Tucker, American animator, storyboard artist, sheet timer, writer and director,.August 21:
- * Eric Darnell, American animator, writer, producer and director.
- * Stephen Hillenburg, American animator, writer, artist, cartoonist and marine biologist,.
- * Stephen Stanton, American voice actor and visual effects artist.August 23: Nik Ranieri, Canadian-American animator.August 25: Kirk Benson, American film editor,.August 27: Tim Johnson, American animator, writer, producer and director.August 28: Jennifer Coolidge, American actress and comedian.Specific date unknown: Stanley Townsend, Irish actor.
September
September 1: Bob Schooley, American recording assistant, television writer and producer.September 2: Ron Wasserman, American musician.September 6: Bruce W. Smith, American animator, character designer, film director, and television producer.September 11:- * E.G. Daily, American voice actress and singer.
- * Virginia Madsen, American actress and filmmaker.September 15:
- * Dan Marino, American former football quarterback.
- * Colin McFarlane, English actor.September 16: Jen Tolley, American-Canadian actress.September 18: James Gandolfini, American actor and producer,.September 21: Nancy Travis, American actress.September 22:
- * Bradley Carow, American film editor, track reader and composer.
- * Bonnie Hunt, American actress and comedian.
- * Ron Wells, American voice actor,.September 23: Chi McBride, American actor.September 24: Michael Tavera, American composer and orchestrator.September 25: Heather Locklear, American actress.September 30: Michael Preister, American television writer.
October
October 1: Steve Purcell, American cartoonist and animator.October 4: Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese manga artist,.October 10: Jodi Benson, American actress and singer.October 16: Robert F. Hughes, American animator, storyboard artist, sheet timer, writer, producer and director.October 19: Simon Wells, English animator, storyboard artist, writer and director.October 25: Chad Smith, American musician, drummer and member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.October 26: John A. Davis, American film director, writer, animator, actor and composer.October 30: Larry Wilmore, American comedian, writer, producer and actor.November
November 1: Rick Zieff, American actor.November 4:- * Jeff Probst, American television host and producer.
- * Ralph Macchio, American actor.November 7: Chris Lang, British television writer, actor, producer and musician.November 14: D. B. Sweeney, American actor.November 19: Meg Ryan, American actress.November 23: Andy Knight, Canadian animator, film and television director and actor,.November 26: Wes Archer, American animation director and storyboard artist.November 27: Steve Oedekerk, American actor, comedian, director, editor, producer, and screenwriter.November 28: Martin Clunes, English actor, comedian, director and television presenter.November 29: Tom Sizemore, American actor,.Specific date unknown: Kay Benbow, British television executive,.
December
December 2: Ken Keeler, American television producer and writer.December 13: Tensai Okamura, Japanese anime director and animator.December 16: LaChanze, American actress, singer, and dancer.December 21: Stephen Shea, American former child actor.December 24:- * Spike Brandt, American animator, producer, director, screenwriter, and actor.
- * Wade Williams, American actor.
Specific date unknown
- Teresa Drilling, American animator, director, and designer.
- John Statema, American comic book artist, illustrator, storyboard artist, and character designer.
- Juraj Korda, Australian animator,.