Leon Schlesinger
Encyclopedia
Leon Schlesinger was an American film producer
, most noted for founding Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons
studio, during the golden age of Hollywood animation.
, and manager
(including the Palace Theater in Buffalo, New York
), he founded Pacific Title and Art
in 1919, where most of his business was producing title cards for silent film
s. As talking pictures ("talkies") gained popularity in 1929 and 1930, Schlesinger looked for ways to capitalize on the new technology and stay in business. Some film historians claim that he helped finance the Warner brothers' first talkie, The Jazz Singer
. He then secured a contract with the studio to produce its brand-new Looney Tunes
series, and he signed animator
s Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising to create these cartoons with their Bosko
character as the star.
lot at the corner of Van Ness and Fernwood. He wooed animators away from other studios, including some of those who had departed with Harman and Ising including Bob Clampett
. One of these was Friz Freleng
, whom Schlesinger promoted to oversee production of Looney Tunes
and to develop the sister series, Merrie Melodies
. Freleng's talent quickly shone through, and Schlesinger's hiring of Frederick "Tex" Avery
, Chuck Jones
and Frank Tashlin
further increased the quality of the studio's output. He later added Carl Stalling
and Mel Blanc
and collectively these men created such famous characters as Porky Pig
, Daffy Duck
, and Bugs Bunny
. Schlesinger largely took a "hands off" approach to the animation unit, allowing his directors freedom to create what they wished, provided that the resulting films do well in the theaters. Schlesinger sold Pacific Title & Art in 1935 to concentrate on his animation studio.
for what he claimed was preferential treatment for the Walt Disney and MGM cartoon studios. He also farmed some of the Looney Tunes
out to his brother-in-law, Ray Katz, for tax breaks.
Schlesinger was also known (among his animators, at least) for his lisp. One oft-repeated "official" story states that Mel Blanc patterned the voices of both Daffy Duck and Sylvester the cat on Schlesinger. However, in Mel Blanc's autobiography, That's Not All Folks!, he contradicts that conventional belief, writing "It seemed to me that such an extended mandible would hinder his speech, particularly on words containing an s sound. Thus 'despicable' became 'desthpicable'." Daffy's slobbery, exaggerated lisp was developed over time, being barely noticeable in the early cartoons. In Daffy Duck and Egghead
, Daffy does not lisp at all, except in the separately-drawn set-piece of Daffy singing "The Merry Go Round Broke Down", in which just a slight lisp can be heard.
Animators who worked with Schlesinger also found him conceited and somewhat foppish, wearing too much cologne and dressing like a dandy.
, a short that combines live action
with animation. In this short, Mel Blanc voices both Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, and all other voices are redubbed by Blanc too, except Schlesinger's. As with other Warner cartoon staffers, Schlesinger appeared in caricature form in such cartoons as Hollywood Steps Out
, Russian Rhapsody and Nutty News
.
Westerns in the 1930s. After Warner Bros. bought Schlesinger's studio, Eddie Selzer
assumed Schlesinger's position as producer. Schlesinger was an avid racehorse fan and was a director of the Western Harness Racing Association. A United Press dispatch dated January 10, 1950 reported a director had been found to fill the vacancy caused by his death. He is interred in the Beth Olam Mausoleum inside the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
in Hollywood, California
.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, most noted for founding Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
studio, during the golden age of Hollywood animation.
Early life and career
Schlesinger was born in Philadelphia. After working at a theater as an usher, songbook agent, actorActor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and manager
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
(including the Palace Theater in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
), he founded Pacific Title and Art
Pacific Title and Art
Pacific Title and Art Studio, Inc. was founded in 1919 by Leon Schlesinger, where most of his business was producing title cards for silent films...
in 1919, where most of his business was producing title cards for silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s. As talking pictures ("talkies") gained popularity in 1929 and 1930, Schlesinger looked for ways to capitalize on the new technology and stay in business. Some film historians claim that he helped finance the Warner brothers' first talkie, The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
. He then secured a contract with the studio to produce its brand-new Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
series, and he signed animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
s Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising to create these cartoons with their Bosko
Bosko
Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko is the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series, and is the star of over three dozen Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros...
character as the star.
Schlesinger as businessman
Schlesinger was a shrewd businessman with a keen eye for talent. When Harman and Ising left Warner Bros. with Bosko in 1934, Schlesinger set up his own studio on the Warner Bros. Sunset BoulevardSunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
lot at the corner of Van Ness and Fernwood. He wooed animators away from other studios, including some of those who had departed with Harman and Ising including Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
. One of these was Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
, whom Schlesinger promoted to oversee production of Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
and to develop the sister series, Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
. Freleng's talent quickly shone through, and Schlesinger's hiring of Frederick "Tex" Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
, Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin, born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, also known as Tish Tash or Frank Tash was an American animator, screenwriter, and film director.-Animator:...
further increased the quality of the studio's output. He later added Carl Stalling
Carl Stalling
Carl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...
and Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
and collectively these men created such famous characters as Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
, Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
, and Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
. Schlesinger largely took a "hands off" approach to the animation unit, allowing his directors freedom to create what they wished, provided that the resulting films do well in the theaters. Schlesinger sold Pacific Title & Art in 1935 to concentrate on his animation studio.
Business practices
Schlesinger's hard-nosed business practices cannot be overstated. His animators worked in a dilapidated studio (Avery's unit were briefly assigned to a bungalow they dubbed "Termite Terrace"), and Schlesinger briefly shut down the studio in mid-1941 when unionized employees demanded a pay raise. On another occasion, he boycotted the Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for what he claimed was preferential treatment for the Walt Disney and MGM cartoon studios. He also farmed some of the Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
out to his brother-in-law, Ray Katz, for tax breaks.
Schlesinger was also known (among his animators, at least) for his lisp. One oft-repeated "official" story states that Mel Blanc patterned the voices of both Daffy Duck and Sylvester the cat on Schlesinger. However, in Mel Blanc's autobiography, That's Not All Folks!, he contradicts that conventional belief, writing "It seemed to me that such an extended mandible would hinder his speech, particularly on words containing an s sound. Thus 'despicable' became 'desthpicable'." Daffy's slobbery, exaggerated lisp was developed over time, being barely noticeable in the early cartoons. In Daffy Duck and Egghead
Daffy Duck and Egghead
Daffy Duck & Egghead is a 1937-produced, 1938-released Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series. It features the early, zany version of Daffy Duck, who spends the film harassing Egghead , marking the second appearance of Daffy Duck , his first in color, and first...
, Daffy does not lisp at all, except in the separately-drawn set-piece of Daffy singing "The Merry Go Round Broke Down", in which just a slight lisp can be heard.
Animators who worked with Schlesinger also found him conceited and somewhat foppish, wearing too much cologne and dressing like a dandy.
Appearances in shorts
Leon Schlesinger appeared as himself in Freleng's 1940 short You Ought to Be in PicturesYou Ought to Be in Pictures
You Ought to Be in Pictures is a 1940 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short film featuring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. The film combined live-action and animation, and features live-action appearances by Leon Schlesinger, writer Michael Maltese, and other Schlesinger Productions staff members. In 1994 it...
, a short that combines live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
with animation. In this short, Mel Blanc voices both Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, and all other voices are redubbed by Blanc too, except Schlesinger's. As with other Warner cartoon staffers, Schlesinger appeared in caricature form in such cartoons as Hollywood Steps Out
Hollywood steps out
Hollywood Steps Out is a 1941 short Merrie Melodies cartoon by Warner Brothers, directed by Tex Avery. The cartoon features caricatures of Hollywood celebrities from the 1930s and early 1940s.- Plot :...
, Russian Rhapsody and Nutty News
Nutty News
Nutty News is a 1942 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Looney Tunes series. It was directed by Bob Clampett, animated by Virgil Ross and an uncredited Vive Risto, and musical direction by Carl Stalling....
.
Later life and career
Schlesinger remained head of the animation studio until 1944 when he sold his assets to Warner Bros. He continued to market the characters and headed Warners' Theater Services unit until his death from a viral infection on Christmas Day, 1949. Schlesinger also produced a number of B-movieB-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
Westerns in the 1930s. After Warner Bros. bought Schlesinger's studio, Eddie Selzer
Eddie Selzer
Edward "Eddie" Selzer was an American film producer, most noted for been the producer of Warner Bros. Cartoons from 1944 to 1957....
assumed Schlesinger's position as producer. Schlesinger was an avid racehorse fan and was a director of the Western Harness Racing Association. A United Press dispatch dated January 10, 1950 reported a director had been found to fill the vacancy caused by his death. He is interred in the Beth Olam Mausoleum inside the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...
in Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.