FRELENG, ISADORE FRIZ

FRELENG, ISADORE "FRIZ" (also known as "I.J."; 1905–1995), U.S. animator, cartoonist, director. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Freleng began his career in animation in his hometown, working for fellow Kansas City native Walt Disney. When Disney moved to Hollywood, Freleng followed, teaming up with experienced cartoonists Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising. The three concocted the cartoon character Bosko, a Mickey Mouse-like hero, who became a star in Warner Brothers' new animated series Looney Tunes. When Harman and Ising left Warner Brothers in 1933, Freleng remained and was promoted to director. In the film I Haven't Got a Hat (1935), Freleng introduced Porky Pig to the world, one of the first cartoon characters to have a distinctive personality. Except for a brief stint at MGM in the late 1930s, Freleng remained with Warner Brothers for the next decades of his career. Best known perhaps for redesigning and introducing such immortal Warner Brothers' characters as Yosemite Sam and Speedy Gonzalez, Freleng also made the beloved short film You Oughta Be in Pictures (1940) in which Daffy Duck convinces Porky Pig to quit Warner Brothers and find work elsewhere. Freleng himself followed Daffy Duck's advice when Warner Brother's closed its doors in 1964 and Freleng and animator Dave De-Patie opened their own operation in the San Fernando Valley, where they were commissioned to create the opening sequence of The Pink Panther. Freleng and DePatie came up with the iconic cool cat, whom they were able to transfer successfully to television in the years that followed. (Casey Schwartz (2nd ed.)