Today’s morning name was Friz Freleng: an animator for Warner Bros. cartoons. (His name was probably in my subconscious from my posting on Speedy Gonzales.)
From Wikipedia:
Isadore “Friz” Freleng (August 21, 1906– May 26, 1995), often credited as I. Freleng, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and producer famous for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros.
He introduced and/or developed several of the studio’s biggest stars, including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam (to whom he was said to bear more than a passing resemblance), and Speedy Gonzales.
After Warners shut down the animation studio in 1963, Freleng and business partner David H. DePatie founded DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, which produced cartoons (notably those for The Pink Panther Show), feature film title sequences, and Saturday-morning cartoons through the early 1980s.
The nickname “Friz” came from his friend, Hugh Harman, who initially nicknamed him “Congressman Frizby” after a fictional senator that was in articles in the Los Angeles Examiner. Over time, this shortened to “Friz”.
The man at work:
(#1)
A physical resemblance to Yosemite Sam is not obvious; maybe the resemblance was mostly in temperament:
(#2)
In 1994 Donovan Publications produced a box of Freleng materials —
(#3)
— which unfortunately has been out of print for some time (though someone is offering a copy on eBay for $400).
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