Tex Avery: animation director and comedic innovator

Tex Avery: Facts and History

Tex Avery was born in Dallas, Texas, on February 6, 1908. His real name was Frederick Bean Avery and he was interested in cartoons and animation from the time he was very young. He was related to Daniel Boone, and after he completed high school he got a job as a painter at the Walter Lantz studios in 1929 (Tex, 2003). His only previous experience was doing the drawing and illustrations for his high school yearbook (Tex Avery, 2003). In 1936 he got a job as the cartoon director for Warner Brothers, and he worked in that job until 1941. He was credited with creating Bugs Bunny's ever-famous "What's up, Doc?" And he often voiced many of the hysterical and hilarious laughs that some of the characters had (Tex, 2003).

He left Warner in 1941 and went to work for MGM, but he left there eventually because they were going to stop making theatrical shorts. He worked for Warner again, and then did some work in commercials. His unique sense of humor was often overlooked by many people, and his cartoons didn't do quite as well as he had hoped they would. As he got older, he joined up with Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who were former colleagues of his. He worked with them on a series of cartoons and they were thrilled that he was there, because they believed that he was one of a kind. Tex Avery died on the 26th of August, 1980, but he left behind a legacy for many cartoonists (Tex, 2003).