January


JANUARY 4TH
1946 - Terrytoons "The Talking Magpies" the first Heckle and Jeckle cartoon, premieres.

JANUARY 5TH
1875 - James Stuart Blackton born. The first animation artist, the founder of Vitagraph Studios and the creator of the first movie fanzine.

JANUARY 6TH
1945 - First Pepe Le Pew cartoon, "Odorable Kitty". When the Warners producer who replaced Leon Schlesinger, Eddie Selzer, heard the plans to do a short about a skunk he thundered: "Absolutely Not! Nobody will like a cartoon skunk!" Chuck Jones recalled: "As soon as he said no, I knew we just had to do it." Selzer's final opinion:" Nobody'll laugh at that shit!" The short won an Oscar. Selzer later went on into network T.V.
1962- Bob Clampett's Beany and Cecil the Sea-Sick Sea Serpent premiered.

JANUARY 12TH
1960 - "Scent of Mystery", the first film in Smell-O-Vision, premiered.

JANUARY 12TH
1995 - Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen announce their new studio would be called Dreamworks SKG.

JANUARY 18TH
1952 - The Motion Picture Screen Cartoonist's Union (Local 839) chartered.

JANUARY 21ST
1991- Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' became the first animated film ever nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

JANUARY 24TH
1961 - Looney Tunes voice actor Mel Blanc has a major auto wreck. After three weeks in a coma the doctor brings him around by asking "Hey,Bugs Bunny! How are you feeling today?" to which Blanc replied in character: "Ehhh, Fine, doc."

JANUARY 28TH
1930 - Leon Schlesinger, a producer at Pacific Art and Title, picked up a group of unemployed former Disney cartoonists and makes a deal with Warner Bros. to produce cartoon shorts. Bugs, Daffy and Elmer and the Looney Tunes will result.

JANUARY 30TH
1961- The "Yogi Bear Show" debuts.