David Hudson DePatie ( December 24, 1929 – September 23, 2021 ) was a production staff for most of the original Doctor Seuss Adaptations.
Early life[]
He was born in Los Angeles at The Los Angeles Good Samaritan Hospital. His father Edmond L. DePatie ( January 27, 1900 – August 06, 1966 ) was in charge of Warner Brothers in Burbank, California. Eventually David him self was the assistant of Jack Leonard Warner. ( August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978 )
Career[]
Eventually, Leon Schlesinger ( May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949 ), Edward Selzer ( January 12, 1893 – February 22, 1970 ), and John W. Burton ( August 18, 1906 – June 01, 1978 ) were out of the production company (Burton going to Pacific Title And Art). David H. DePatie became the producer in 1960 during the final years of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. Renowned writers Frank Tashlin ( February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972 ) and Doctor Seuss worked at these production companies. Dr. Seuss himself was able to make And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, and The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (at Paramount) and Horton Hatches the Egg (1942 film) (at Warner Brothers).
There was a gradual shift to Television as the Termite Terrace production methods were not possible any more. They moved to Television with less money and even less time as well as competition with the prolific Jay Ward ( September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989 ) and Bill Scott ( August 02, 1920 – November 29, 1985 ). William Hanna and Joseph Barbera ( July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001 and March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006 ) left Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Tex Avery ( February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980 ) moved to Universal with Walter Lantz ( April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994 ). Chuck Jones attempted to make Adventures Of The Road Runner, which eventually became To Beep Or Not To Beep. Chuck Jones made a full length movie Gay Purr - Ee, which ended up being one of his last productions for Warner Brothers so he moved to Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
David H. DePatie promoted Friz Freleng to Producer. Also around this time the Entries took the intro and outro from Now Hear This! and were credited for the first time. The rest of Adventures Of The Road Runner was released as Zip Zip Hurray! and Road Runner A Go Go. Unfortunately, the budget for most cartoons was changed. DePatie and Freleng took jobs making Commercials and Animated Credits for the Pink Panther films, featuring an animated version of an actual Pink Panther. The Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies (with different theme music) was co - produced by Format Productions while Pink Panther was co - produced by Mirisch. Some of the directors included: Gerry Adolph Chiniquy ( June 23, 1912 – November 22, 1989 ), Arthur Davis, ( June 14, 1905 – May 09, 2000 ), Rudy Larriva ( February 12, 1916 – February 19, 2010 ), Robert McKimson ( October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977 ), and Hawley Pratt ( June 09, 1911 – March 04, 1999 ). Herbert Klynn ( November 11, 1917 – February 03, 1999 ) was the producer for Format Productions and also Warner Brothers - Seven Arts.
Characters were to Daffy, Sylvester, Speedy, Granny, Porky, The Goofy Gophers, Witch Hazel, and of course Wile E. Coyote, and Road Runner.
After the success of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Chuck Jones was going to make multiple specials per year. During 1967 Metro Goldwyn Mayer closed down Theatrical Entries. By 1970, they temporarily closed Television Animation as well. Horton Hears a Who! (TV Special), Doctor Whoovey Hears A Who!, The Cat in the Hat (1971 cartoon), and The Cat And The Hat Comes Back, and possibly others were in pre production at the time. Horton Hears a Who! (TV Special) was mostly unaffected. However, the music budget seemed to be negatively impacted. Most of the rest were abandoned except for The Cat in the Hat (1971 cartoon) which was picked up by D.F.E. Films, sacrificing the quality of Pink Panther. D.F.E. Films allocated most of its budget for specials such as The Doctor Seuss specials and Pink Panther Specials (Olympinks), earning money for work on the animated credits for The Live Action Pink Panther.
The first Doctor Seuss Special made by D.F.E. Films had David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng credited together as Executive Producer. Chuck Jones was given a credit next to Ted Giesel, which is unusual since most of Chuck Jones work has him credited by himself. D.F.E. Films also hired the Chuck Jones staff. However, the production design mainly reflects that of DePatie - Freleng instead. For example, The shapes of eyes are noticeably different with Chuck Jones and Doctor Seuss characters. Chuck Jones was mostly uninvolved with The Cat in the Hat (1971 cartoon) so the eye shapes are modeled after Doctor Seuss style only. They also drastically toned down the facial expressions. The next three specials removed Friz Freleng from the Executive Producer credits to fill the vacant position from Chuck Jones; This time all were credited separately until Halloween is Grinch Night where Freleng is moved to Executive Producer, credited the same time with DePatie.
Chuck Jones, who had been coordinating Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies and Tom & Jerry for television, compiled numerous "movies". They occasionally made new Entries, usually part of Specials. One of them included Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales with Chuck Jones taking charge of the Freeze Frame segment. It continued to use the DePatie - Freleng production design. However, the story itself and timing was noticeably from Chuck Jones.
Something else interesting about David H. DePatie is that he produced a special about Dennis The Menace with Friz Freleng, around the same time Chuck Jones produced a special about Alvin & The Chipmunks. Neither won these contracts. Dennis The Menace got produced by The Incredible World Of Dic. Alvin And The Chipmunks got produced by Ruby - Spears Enterprises and later Dic also.
Later, DePatie expressed the rising production costs and moved Freleng to Producer (this time credited together with Ted) who would eventually retire. DePatie and what was left of his staff were in the middle of starting Marvel Productions which unfortunately became part of Disney. DePatie now used overseas animation studios for shows such as Muppet Babies starring The Muppets which also is unfortunately belongs to Disney. He also made one of the G.I. Joe adaptations. The subsequent versions were produced by The Incredible World Of DiC which was a rival to Tokyo Movie Shinsha and Toei Animation Studios. DiC, formerly owned by Disney / American Broadcasting Company, eventually became a part of Wild Brain, a company that continues to change its name. Marvel itself was acquired by New World Pictures, which became a part of Disney. Marvel attempted to reorganize itself as Marvel Entertainment, which is now Disney also.
When DePatie retired, he was still available for interviews.
DePatie–Freleng Enterprises[]
While he held his production position at Warner Bros., DePatie originally received no on-screen credit, similar to his two predecessors after Leon Schlesinger retired in 1944. In 1963, he began to receive on-screen credit with new producer (and former director) Friz Freleng. Around this time, they formed DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, also known as DePatie–Freleng Entertainment, and known on-screen as "DFE Films". Due to the success of the Pink Panther shorts, or in Art Leonardi's words the "Pink Power", they made title sequences for various TV shows, including I Dream of Jeannie for television and her television movies, and various commercials.
The Pink Panther[]
DePatie and Freleng animated opening segments for some of The Pink Panther feature films. In these, a Pink Panther appeared in the opening credits as the villain. Music was scored by Henry Mancini ( April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994 ). This panther would appear in many animated shorts of his own due to his critical acclaim in the title sequences. When these shorts aired on television, they were paired with backup segments also made by DePatie - Freleng. Music was composed by William Lava, Walter Greene, Doug Goodwin, Steve DePatie, Rob Walsh, and Don McGinnis.
Dr. Seuss Television Specials[]
Chuck Jones was producing Dr. Seuss specials for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, until MGM shut down its MGM Animation/Visual Arts|animation studio, originally a branch of BelVision / Sib Tower 12. DePatie – Freleng picked up production of the Dr. Seuss specials.
Music was composed by Dean Elliott for four Dr. Seuss specials, Hawley Pratt directed three specials, and Maurice Noble was production designer for three specials. Dean Elliott left for other Chuck Jones projects and entirely for Ruby - Spears. Joe Raposo took over the music.
Cadence Industries, and rebranded as Marvel Productions.[1]
Marvel Productions[]
DePatie and some of his production staff worked for Cadence Industries, which launched the animation studio Marvel Productions. He also worked as a consultant for Pink Panther And Sons, which was produced by Hanna - Barbera Television.
Filmography[]
- Numerous Looney Tunes Entries And Specials: Producer
- Numerous Merrie Melodies Entries And Specials: Producer
- Pink Panther Credits: Animation Staff
- Numerous Pink Panther Entries And Specials And Series And Video Games: Producer, Creative Consultant
- Numerous Mister Magoo Productions: Producer
- Numerous Specials For American Broadcasting Company: Executive Producer
- Gay Purr - Ee: Co - Producer
- The Super 6: Producer
- Here Comes The Grump: Producer
- Doctor Dolittle: Producer, Developed For Television
- The Barkleys: Producer, Creator
- The Houndcats: Producer, Creator
- Bailey's Comets: Producer, Creator
- Return To Planet Of The Apes: Producer, Developed For Television
- Baggy Pants And The Nit Wits: Producer
- Mister Jaw: Director
- The Fantastic Four: Producer
- Dennis The Menace: Producer
- Meat Balls And Spaghetti: Executive Producer
- Spider Woman: Producer
- Spider Man: Executive Producer
- The Incredible Hulk: Executive Producer
- G.I. Joe: Executive Producer
- My Little Pony: Executive Producer
- Pink Panther And Sons: Producer