Tex Avery

[DarkImbecile]

Tex Avery (1908 - 1980)



"Dialogue gags are a dime a dozen, but a good sight gag is hard to come by."

Filmography
Shorts
"Gold Diggers of '49" (1935)
"Plane Dippy" (1936)
"Page Miss Glory" (1936)
"The Blow Out" (1936)
"I'd Love to Take Orders from You" (1936)
"I Love to Singa" (1936)
"Porky the Rain Maker" (1936)
"The Village Smithy" (1936)
"Milk and Money" (1936)
"Don't Look Now" (1936)
"Porky the Wrestler" (1937)
"Picador Porky" (1937)
"I Only Have Eyes for You" (1937)
"Porky's Duck Hunt" (1937)
"Uncle Tom's Bungalow" (1937)
"Ain't We Got Fun" (1937)
"Egghead Rides Again" (1937)
"A Sunbonnet Blue" (1937)
"Porky's Garden" (1937)
"I Wanna Be a Sailor" (1937)
"Little Red Walking Hood" (1937)
"Daffy Duck & Egghead" (1938)
"The Sneezing Weasel" (1938)
"The Penguin Parade" (1938)
"The Isle of Pingo Pongo" (1938)
"Cinderella Meets Fella" (1938)
"A Feud There Was" (1938)
"Johnny Smith and Poker-Huntas" (1938)
"Daffy Duck in Hollywood" (1938)
"The Mice Will Play" (1938)
"Hamateur Night" (1939)
"A Day at the Zoo" (1939)
"Thugs with Dirty Mugs" (1939)
"Believe It or Else" (1939)
"Dangerous Dan McFoo" (1939)
"Detouring America" (1939)
"Land of the Midnight Fun" (1939)
"Fresh Fish" (1939)
"Screwball Football" (1939)
"The Early Worm Gets the Bird" (1940)
"Cross-Country Detours" (1940)
"The Bear's Tale" (1940)
"A Gander at Mother Goose" (1940)
"Circus Today" (1940)
"A Wild Hare" (1940)
"Ceiling Hero" (1940)
"Wacky Wild Life" (1940)
"Of Fox and Hounds" (1940)
"Holiday Highlights" (1940)
"The Crackpot Quail" (1941)
"The Haunted Mouse" (1941)
"Tortoise Beats Hare" (1941)
"Hollywood Steps Out" (1941)
"Porky's Preview" (1941)
"The Heckling Hare" (1941)
"Aviation Vacation" (1941)
"All This and Rabbit Stew" (1941)
"The Bug Parade" (1941)
"The Cagey Canary" (1941)
"Aloha Hooey" (1942)
"Crazy Cruise" (1942)
"Down on the Farm" (1941)
"Down in a Pet Shop" (1941)
"Down in the Zoo" (1941)
"Blitz Wolf" (1942)
"The Early Bird Dood It!" (1942)
"Dumb-Hounded" (1943)
"Red Hot Riding Hood" (1943)
"Who Killed Who?" (1943)
"One Ham's Family" (1943)
"What's Buzzin' Buzzard" (1943)
"Screwball Squirrel" (1944)
"Batty Baseball" (1944)
"Happy-Go-Nutty" (1944)
"Big Heel-Watha" (1944)
"The Screwy Truant" (1945)
"The Shooting of Dan McGoo" (1945)
"Jerky Turkey" (1945)
"Swing Shift Cinderella" (1945)
"Wild and Woolfy" (1945)
"Lonesome Lenny" (1946)
"The Hick Chick" (1946)
"Northwest Hounded Police" (1946)
"Henpecked Hoboes" (1946)
"Hound Hunters" (1947)
"Red Hot Rangers" (1947)
"Uncle Tom's Cabaña" (1947)
"Slap Happy Lion" (1947)
"King-Size Canary" (1947)
"What Price Fleadom" (1948)
"Little 'Tinker" (1948)
"Half-Pint Pygmy" (1948)
"Lucky Ducky" (1948)
"The Cat That Hated People" (1948)
"Bad Luck Blackie" (1949)
"Señor Droopy" (1949)
"The House of Tomorrow" (1949)
"Doggone Tired" (1949)
"Wags to Riches" (1949)
"Little Rural Riding Hood" (1949)
"Out-Foxed" (1949)
"The Counterfeit Cat" (1949)
"Ventriloquist Cat" 1950)
"The Cuckoo Clock" (1950)
"Garden Gopher" (1950)
"The Chump Champ" (1950)
"The Peachy Cobbler" (1950)
"Cock-a-Doodle Dog" (1951)
"Daredevil Droopy" (1951)
"Droopy's Good Deed" (1951)
"Symphony in Slang" (1951)
"Car of Tomorrow" (1951)
"Droopy's Double Trouble" (1951)
"Magical Maestro" (1952)
"One Cab's Family" (1952)
"Rock-a-Bye Bear" (1952)
"Little Johnny Jet" (1953)
"T.V. of Tomorrow" (1953)
"The Three Little Pups" (1953)
"Drag-a-Long Droopy" (1954)
"Billy Boy" (1954)
"Homesteader Droopy" (1954)
"The Farm of Tomorrow" (1954)
"The Flea Circus" (1954)
"Dixieland Droopy" (1954)
"Field and Scream" (1955)
"The First Bad Man" (1955)
"Deputy Droopy" (1955)
"Cellbound" (1955)
"Millionaire Droopy" (1956)
"Cat's Meow" (1957)

Books
Tex Avery: King of Cartoons by Joe Adamson (1985)
Tex Avery by Pierre Lambert (1993)
Tex Avery: The MGM Years, 1942-1955 by John Canemaker (1996)

Web Resources
1933 interview with Dorothy Guillot(?), Dallas Morning News
"Tex Avery Loses an Eye, 1933" by Tom Klein, Cartoon Research (2015)
Undated video interview


Forum Discussion

For those without the benefit of the French set...I had started a list in the 1940s list thread about the availability of Avery's MGM films from the '40s. Here's an update which adds a few I had originally missed, as well as his available work from the '50s:

2020 UPDATE - ALL FILMS AVAILABLE ON WARNER ARCHIVE BD DENOTED IN BLUE

Tex Avery's Droopy
Dumb Hounded (1943) / The Shooting of Dan McGoo (1945) / Wild and Woolfy (1945) / Northwest Hounded Police (1946) / Señor Droopy (1949)^ / Wags to Riches (1949)^ / Out-Foxed (1949) / The Chump Champ (1950) / Daredevil Droopy (1951)* / Droopy's Good Deed (1951)* / Droopy's Double Trouble (1951) / The Three Little Pups (1953) / Drag-a-Long Droopy (1954) / Homesteader Droopy (1954) / Dixieland Droopy (1954) / Deputy Droopy (1955)

^Also featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2

The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection**
I'm Cold (1954) / Crazy Mixed-Up Pup (1954) / Sh-h-h-h-h-h (1955) / The Legend of Rockabye Point (1955)

Buried in Various WB Releases
Blitz Wolf (1942)*: extra on Keeper of the Flame; or, featured on WB's Academy Awards Animation Collection: 15 Winners, 26 Nominees and Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2
The Early Bird Dood It! (1942): extra on Girl Crazy, in the Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection
Red Hot Riding Hood (1943): featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2
Who Killed Who? (1943): extra on Presenting Lily Mars
One Ham's Family (1943): extra on Best Foot Forward
Screwball Squirrel (1944): extra on The Thin Man Goes Home, in The Complete Thin Man Collection; or, featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2
Batty Baseball (1944): extra on The Stratton Story
Happy-Go-Nutty (1944)*: extra on Dragon Seed, in the Katharine Hepburn Collection
The Screwy Truant (1945): extra on The Clock
Jerky Turkey (1945): extra on Anchors Aweigh BD
Swing Shift Cinderella (1945): extra on Without Love, in the Katharine Hepburn Collection; or, featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2
Lonesome Lenny (1946): extra on Undercurrent, in the Katharine Hepburn Collection
The Hick Chick (1946): extra on Ziegfeld Follies
Henpecked Hoboes (1946)*: extra on Till the Clouds Roll By
Hound Hunters (1947): extra on Fiesta, in the Esther Williams Collection, Vol. 2
Red Hot Rangers (1947): extra on Tycoon
Slap Happy Lion (1947): extra on Song of the Thin Man, in The Complete Thin Man Collection
King-Size Canary (1947): extra on Command Decision; or, featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2
What Price Fleadom (1948): extra on The Three Musketeers
Little 'Tinker (1948): extra on The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer
The Cat That Hated People (1948): extra on Words and Music
Bad Luck Blackie (1949): extra on Kitty Foyle; or, featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2
The House of Tomorrow (1949): extra on Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Doggone Tired (1949): extra on On the Town BD
Little Rural Riding Hood (1949): extra on Battleground
The Counterfeit Cat (1949): extra on East Side, West Side
Ventriloquist Cat (1950): extra on Three Little Words
The Cuckoo Clock (1950): extra on Summer Stock
Garden Gopher (1950)*: extra on Two Weeks with Love
The Peachy Cobbler (1950): extra on Nancy Goes to Rio
Symphony in Slang (1951): extra on An American in Paris; or, featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2
Car of Tomorrow (1951): extra on Royal Wedding
Magical Maestro (1952): extra on The Belle of New York; or, featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2
Rock-a-Bye Bear (1952): featured on Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 2
Little Johnny Jet (1953): extra on The Naked Spur
T.V. of Tomorrow (1953): extra on Torch Song, in the Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 2
Billy Boy (1954): extra on Executive Suite
Farm of Tomorrow (1954): extra on Deep in My Heart
The Flea Circus (1954): extra on Les Girls
Field and Scream (1955): extra on Hit the Deck
The First Bad Man (1955): extra on Kismet

Which should leave only these unavailable for now (save perhaps on YouTube or dodgy PD releases):

What's Buzzin' Buzzard? (1943) / Big Heel-Watha (1944) / Uncle Tom's Cabaña (1947)** / Half-Pint Pygmy (1948)** / Lucky Ducky (1948)* / Cock-a-Doodle Dog (1951) / One Cab's Family (1952) / Cellbound (1955) / Cat's Meow (1957)**


*Included on the French set in a censored version. It's my understanding that, where available in R1, these films are uncensored.
**Excluded from the French set entirely

[Gregor Samsa]

The lawyers have been very quick to take that sort of content off lately. They've done the same with a lot of Warners cartoons (Including such titles as Coal Black and the Seven Dwarfs.) Dastards.

[HerrSchreck]

***

[HerrSchreck]

***AN OPEN NOTE TO WARNER BROS FROM A BAFFLED PEER:

I'm writing as it's fairly obvious that some Warner employee is floating thru this site and therefore passed on the information that some literal, genuine HERO (and I can't emphasize that word enough) with access to the original unedited Avery MGM material posted the three banned Avery toons on YouTube... which you guys in turn saw fit to take down.

This mentality absolutely baffles me-- not that you are excercising your duty as holder of distribution rights for the Tex Avery canon, but that you are choosing to withhold this material from the public. As far as I can see, and I'm sorry to be using this kind of language, this is the most backward, hypocritical, useless form of pandering to racial issues in the most blatantly token fashion I have ever observed in an industry already not noted for it's social courage.

Al Jolsen appears in blackface. Busby Berkley musical numbers with masses of minstrels in blackface. Blacks portrayed as bone-thru-the nose savages in KING KONG, as housemaids and "Yessum, Nossum" head-bobbling housemaids and slaves in countless vintage features. These are not cartoons-- these are real people in Warner Bros. releases. Real Human Beings with feelings capable of being hurt, forced into humiliating, compromised positions playing roles hilighting their occupation of the bottom rung of the sociological totem pole. And yet the glorious, progressive, socially concerned WB has no problem releasing this material to the public.

Yet simple trick-of-the-eye manifestations of pen-and-ink-and-dye animation, which don't breathe, which caricature everything subject to reproduction to a non-exclusive absurdity, whether white, black, oriental, etc... these hilarious good-natured little time-capsules are deemed too dangerous for the public to behold.

I know I'm asking far too much for a machine like the WB to come onto a forum devoted to another, highly competitive label, and explain one of its' more defiantly absurd policies of censorship, but I would invite you to do so.. to enlighten us as to what is so fearful about a hilarious, WW2 era Tex Avery cartoon, versus the natives in KONG, blackface performances, the endless litany of nannies, aunties, doormen, shuffling & stooped old butlers resident in so many mass-release WB DVDs, that prevents the Avery's from being released while the live-action films are deemed acceptably innocuous.

People are capable of making distinctions, and I think you underestimate and actually insult-via-patronization our black and German friends as not being capable of discerning a historical artifact from another time, versus the contemporary creative intentions of Warner Brothers today. We are even capable of watching Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION, plus Leni Reifenstahls TRIUMPH OF THE WILL, OLYMPIA, and any number of other documentaries portraying genuine historical ill-will and actual racial destruction. Pretending insensitivity did not or still does not exist points nobody towards the ideal state of awareness. In fact it manufactures yet more ignorance. Why not pull every WB cowboys & indians film because of the rampantly insensitive caricaturing?

You would find that heroes like the individual on YouTube would become unneccessary, if your organization operated with a bit more consistency, respect, and good sense.

Again, I suspect that the odds in favor of getting a response here are quite low, but you are, on this particular site, among an objective bunch of serious fans as well as industrial peers.. critics, employees of competing labels, filmmakers, etc., most of whom would think twice before censoring the work of such a globally celebrated pioneer such as Tex Avery-- most of whom I have no doubt would very much welcome an explanation of those guidelines which deem the above live-action portrayals on celluloid "acceptable", yet a few 7 minute cartoons of utter hilarity "dangerous" or "hurtful". I ask because I'd imagine that the source for the take down resides somewhere among the eyeballs of this forum, and will no-doubt be checking back at some point.***

[Gregor Samsa]

Good post, and the situation is pretty appalling. I'd suggest that a major reason for cartoons being subject to more strict censorship than live action footage is the inaccurate but widely held conception that cartoons exist to be watched by kids. This stereotype leads to stronger concerns about the 'damaging' nature of racial imagery, as if it's going to be directed towards a more vulnerable group. The problem is that this stereotype has existed for a long time (since at least the 1950s) and many people who don't appreciate animation simply take it as common sense. Really bugs me.

[HerrSchreck]

That would be an unsurprising but strange line of reasoning, as they could easily release them as featurettes on more "adult" line DVDs, as they do with their vintage cartoons nowadays. Or simply create a dvd for all of their historically risque cartoons as a social/antropological artifact, and put a frigging sticker on it if theyre so petrified of our kids getting hold of this stuff. Flat out banning them for everyone is very, very strange.

[Gregor Samsa]

Strange line of reasoning I know, but it's one some execs seem to be pretty adamant about. Even things like the Looney Tunes Golden Collections could only be released after lengthy battles, and the main reason they're released uncensored is that they were put out by a different department of Warner Home Video. In contrast, other releases like the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collections were distributed through the 'Kids' division of WHV, which is why less care is expended on them and why they're (damnit) censored. I think the situation regarding Tex Avery is an extension of that mentality.

As for the YouTube videos being taken down, that's just corporate lawyers at their most annoying. According to most online accounts they don't have legal grounds to remove them, but simply intimidate the holders.

[Steven H]

Maybe Whoopi threatened to retract her endorsements and introductions from the Looney Tunes sets if they went ahead with, say, Coal Black (which features a wolf pimp with all gold teeth, except for the front two, which are dice... comedy genius.)

[Gregor Samsa]

I doubt it would have been Whoopi's fault. She's apparently a fan of Coal Black and other cartoons of the era:

Was (mostly not) watching the new Hollywood Squares the other day, and heard Whoopi Goldberg ask a contestant if he liked WB cartoons. (I didn't catch what he said to make her say that, but she did call them "Warner Brothers cartoons".) She recommended he seek out Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs--he apparently hadn't heard of it, and she didn't indicate how hard it would be for the unconnected casual fan to locate it.

Unfortunately, the people to blame are probably nameless corporate drones.

[Lino]

This is what a "compleat" set could look like

[Kinsayder]

A rip of that laserdisc set was available at Super Happy Fun until very recently. I guess they must have had a visit from the Warners lawyers.

If you can live with the cuts (and I can still hardly believe that someone went through all the cartoons excising the blackface gags), the French "complete" set has been re-issued in a limited edition at about half the original price.

[Gregory]

These are not the controversial ones but I thought I would mention here for any Avery fans that Warner's recent Katharine Hepburn set includes three of his cartoons as extras: "Lonesome Lenny," "Swing Shift Cinderella," and "Happy Go Nutty," on the Undercurrent, Without Love, and Dragon Seed discs, respectively.
I'm not sure why Warner decided not to list all the extra shorts on the back cover or even anywhere inside. And because this set was hardly reviewed anywhere these cartoons were a complete surprise to me.

[Jeff]

The great 1988 documentary, Tex Avery, the King of Cartoons is available on YouTube.

[Lino]

Warner missing the boat.

[MichaelB]

I was very encouraged by the Droopy set that they put out last year - aside from some overzealous "restoration", it was uncut and admirably comprehensive, even including the CinemaScope remakes and the Michael Lah titles.

They even stuck a warning on the box that it might contain offensive material, which is absolutely the right way of going about things - let's face it, I'd rather be patronised by a printed warning than by a censor butchering the film beforehand!

But I haven't seen any sign of any follow-ups - and am I right in thinking that Warner currently sits on more or less the entire Avery catalogue?

[HerrSchreck]

At least the Warners & the MGM's. I dont know who holds the Walt Lantz stuff w Chilly Willy & one shots like SHHHHHHHHHHHhhhh.

Unfortunately the Droopy box was missing Blitz Wolf & Uncle Toms Cabana, so the "offensive" material hasnt been completely returned to the public.

[MichaelB]

Unfortunately the Droopy box was missing Blitz Wolf & Uncle Toms Cabana, so the "offensive" material hasnt been completely returned to the public.

True, but they weren't Droopy cartoons, so I wouldn't have expected them on that edition.

And it's an encouraging sign that they're starting to treat their viewers like adults - The Jazz Singer was festooned with similar warnings. (Then again, cutting the blackface sequences might have been a bit problematic...)

[Forrest Taft]

At least the Warners & the MGM's. I dont know who holds the Walt Lantz stuff w Chilly Willy & one shots like SHHHHHHHHHHHhhhh.

Universal. You will find some Chilly Willy cartoons as well as SHHHHHHHHhhhh on their Woody Woodpecker Collection, Vol 1.

[HerrSchreck]

Unfortunately the Droopy box was missing Blitz Wolf & Uncle Toms Cabana, so the "offensive" material hasnt been completely returned to the public.

True, but they weren't Droopy cartoons, so I wouldn't have expected them on that edition.

And it's an encouraging sign that they're starting to treat their viewers like adults - The Jazz Singer was festooned with similar warnings. (Then again, cutting the blackface sequences might have been a bit problematic...)

My mistake-- I know Blitz is a "wolf" cartoon and that Cabana has "Red", both of which usually contain my favorite little canine.

IMHO Avery is the only dude every bit as much a genius as Sternberg & Murnau. Guy is me goddam hero.

[Macintosh]

Unfortunately the Droopy box was missing Blitz Wolf & Uncle Toms Cabana, so the "offensive" material hasnt been completely returned to the public.

True, but they weren't Droopy cartoons, so I wouldn't have expected them on that edition.

And it's an encouraging sign that they're starting to treat their viewers like adults - The Jazz Singer was festooned with similar warnings. (Then again, cutting the blackface sequences might have been a bit problematic...)

My mistake-- I know Blitz is a "wolf" cartoon and that Cabana has "Red", both of which usually contain my favorite little canine.

IMHO Avery is the only dude every bit as much a genius as Sternberg & Murnau. Guy is me goddam hero.

Is that where your avatar comes from? I've always wondered.

[HerrSchreck]

Magical Maestro, a work of genius if there ever was one.

With the great rotoscoped hair.

[MichaelB]

IMHO Avery is the only dude every bit as much a genius as Sternberg & Murnau. Guy is me goddam hero.

Totally agree. Genius isn't strong enough.

[Forrest Taft]

The French Tex Avery Collection seems to have been re-released, at a very affordable price too. "Uncle Tom's Cabana" and "Half Pint Pygmy" are apparently both still missing, and I'm guessing there are some cuts made on a couple of other shorts, but I still couldn't resist ordering this. I'm tired of watching these Avery shorts on youtube, and look forward to experiencing them upscaled and looking (hopefully) sweet.

[Max von Mayerling]

Thank you for pointing this out. I didn't even realize this thing existed. Just placed my order.

[swo17]

Has anyone successfully placed an order from Amazon France recently? Uncertainty about whether this would actually arrive is the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger.