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Leon Schlesinger | |
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 Leon Schlesinger in 1917 | |
| Born | (1884-05-20)May 20, 1884 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | December 25, 1949(1949-12-25) (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Producer |
| Years active | 1919–1944 |
| Spouse | |
Leon Schlesinger (/ˈʃlɛsɪndʒər/SHLESS-in-jər; May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949)[1] was an American film producer who foundedLeon Schlesinger Productions, which later became theWarner Bros. Cartoons studio, during theGolden Age of American animation.[2] He was a distant relative of the Warner Brothers. As head of his own studio, Schlesinger served as the producer of Warner'sLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies cartoons from 1933, when Schlesinger assumed production from his subcontractors,Harman and Ising, to 1944, when Warner acquired the studio.[3]
Leon Schlesinger was born to aJewish family[4] inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, on May 20, 1884. On June 9, 1909, Schlesinger married Bernice K. Schlesinger (née Leona Katz, September 15, 1882 – May 8, 1966).[a]
After Schlesinger worked at a theatre as an usher, songbook agent, actor, and manager (including thePalace Theatre inBuffalo, New York),[5] he foundedPacific Title & Art Studio in 1919, where most of his business was producing title cards forsilent films. As talking pictures ("talkies") replaced them in 1929 and 1930, Schlesinger looked for ways to capitalise on the new technology and stay in business. Somefilm historians, likeTom Sito, claim that he helped finance the Warner Brothers' first talkie,The Jazz Singer (1927).[6][7] He then secured a contract with the studio to produce its brand-newLooney Tunes series, and he signedanimatorsHugh Harman andRudy Ising to create these cartoons with theirBosko character as the star.
In 1932 and 1933 Leon Schlesinger produced sixB-movieWesterns for Warners starringJohn Wayne.
Schlesinger spent under $30,000 each because he did not need elaborate action sequences. Instead, he used silent action footage of cowboy starKen Maynard and his horse Tarzan.
"I later thought Leon's cartoons were better than the horse operas he put me in," Wayne recalled in later years. "Those westerns I made at Warner Bros. were remakes of old Ken Maynard films, and all the big scenes like cattle herds and Indian attacks were taken straight from the original Maynard films. So I had to dress up to look like Ken Maynard because a lot of the old footage they inserted had shots of Maynard in the distance. I really hated that."[8] (A few years later, Warners remade these budget Westerns with singing cowboyDick Foran.)
Schlesinger was a shrewd businessman with a keen eye for talent. When Harman and Ising left Warner Bros. with Bosko in 1933, Schlesinger set up his own studio on the Warner Bros.Sunset Boulevard lot at the corner of Van Ness and Fernwood. He wooed animators away from other studios, including some of those who had once worked for Harman and Ising. One of these wasFriz Freleng, whom Schlesinger promoted to oversee production ofLooney Tunes and to develop the sister series,Merrie Melodies. Former Harman-Ising animatorBob Clampett was also hired. Schlesinger's recruiting ofRobert McKimson,Tex Avery,Chuck Jones, andFrank Tashlin further increased the quality of the studio's output. He later addedCarl Stalling andMel Blanc, and collectively these men created such famous characters asPorky Pig,Daffy Duck, andBugs Bunny. Schlesinger largely took a "hands off" approach to the animation unit, allowing his directors freedom to create what they wished, provided that the resulting films were successful. Schlesinger soldPacific Title & Art Studio in 1935 to concentrate on his animation studio.
Schlesinger was known for his hard-nosed business practices. His animators worked in a dilapidated studio (Avery's people were briefly assigned to a bungalow they dubbed "Termite Terrace"), and Schlesinger briefly shut down the studio in mid-1941 when unionized employees demanded a pay raise. On another occasion, he boycotted theAcademy Awards for what he claimed was preferential treatment for theWalt Disney Cartoon Studio. He also farmed some of theLooney Tunes out to brother-in-law Ray Katz for tax breaks.
Schlesinger was also known among his animators for hislisp. One often-repeated story states thatMel Blanc patterned the voices of both Daffy Duck andSylvester the Cat on Schlesinger.[9] However, in Mel Blanc's autobiography,That's Not All Folks!, he contradicts that conventional belief, writing "It seemed to me that such an extended mandible would hinder his speech, particularly on words containing ans sound. Thus 'despicable' became 'desthpicable'." Daffy's slobbery, exaggerated lisp was developed over time.
Leon Schlesinger appeared as himself in Freleng's shortYou Ought to Be in Pictures (1940), one that combines live action with animation. In this short,Mel Blanc voices Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and all other characters (including the live human studio security guard), except Schlesinger, who dubbed his voice because the studio did not have a sound camera. In the film the stuttering Porky is unable to pronounce "Mr. Schlesinger," eventually giving up and addressing him as "Leon". As with other Warner cartoon staffers, Schlesinger appeared in caricature form in such cartoons asHollywood Steps Out,Russian Rhapsody andNutty News.
Schlesinger remained head of the animation studio until 1944 when he sold his assets to Warner Bros.Eddie Selzer assumed Schlesinger's position as producer. He continued to market the characters and headed Warners's Theater Services unit.[10]
Schlesinger was an avid racehorse fan and was a director of the Western Harness Racing Association.
Schlesinger died from a viral infection onChristmas Day, 1949. He is interred in the Beth Olam Mausoleum inside theHollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.[11]
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