Richard Bickenbach | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Frederick Bickenbach (1907-08-09)August 9, 1907 Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | June 28, 1994(1994-06-28) (aged 86) |
| Other names | Dick Bickenbach |
| Occupation(s) | Animator, layout artist, voice actor |
| Years active | 1930–1987 |
| Employer(s) | Ub Iwerks Studio (1930–1936) Walter Lantz Studio (1936–1937) MGM (1937–1939, 1946–1957) Leon Schlesinger Productions/Warner Bros. Cartoons (1939–1946) Hanna-Barbera (1957–1980) |
Richard Frederick Bickenbach (August 9, 1907 – June 28, 1994) was an Americananimator who worked forWarner Bros. Cartoons and as a layout artist and character designer forMGM andHanna-Barbera Productions. He worked on animation for many cartoons,[1] and drew the art for several comic book adaptations of Hanna-Barbera's shows, includingYogi Bear andThe Flintstones.[2]
Bickenbach began his career as an animator forUb Iwerks Studios, theMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio andWalter Lantz Productions until finally settling atWarner Bros. cartoon divisionLeon Schlesinger Productions. He would animate theLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies series for directorsBen Hardaway andCal Dalton,Friz Freleng,Frank Tashlin, andRobert McKimson in a span of roughly 8 years. He also provided his voice for a few cartoons, mostly portraying caricatures ofBing Crosby.
He later left and moved back to MGM in 1946 to provided layouts for roughly eightyTom and Jerry shorts during the decade he was there.[3] When he moved to Hanna-Barbera, he was one of their first employees and he was there for two decades as an animator andlayout artist. He had a large influence on Hanna-Barbera's earlycartoon styles[4] and was credited with creating the first officialYogi Bear model sheets.[3] He was the recipient of the 1984 Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists Golden Award.[5]