Norman McCabe

Norman "Norm" Hildrethhttps://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2021/01/leons-staff-1940.html McCabe (1911 - 2006) was an animator who worked for Warner Bros.
== Early Career ==
McCabe was born in England and raised in the United States. In the mid-1930s, he joined Leon Schlesinger Productions (which produced cartoons for Warner Bros.) as an animator in Frank Tashlin's unit. He moved over to Bob Clampett's unit in 1938 where he animated and/or co-directed several classic black and white Looney Tunes. When Tex Avery left Schlesinger in 1941, Clampett took over Avery's unit and McCabe took over Clampett's old unit. In 1943, McCabe was drafted into the Army and was assigned to the Army Air Corps Training Film Unit (Tashlin took over McCabe's unit after McCabe's final cartoon). In his final Warner cartoon before he left (a black and white World War II-era cartoon called "Tokio Jokio"), he was billed as "Cpl. Norman McCabe."
He served in the First Motion Picture Unit, headquartered at the Hal Roach Studios. His commanding officer was Major Rudolf Ising.
Over the course of his directing career, McCabe directed only three Daffy Duck cartoons and five Porky Pig cartoons (including two of them which he co-directed with Bob Clampett), while the others he directed were one-shot cartoons. All of McCabe's cartoons were produced in black-and-white.
== Post-World War II ==
After the war, McCabe worked on commercial illustrations for such works as the Bozo the Clown children's storybook records and educational films.
He returned to animation in 1963 joining DePatie-Freleng Enterprises where he worked on the titles for the feature film The Pink Panther. McCabe animated at DePatie-Freleng working on Pink Panther cartoons as well as the final decade of Warner Bros. cartoons. He also directed made for TV cartoons at DePatie-Freleng. During that time, he was usually credited as 'Norm Mccabe'
McCabe moved to the Filmation animation studio in 1967 working on several Saturday Morning cartoon series. He returned to theatrical animation with the adult animated feature film Fritz the Cat in 1972 before returning to DePatie-Freleng where he animated until the end of the 1970s. An in-joke at the studio had the name of a villain in "The Houndcats" as being "McCabe".
In the 1980s, McCabe returned to Warner Bros. where he worked on new animation for Warner cartoon feature film anthologies. He also trained a new generation of animators in working with the classic Warner cartoon characters.
In the 1990s, McCabe served as an animation director for 48 episodes of Bobby's World in Film Roman Studios. He continued work as a timing director on Warners Brothers cartoons shows such as Animaniacs, Taz-Mania, Freakazoid, and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries.
== Death ==
McCabe died in January 2006, becoming the last surviving director from the golden age of Warner Bros. Cartoons to pass away. He was 94 years old.
== Legacy ==
Even though McCabe's work was largely forgotten because he never made color cartoons during the golden age of Warner Bros. cartoons and created several cartoons that are rarely shown on American television (though some have cropped up on home media and streaming, often as part of documentaries about McCabe's short-lived and forgotten stint as director) due to heavy World War II references and grotesquely outdated ethnic stereotypes (particularly true in his World War II-based cartoons, such as "The Ducktators", "Confusions of a Nutzy Spy", and "Tokio Jokio", though "Robinson Crusoe, Jr." has a stereotypically black character and "The Daffy Duckaroo" has American Indian stereotypes), he won recognition and accolades from those in the animation business.
== Looney Works ==
* "The Timid Toreador" (1940) (with Bob Clampett) 
* "Porky's Snooze Reel" (1941) (with Bob Clampett) 
* "Robinson Crusoe Jr." (1941) 
* "Who's Who in the Zoo" (1942) 
* "Daffy's Southern Exposure" (1942) 
* "Hobby Horse-Laffs" (1942) 
* "Gopher Goofy" (1942) 
* "The Ducktators" (1942) 
* "The Impatient Patient" (1942) 
* "The Daffy Duckaroo" (1942) 
* "Confusions of a Nutzy Spy" (1943) 
* "Hop and Go" (1943) 
* "Tokio Jokio" (1943) (with Frank Tashlin [uncredited]) 
== Characters Created ==
ClaudeHopper.png|Claude Hopper
Scotish rabbits.jpg|Scottish Rabbits
Dr. Jekyl.jpg|Dr. Jerkyl
Hitler Duck.png|Hitler Duck
Mussolini Goose.png|Mussolini Goose
Tojo Duck.png|Tojo Duck
missing lynx.jpg|The Missing Lynx
Wolf daffy southern exposure.png|Wolf
Weasel daffy southern exposure.png|The Weasel
== Gallery ==
Thumb200s.jpg|Norm during his early years
Norm at a Party.jpg
Norm-McCabe-90s-200.jpg|Norm during the 90s
norm at the WB.jpg
== References ==
 
Category:1911 Births
Category:Looney Tunes Animators
Category:Animators
Category:Deceased
Category:Real People
Category:2006 Deaths
Category:Directors
Category:Looney Tunes Directors