Talk:Friz Freleng

Date of Birth

There seems to be some confusion about his date of birth. I'm not sure which it is but googling for "friz freleng 1905" returns 618 hits, "friz freleng 1906" turns up 524 hits. Can anyone provide a definitive source for his correct date of birth? Qutezuce 07:47, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, I did the same search. I've kept 1906, since that's what's on his grave marker. Incidentally, is it still called a "grave marker" if the person was cremated? I wasn't sure how to word that. --BrianSmithson 12:47, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

There's been some discussion about this on the Golden Age Cartoons forum [1] and the consensus seems to be 1904. It's that on the Social Security index, and the April 1910, January 1920 and April 1930 census' give his age as 5, 15, and 25 respectively. BillyH 23:11, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure it's 1905, because on the Bugs Bunny cartoon from 1996 entitled "From Hare To Eternity," it says "Dedicated to Isadore "Friz" Freleng - 1905-1995" at the end. H2ofan80 (talk) 20:47, 23 May 2021 (UTC)

Banned Cartoons

I notice there's no mention of the fact that a lot of Freleng's cartoons were deemed racist and were banned (if that's the right word) at one time or another. He seemed to have a particular hatred for blacks, as shown in "Sunday Go To Meetin' Time", "Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears" and "Jungle Jitters". PennyGWoods 22:36, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

This is true of all animators of the period, not just Freleng. In other words, he didn't do anything extraordinary to merit mention in this article. — BrianSmithson 02:36, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

Nothing extraordinary about having your cartoons BANNED? Good to see you see nothing noteworthy of racism. Let me know where you send your children to school so mine won't be there. PennyGWoods 05:01, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

Did you read my post? Freleng is by no means alone in the fact that some of his cartoons have been banned. In fact, I'd guess that every Warners director from this time has had some racist gag edited out of his cartoons by now. Racist material derived from the minstrel show was simply de rigeur at the time. You seem to be implying that Freleng was exceptional in this regard, and I'm arguing that he was not. Spare me your moral highhorse, and come back after you've done some research. You may want to start at Censored 11. — BrianSmithson 11:56, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

I've added a note on the racist cartoons. I don't think much more verbiage is warranted, but have a look. — BrianSmithson 12:09, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

First off, spare me. You don't see a problem with racist cartoons. That's between you and your deity. Dude must be your grandpa or something. Second off, the addition is fine. It was pretty much all I was commenting on. If there's a banned cartoons article here, that would be the place to expand on it. I think it would be interesting, but I know I'm not the person to write it. PennyGWoods 23:05, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

Your consistent willingness to ignore a person's actual point in favour of trying to smear them with spurious accusations might be admirable if it were not so pathetic. W guice 08:51, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

PennyGWoods, I guess you're referring to the Censored Eleven, or the 11 Golden Age Warner Bros. cartoons not shown in about 20 years. Freleng directe 4 of the 11, I believe. I suppose you could mention it in the Freleng article, but it's pretty well covered in the article I referenced. The line added under Directorial achievements is good; maybe a "See also" link would help?Konczewski 02:26, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

I think personally that you, PennyGwoods or whatever, should be banned yourself, for your abnormal accusations at a user that probably has way more experience than you will ever getTheclassicalman 03:42, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

well the problem with your thinking is that friz freleng lived in a different time period. this is when is was alright to be racist. you also have to note that he was Jewish and if you are raised in a jewish a community then you have a cautious view of other races —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.14.74.48 (talk) 16:20, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

I think that freleng is special in this category because he had the most of any cartoonist on the banned elevin. Dylan Roston —Preceding undated comment added 00:20, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

PennyGwoods or whatever stupid username you came up with, you are the Censored 11 in itself, you stupid human catastrophe. User:BriFracier4(talk) 16:33, 21 March 2020 (UTC)

Only Freleng?

I removed the following two trivia items:

• An oft used motif of Freleng's was the "Freleng Door Gag." The gag consists of one character chasing another through a series of doors, with the pursued character popping out of unexpected doors. The gag can be seen in 1944's Little Red Riding Rabbit and 1948's Buccaneer Bunny.
• A similar recurring gag, "Hold the Onions" (characters make an elaborate sandwich, but are stopped when another character flashes a sign reading "Hold the Onions!") appears in 1941's The Fighting 69th 1/2 and 1947's The Gay Anties. Chuck Jones used the gag in his 1943 short Wackiki Wabbit

First of all, I hate trivia sections. If something is important enough to make it into the article, it should be incorporated into the main text, not relegated to a trivia ghetto. But even allowing the trivia section to stand, can someone provide a source that these gags are Freleng's own and not those of the other Warner directors or their writers? — BrianSmithson 22:28, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Seeing as most other entries have trivia section to incorporate items that don't flow smoothly in the article, I think you're fighting a losing battle. The "Freleng Door Gag" is a pretty well recognized term; I've seen in books on animation by Jerry Beck and Joe Adams. You can actually use it to identify a cartoon as one of Freleng's; I'm 99% sure no other Golden Age director used it. As to whose responsible for it, you probably could make a case that writer Warren Foster thought it up. However, it's usually Freleng that gets credit for it because, as director, he made the final decision to include it. If it makes you feel better, I'll find a source for it. I will agree that the "Hold the Onion" gag should be deleted; both McKimson and Jones used it.Konczewski 13:42, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Frank Tashlin also used the onion gag in Behind the Meatball. Also it appeared in a Tom and Jerry cartoon (in this case it was probably copied from the Warner directors. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.185.21.164 (talk) 20:52, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

Hardly a losing battle: See Wikipedia:Avoid trivia sections in articles. And such sections are usually the first thing to be axed when an article goes up for Wikipedia:Featured article candidates. But, yeah, I think a source would be a good idea for the door gag and the other one. Thanks. — BrianSmithson 22:28, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for bringing the "Avoid trivia..." article to my attention. I never looked at it that way before. I'll do a more research on the Door Gag history before I consider re-inserting it, but I think the Hold the Onions gag can stay out. If I do add the FDG, I'll try to incorporate it in the body of the article.Konczewski 02:20, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Butt of the Joke

Recently my wife and I were watching one of the Looney Tunes collections Volume 3 that featured Tweety and Sylvester. We noticed the name "Friz" on the side of a tipped box, and later the address label "Friz Freleng, Pratt Falls, Wisconsin", on a package in the mailcar train sequence. While this may be just more trivia, I understand that Freleng was the constant butt of his writers' jokes, and it was not unusual for them to slip his name into scenes as an "Easter Egg". Greenbomb101 17:00, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Well, this would have been a background artist's joke, not a writer's joke. But the background artists did this with everyone at the studio, not just Friz. If you listen to the audio commentary on the Golden Collection DVDs, Jerry Beck and Michael Barrier (and others) frequently point these little inside jokes out. — Brian (talk) 23:31, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I stand corrected. "Background artists", not writers. A mistype on my part, the likes of which I shall endeavor in the future not to make again. I'd be willing to say this joke was employed in many studios such as Hanna-Barbera. Just putting in my two cents in at Wikipedia. Or should the pronoun be "on"? Greenbomb101 16:15, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Don't sweat it. ;) By the way, I usually say "on Wikipedia". But, then, I also believe that native speakers of a language don't make mistakes, they just use forms that grammarians may not consider "standard". — Brian (talk) 21:59, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Family and personal life

The article fails to mention anything about either aspect of his life, which is a major omission for any biographical article - does anyone know anything about either? Werdnawerdna (talk) 01:15, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Film short

Three_Brothers and FUBAR#Film_and_television mention a short by Friz Freleng with the name The Three Brothers, but is not included in this article. travb (talk) 01:17, 1 January 2009 (UTC)

the nickname Friz

How did Freleng earn the nickname "Friz"? This article [2] says he earned it bcoz of his frizzly hair, but the wiki article does not say the same. can someone pls add the info? Kailash29792 (talk) 09:00, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

Early career

this section is inconsistent with information provided by eminent cartoon historian Jim Korkis in this article: http://www.mouseplanet.com/10820/The_History_of_Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit_Part_One It seems Freleng worked for Disney in Missouri and was not one of the animators to follow Disney to Los Angeles. 76.88.3.72 (talk) 12:30, 8 October 2014 (UTC) Sandy

Awards

I am having difficulty validating the awards Freleng has received.

• Academy award: Oscar's database shows one win on three nominations
• Emmy award: Emmy database shows two wins on four nominations
• Daytime Emmy award: one win on two nominations

Adding the Emmy awards together does show three, although some would separate those since two different organizations hand out the awards. Multiple sources show just one Academy win. Until reliable sourcing can be found showing he himself received the awards, the article should show verified wins.--☾Loriendrew☽ ☏(ring-ring) 20:29, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

• Friz won for:
  • So Much for So Little (1949)
  • Tweetie Pie (1947)
  • Speedy Gonzales (1955)
  • Birds Anonymous (1957)
  • Knighty Knight Bugs (1958)

The dates in parenthesis are release dates for the shorts, as far as I'm aware of. The five wins are also listed in this Wikipedia article: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection, though the short "So Much for So Little" wasn't released on this collection- but it is mentioned in the article- and it has its own Wikipedia page, which should help with verification. Also, I can put you in contact with Friz' daughter who can also verify her father's achievements and awards; I made the initial edits to this page at her request, because she has had trouble figuring out how to use computers in such a way as to be able to make edits and additions to this page herself. Blue (talk) 22:04, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

Just because he worked on something which has won an award does not mean he was the recipient. That article is unsourced, and the award articles for those shorts do not list him being the winner. Reliable sourcing and verifiability are needed to keep the claims in place. Please provide acceptable sourcing.--☾Loriendrew☽ ☏(ring-ring) 22:29, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

As a followup... So Much (producer award won by Selzer), Tweetie (producer award won by Selzer), Speedy (producer award won by Selzer), Birds (also Selzer) and Bugs (producer award given to John Burton). The only Academy award Freleng is credited with winning is for The Pink Phink, co-winning as producer along with DePatie.--☾Loriendrew☽ ☏(ring-ring) 22:59, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

OK, I'll try to get more, verifiable information on these awards and other information I've added to give my edits more value. Blue (talk) 23:04, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

Filmsite.org says Friz won four Oscars as of 1958, but doesn't list "So Much for So Little" among them. I'll keep looking. Blue (talk) 23:18, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

Friz' L.A. Times obituary also lists 5 Academy Awards. Per the article: "At his death, Freleng had earned four Academy Awards plus a special Oscar for the "The Pink Phink," a cartoon featuring the Pink Panther character Freleng had created.

It was the cels for those Oscar winners ("Tweetie Pie" in 1947, "Speedy Gonzalez" in 1955, "Birds Anonymous" in 1957 and "Knighty Knight Bugs" in 1958) that became Freleng's final project." Blue (talk) 23:29, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

His N.Y. Times obituary also lists 5 Oscar wins: "He won Academy Awards for four of his Warner Bros. cartoons: "Tweety Pie" in 1947, "Speedy Gonzalez" in 1955, "Birds Anonymous" in 1957 and "Knighty Knight Bugs" in 1958. He won another Oscar for "The Pink Phink," which featured the Pink Panther." Blue (talk) 23:33, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

Another L.A. Times article referencing multiple Oscar wins but only making a direct reference to two of them. Blue (talk) 23:42, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

The Official page for the Hollywood Walk of Fame on which Friz has a star, states he has five Academy Awards in the press release they put out announcing his star in 1992. From the press release: "Freleng was honored with Academy Awards for five shorts: "Tweetie Pie" (1947), So Much for So Little" (1949), "Speedy Gonzales" (1955), "Birds Anonymous" (1957) and "Knighty Knight Bugs" (1958); and he was nominated for seven others." Blue (talk) 00:36, 7 March 2016 (UTC)

Yet the organization that gives out the awards says he only won a single award. Some of the above links show something like "Oscar-winning movies..." which do not mean he actually won any awards for those, but to film/short certainly did. Needed is a reconciliation between what is documented versus what is said in a public relation fluff piece.--☾Loriendrew☽ ☏(ring-ring) 00:46, 7 March 2016 (UTC)

Here is why the confusion is happening at least with the Oscars, but probably with all of them. First, Freleng won 4. The Academy is not being consistent in noting, like they now are with its own category (Best Animated Shorts), that the director receives the Oscar, not the producer. Freleng directed all four. If this was not true, then you need to go back and address Chuck Jones, Clampett, etc. Now look today for the Oscars for Best Animated Shorts, what these really are, for example Alan Barillaro's Piper from IMDB which Barillaro directed and won an Oscar because he is the director. This all makes sense because the role of a producer for a short animation is near nothing compared to the director who does almost everything. The result is from the director's creative effort, not the producer. Papahoth (talk) 04:36, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

remorse for what?

This statement,

"Friz said in an interview with Michael Barrier that Walt had shown patience and remorse in letters prior to joining him, but did not show that attitude after he joined Disney and instead Disney became abusive and harassed him"

doesn't make sense considering there is no mention of anything between Disney and Freleng that would have called for feelings of remorse on Disney's part. 47.138.90.122 (talk) 03:28, 17 February 2023 (UTC)