Michael Maltese

In 1941, Maltese was hired byLeon SchlesingerProductions, which three years later becameWarner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.(Maltese had actually appeared on camera in the 1940Porky PigcartoonYou Ought to Be in Picturesas a live-action guard at the Warner Bros. entrance gate, who winds up chasing the animated Porky around the Warners lot). The first cartoon he wrote for Warners wasThe Haunted Mouse(1941) by Tex Avery. He first worked for Freleng until 1948, but after that he worked mostly forChuck Jones, contributing stories to other directors at times, includingRobert McKimson. He and Jones collaborated on classic cartoons like theAcademy Award-winningFor Scent-imental Reasonsand the animated public health documentary,So Much for So Littlewhich won that same year for "Best Documentary Short Subject." Maltese was also the voice of theLou Costello-esque character inWackiki Wabbit. Some of his earlier works includeThe Wabbit Who Came to SupperandFresh Hare,Hare Trigger(which introducedYosemite Sam),Baseball Bugsfor Freleng;Bear Feat,Rabbit of Seville, andRabbit Firefor Jones. Some of his best-known cartoons areFeed the Kitty,Beep, Beep,Rabbit Seasoning,Don't Give Up the Sheep,Duck Amuck,Bully for Bugs,Bewitched Bunny,From A to Z-Z-Z-Z, andBeanstalk Bunny. These were all directed by Jones. He also worked onOne Froggy Evening, the first appearance of future Warner Brothers mascotMichigan J. Frog. Some of his later cartoons includedAli Baba Bunny,Robin Hood Daffy, the seminalWhat's Opera, Doc?andDuck Dodgers in the 24th Centuryfor Jones andPerson to Bunny(the final timeArthur Q. BryanvoicedElmer Fudd) andHere Today, Gone Tamale(the onlySpeedy Gonzalescartoon he ever wrote) for Freleng. Maltese also collaborated with Jones on the 1960sTom and Jerrytheatrical shorts for MGM. From 1958 until 1970, he worked atHanna-Barbera Productionson television cartoons such asThe Quick Draw McGraw Show,The Flintstones,The Jetsons, andWacky Races. Maltese also did scripts for comic books published byWestern Publishing, including for many of the same Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbera characters whose animated exploits he scripted.