Tex Avery

[Chocolatekitten92]

Hi Everyone, the name is Alex. Excuse the short introduction but I'm a new user.
I am doing a project on Tex Avery for my English class: "someone who has had an influence in American culture".
I think this is a good forum to search around for more information about him, but right now I am a bit confused. As I was searching through youtube and other sitesI noticed that right next to the title of the animation it says "banned cartoon". I understand what banned means but can anyone explain to me about how it is that Tex Avery's cartoons are considered to be banned? Or is it something that people put into the title when they post the video online?
Also does anyone know if anything else happen to Tex Avery OUTSIDE of work (eg: marriage, family death, etc.)?

Please and Thank You in advance:bugs2:

[The "Chase"]

Hi Everyone, the name is Alex. Excuse the short introduction but I'm a new user.
I am doing a project on Tex Avery for my English class: "someone who has had an influence in American culture".
I think this is a good forum to search around for more information about him, but right now I am a bit confused. As I was searching through youtube and other sitesI noticed that right next to the title of the animation it says "banned cartoon". I understand what banned means but can anyone explain to me about how it is that Tex Avery's cartoons are considered to be banned? Or is it something that people put into the title when they post the video online?
Also does anyone know if anything else happen to Tex Avery OUTSIDE of work (eg: marriage, family death, etc.)?

Please and Thank You in advance:bugs2:

First off, hi Alex! Hope you enjoy your stay here!

Now, to answer your question, are you talking cartoons like "Uncle Tom's Cabana"? If you are, then they're probably saying "this hasn't been shown on TV because of the African Americans". Or it could be that it's a warning for all those gags that are un P.C. Or, of course, they're just doing it for reasons we don't know about. So, to answer that question, think about it... (also, wait for the other guys for stuff like these)

As for the OUTSIDE of work thing, well, let's just say he not "Father of the year" material, so to speak. However, you might want to search around here for more of that information.

Hope that helps! Once again, hope you enjoy your visit here! :)

[Keith Paynter]

Welcome, Alex!

"Banned" has several connotations. Primarily, in terms of classic cartoons, the inference is that studios are relectant to issue them for television or home video due to modern issues of political correctness. If you've seen any classic WB 'toons on television as of late, they have been ripped to shreds by taking out several violent gags or potentially offending characters, sometimes withdrawing them completely. From their television appearances through to the late '70's, either on network television or syndication, cartoons usually appeared in their entirety less opening or closing credits for the sake of running time. Before long, gags started disappearing from many regarded classics, and some disappeared forever.

The first place you can look is Wikipedia's "Censored Eleven" page. If you haven't heard of it, it is a group of WB toons that were nixed from television because black stereotypes could not be sufficiently removed for any broadcasting - some are notoriously famous, some are just plain awful as cartoons go. I won't spoil any info on them, but let you discover them for yourself.

Nowadays, it's unlikely you'll find cartoons with caricatures of blacks (American or African), Japanese or Indians on television at all, although there have been very rare exceptions. Some may be found on past video collections, but it's getting hard to see them nowadays due to public pressure. This does not mean they are banned from theaters, but you would be hard pressed to find them being exhibited except by arthouse cinemas as theme shows. One exception has been the latest collection of Popeye cartoons from Fleischer and Famous studios (Paramount) that feature the spinach-packin' sailor pressed into naval service, against the Axis powers during the years of WWII. Even Disney's Der Fueher's Face featuring Donald Duck was was a no-show for some 60 years after its release, until Disney's wartoons Treasures set was released. Cartoons like these were bootlegged on film and video for collectors for years. Walter Lantz's "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", is cringworthy today, but typical of caricatures of the day. Subtle caricatures like the black crows of Disney's Dumbo have their detractors. Stereotypes existed in live-action films from the period as well.

Even more modern animators like Ralph Bakshi have run up against pressure groups for his depictions of "black culture", yet 70's Blaxpoitation live-action films were given a pass because they were had more "positive" role models.

'Tex' Avery is not the only director to have his cartoons seemingly disappear over time - it has happened to other directors who made their home at WB and many other studios - Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, to name the most dominant.

While Tex's cartoons were reflections of the culture, they didn't necessarily 'influence culture', but they did have an impact on how cartoons would (and continue to) be made for many years, with many animators "standing on the shoulders of giants", as it were...

This is just the tip of the iceburg - there are many more learned members here who will undoubtedly have more to say...

[Fibber Fox]

Hi, Kitten. Several books have been written about Avery and I'd spend forever digesting his biography here. But I do want to comment about something you've written:

As I was searching through youtube and other sites I noticed that right next to the title of the animation it says "banned cartoon". I understand what banned means but can anyone explain to me about how it is that Tex Avery's cartoons are considered to be banned?

The way you write this, I'm not sure that you're left with the impression that all of Avery's cartoons are "banned." Very few were taken out of general circulation on television, one being All This And Rabbit's Stew. Most of Avery's cartoons are intact and have always had an audience.

As Keith Painter alluded, some of Avery's cartoons, like cartoons of other directors, contained racial stereotypes that some deem offensive today. No one wants to offend anyone .. especially if money or bad publicity are involved .. so they aren't shown. Or they are edited. It should be pointed out Avery exaggerrated the behaviour of everyone for comic effect, white people included, as did other directors in that era. But there is a particular sensitivity over racial issues in the U.S. and that's a whole other debate.

However, none of this really addresses the crux of your paper, which is Avery's influence on American culture. Avery became a director in a medium where sound cartoons consisted of cute little characters singing and dancing away. The cuter, the better, at Disney, which made those kinds of cartoons more deftly than others.

No cute dancing spoons for him. Avery was the first, in my opinion, to go for cartoons based more on gags, the sillier, the faster, the more outrageous, the less real, the better. Others followed.

Avery developed Bugs Bunny, arguably the most popular animated character of the 20th century.

When the late 1940s rolled around and television was becoming popular, it needed material to fill great swaths of time for children's programming. Companies like AAP came into being which had bought the seemingly-worthless old theatrical cartoons and sold them for use by television stations, which ran them over and over and over again for almost a full generation. The cartoons reached a new, and huge, audience of children (like me) who grew up loving them. The power of television made them more popular than ever and continued to push them into the national consciousness. Avery's cartoons were among them and kids, being fairly smart, knew funny when they saw it, and Avery's are among the funniest ever made. (As a side note, the kids of then are the adults of now on message boards and writing books opining about whose cartoons were funniest).

As I say, several books are/were in print about Avery, at least one mentioning his foibles with alcohol, his son's suicide, and his sad death while employed by his MGM "rivals" Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna, working on material far beneath his talents (such employment describes the fate of many of Hollywood's great theatrical animators and writers).

If I recall, he died in the same hospital as Walt Disney, which would be ironic given the fact Disney was the one specialising in the singing and dancing cartoons that were the opposite of what Avery was making. Perhaps Avery owes Disney a favour, as Disney was the one who made the world (and, more to the point, television programmers) think cartoons were kids' stuff. Were that not the case, they may never have been considered as television fodder for kids and people today would never have heard of Tex Avery.

F. Fox.

[FleischerFan]

Just a note that the best known biography of Tex Avery is Tex Avery: King of Cartoons by Joe Adamson.

It was published quite a while ago, but remained in print for a time. Locating a copy should not be that difficult.

[Chocolatekitten92]

As I say, several books are/were in print about Avery, at least one mentioning his foibles with alcohol, his son's suicide, and his sad death while employed by his MGM "rivals" Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna, working on material far beneath his talents (such employment describes the fate of many of Hollywood's great theatrical animators and writers).

If I recall, he died in the same hospital as Walt Disney, which would be ironic given the fact Disney was the one specialising in the singing and dancing cartoons that were the opposite of what Avery was making. Perhaps Avery owes Disney a favour, as Disney was the one who made the world (and, more to the point, television programmers) think cartoons were kids' stuff. Were that not the case, they may never have been considered as television fodder for kids and people today would never have heard of Tex Avery.

F. Fox.

Thank you Fox for the info, and I have been searching on the net for Avery's life outside of his work but the biggest highlight people want to point the spotlight at is his work :D can anyone recommend me any books or point in the right direction to learn more about Tex Avery (I need to make a timeline of Tex Avery's life so I'm looking for more info to put into it--I already have the info on his career but I'm looking for more personal info)

[J. J. Hunsecker]

You might want to check out the book Tex Avery: The MGM Years by John Canemaker. (http://www.amazon.com/Tex-Avery-Mgm-Years-1942-1955/dp/1570362912) It contains some personal information on Avery, such as that his son died from a heroin overdose, and Avery's wife divorced him after that tragedy. (The book is mostly a year by year account of Tex's MGM cartoons, though.)

Although Avery was a gregarious, funny guy and practical joker, he was also a worrywart and workaholic. He fretted about every aspect of his cartoons, (he was described as being a "one man band," having a hand in every part of his cartoon's production) and even took a year off while at MGM because of the stress. Although he played practical jokes himself, it was such horseplay while at Lantz that caused him the sight in one eye. Someone at the studio hit Avery in the eye with a paperclip shot from a rubberband.

[Chocolatekitten92]

You might want to check out the book Tex Avery: The MGM Years by John Canemaker. (http://www.amazon.com/Tex-Avery-Mgm-Years-1942-1955/dp/1570362912) It contains some personal information on Avery, such as that his son died from a heroin overdose, and Avery's wife divorced him after that tragedy. (The book is mostly a year by year account of Tex's MGM cartoons, though.)

Although Avery was a gregarious, funny guy and practical joker, he was also a worrywart and workaholic. He fretted about every aspect of his cartoons, (he was described as being a "one man band," having a hand in every part of his cartoon's production) and even took a year off while at MGM because of the stress. Although he played practical jokes himself, it was such horseplay while at Lantz that caused him the sight in one eye. Someone at the studio hit Avery in the eye with a paperclip shot from a rubberband.

Thanks. The problem right now for me is that I know where I can get the book but I just don't have the money to buy it right now :( does anyone know where I can find the exact date of these events online?

[Fibber Fox]

Thanks. The problem right now for me is that I know where I can get the book but I just don't have the money to buy it right now :( does anyone know where I can find the exact date of these events online?

I don't want you to think I'm being snarky, Alex, but have you checked out your local library? Does all research have to be done on-line?

I was at a meeting of a group I belong to on Friday night and one guy gave a short presentation on a topic, admitting he couldn't find much on-line. I followed with another one on the same topic, and guys said they learned stuff they had never heard before. I was asked where I found the information. "In books," I replied.

F. Fox

[Jack G.]

I don't want you to think I'm being snarky, Alex, but have you checked out your local library? Does all research have to be done on-line?

I was at a meeting of a group I belong to on Friday night and one guy gave a short presentation on a topic, admitting he couldn't find much on-line. I followed with another one on the same topic, and guys said they learned stuff they had never heard before. I was asked where I found the information. "In books," I replied.

F. FoxYou mean you did your research with books? How quaint a notion! :D

Seriously, those who do online research should try to back up that info with something else
like a good book because there's a lot of misinformation up on the web.
Of course that other quaint medium the newspaper has info like obituarys.

[Chocolatekitten92]

To answer your question Fox YES I have searched for the book in the local libraries UNFORTUNATELY when I checked in the catalog the book was not AVAILABLE but MISSING and every other copy as well...of course who would DARE take a $50+ book from a library:droopy: for one I'm not really the kind of person to rely on the internet for information I prefer books but since I cannot find the book anywhere I have to resort to going online and searching. This project is worth a lot of my grade since it is my SEMESTER FINAL so I have to go through many resources to better understand and know my person.
Any other information people would like to give me? I already have looked through wikipedia, Tex Avery Tribute, many sites that talk about Avery's influence, articles in Time magazine that mention Avery and his work, and have books that I bought on Amazon including Tex Avery: A Unique Legacy, and Tex Avery King of Cartoons. I pretty much know everything about his WORK but not his PERSONAL LIFE which I need help with from anyone who knows anything.

Please and Thank You in advance.

[Ratso]

From what I've found, AddALL (http://used.addall.com) is the best one-stop search engine for locating used books!

[raginggoodfella]

Couldn't he find the book by doinga national wide search for the book on the library online catalog system? I know other libraries lend to other libraries. p.s. there might be a fee, so ask your not-so-friendly librarian

[Chocolatekitten92]

From what I've found, AddALL (http://used.addall.com) is the best one-stop search engine for locating used books!

Thank you XP its cheaper than what I've found on Amazon

[Chocolatekitten92]

Couldn't he find the book by doinga national wide search for the book on the library online catalog system? I know other libraries lend to other libraries. p.s. there might be a fee, so ask your not-so-friendly librarian

I've done so on my districts library but even then none of the libraries have it :(

[ebrand11]

There was also a TV biography called "Tex Avery, Kings of Cartoons" it apeared on Ovation TV a while back (6 months or so)
Anyway I've seen some people have posted Tex Averys Red Hot Riding Hood" on youtube a while back and have listed banned next to it. Due to its risque nature it was probably not seen on Tv in the past but in the past five years or so I have seen the particular cartoon several times on "Boomerang" If you get Boomerang I suggest watching the MGM show to maybe see some stuff that was "banned" back in the day. However cartoon slike "Uncle Toms Cabana" are still unseen due to African American cariacatures.
BTW welcome to the forum Alex.

[Chocolatekitten92]

There was also a TV biography called "Tex Avery, Kings of Cartoons" it apeared on Ovation TV a while back (6 months or so)
Anyway I've seen some people have posted Tex Averys Red Hot Riding Hood" on youtube a while back and have listed banned next to it. Due to its risque nature it was probably not seen on Tv in the past but in the past five years or so I have seen the particular cartoon several times on "Boomerang" If you get Boomerang I suggest watching the MGM show to maybe see some stuff that was "banned" back in the day. However cartoon slike "Uncle Toms Cabana" are still unseen due to African American cariacatures.
BTW welcome to the forum Alex.

:) thank you I just wwatched the documentary recently but I don't recall hearing anyone talk about Avery's life outside of work or I wasn't paying attention to it close enough

[Chocolatekitten92]

Anyone know when Tex Avery was married? To who did he marry?

[Daffysleftfoot]

Tex married a woman named Patricia, an ink & paint girl he met a the Lantz studio.

[Chocolatekitten92]

Tex married a woman named Patricia, an ink & paint girl he met a the Lantz studio.

:eek: cool didn't know that until now:D thank you :sylvester anyone know the year they were married or which decade?

[Chocolatekitten92]

Never mind. Thanks to Daffysleftfoot I was able to find more info on Tex Avery's family :D thanks again

[PF9]

Another interesting fact is that almost all of the theatrical cartoons he directed (save for 4 at the Lantz Studio, owned by Universal) are owned by Warner Bros. today - this includes his WB and MGM cartoons.

That would be a good fact to put in a paragraph about his enduring legacy.

[J Lee]

:eek: cool didn't know that until now:D thank you :sylvester anyone know the year they were married or which decade?

Avery talked about losing his job at Lantz just after his honeymoon (for basically running off and getting married when he should have been at work), which would put the marriage as sometime in early 1935.