As the producer of Warner Bros. studio's legendary Looney Tunes animated shorts, Leon Schlesinger was the ringleader behind one of the most enduring and beloved cast of characters in cinematic history. Not only did he help give the world the likes of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig, but Schlesinger also launched the careers of famed animators Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Bob Clampett, voice-over personality Mel Blanc, and composer Carl Stalling.
Schlesinger first entered the Warner stable in 1929 as one of the financial backers who agreed to bankroll the studio's (and the film industry's) first foray into sound, The Jazz Singer. The rewards of the venture were tremendous for all involved, and the following year Schlesinger teamed with Rudy Ising, Hugh Harmon, and Friz Freleng to propose to Warners a series of animated shorts dubbed Looney Tunes, a name and concept loosely inspired by the success of Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies. Their first effort, 1930's Sinking in the Bathtub, proved so popular that a second series, Merrie Melodies, was quickly added. Soon Schlesinger and his team were providing at least one cartoon a month.
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