Norman Hildreth McCabe (February 10, 1911 – January 17, 2006) was a British-American animator who enjoyed a long career that lasted into the 1990s.
Early life and Warner Bros. McCabe was born in England and raised in the United States. He worked in Tacoma, Washington, as a theater lobby artist. During the Great Depression, he moved to Los Angeles to look for work at lobbies, but to no avail. In the 1930s, he joined Leon Schlesinger Productions (which produced cartoons for Warner Bros. Pictures) 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 propaganda 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.
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.
In the 1950s, McCabe found himself working for various television commercial studios such as Swift-Chaplin Productions, Five Star Productions, FilmFair, and TeleMation Inc. He worked as an animation director for All Scope Pictures, Inc., a commercial film division for 20th Century Fox from 1958 until the early 1960s.
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 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".
Other studios McCabe worked for include Film Roman (Bobby's World), Hanna-Barbera, Henson Associates (Muppet Babies), Murakami-Wolf-Swenson (Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles), Pacific Title & Art Studio, Pantomime Pictures (Skyhawks), Playhouse Pictures, Ruby-Spears, Sunbow Productions, and Universal Animation Studios.
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. His last job was as a sheet timer on the series Tiny Toon Adventures, Taz-Mania, Animaniacs, Freakazoid!, and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries.
Death McCabe died in January 2006, a month before his 95th birthday and he was the last surviving director from the golden age of Warner Bros. Cartoons to die.Norm McCabe (1911-2006)
Legacy McCabe's work is obscure today, because he never made color cartoons during his (relatively brief) directorial tenure at the Schlesinger studio, and several of his cartoons would now be considered offensive due to heavy racial stereotyping (particularly true in his World War II propaganda cartoons, such as The Ducktators, Confusions of a Nutzy Spy, and Tokio Jokio, which satirize Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and/or Hideki Tojo, alongside broadly caricatured versions of Japanese soldiers). During a screening of his cartoons at ASIFA-Hollywood, he spoke highly of Clampett, but was outright embarrassed by his old black-and-white cartoons. However, he won recognition and accolades from those in the animation business.
Filmography Film YearSeries Title Credits1934Merrie MelodiesGoin' to Heaven on a Mule animatorHow Do I Know It's Sunday1935Looney TunesBuddy's TheatreBuddy's Pony ExpressBuddy's Lost World1936The Phantom ShipBoom BoomAlpine AnticsWestward WhoaFish TalesShanghaied ShipmatesPorky's PetPorky's Poultry PlantLittle Beau PorkyPorky in the North Woods1937Porky's Road RacePorky's RomancePorky's BuildingGet Rich Quick Porky1938Porky's PartyPorky in WackylandPorky in EgyptThe Daffy Doc1939Porky's Tire TroubleKristopher Kolumbus Jr.Scalp TroublePorky's HotelThe Film Fan1940The Timid Toreadordirector1941Porky's Snooze ReelRobinson Crusoe, Jr.1942Who's Who in the ZooDaffy's Southern ExposureHobby Horse-LaffsGopher GoofyThe DucktatorsThe Impatient PatientThe Daffy Duckaroo1943Confusions of a Nutzy SpyHop and GoTokio Jokio1946J. WaldoHonesty Is The Best Policydirector and animatior1964 Looney TunesPancho's HideawayanimatorThe Pink PantherThe Pink PhinkPink PajamasMerrie MelodiesRoad to Andalay1965Looney TunesIt's Nice to Have a Mouse Around the HouseMerrie MelodiesCats and BruisesThe Pink PantherWe Give Pink StampsMerrie MelodiesThe Wild ChaseThe Pink PantherDial "P" for PinkMoby DuckSink PinkMerrie MelodiesAssault and PepperedThe Pink PantherPickled PinkPinkfingerShocking PinkLooney TunesWell Worn DaffyThe Pink PantherPink IceMerrie MelodiesRushing RouletteThe Pink PantherThe Pink Tail FlyPink PanzerAn Ounce of PinkReel PinkBully for PinkThe InspectorThe Great De Gaulle Stone Operation1966Looney TunesThe AstroduckThe InspectorReaux, Reaux, Reaux Your BoatNapoleon Blown-AparteThe Pink PantherPink PunchThe InspectorCirrhosis of the LouvreThe Pink PantherPink PistonsLooney TunesDaffy RentsThe InspectorPlastered in ParisThe Pink PantherVitamin PinkLooney TunesA-Haunting We Will GoMerrie MelodiesSnow ExcuseThe Pink PantherThe Pink BlueprintPink, Plunk, PlinkSmile Pretty, Say PinkThe InspectorCock-A-Doodle Deux DeuxThe Pink PantherPink-A-BooLooney TunesA Squeak in the DeepMerrie MelodiesFeather FingerThe InspectorThe Pique Poquette of ParisSicque! Sicque! Sicque!Merrie MelodiesA Taste of Catnip1967Daffy's DinerThe InspectorSacré Bleu CrossLe Quiet SquadThe Pink PantherIn the Pink1969Looney TunesFistic MysticRabbit Stew and Rabbits Too!Merrie MelodiesShamrock and Roll1973The Blue RacerThe Boa FriendWham and EggsKillarney BlarneyHoot KlootThe Shoe Must Go OnPay Your Buffalo BillStirrups and Hiccups1974Phony ExpressGiddy Up WoeGold StruckAs the Tumbleweeds TurnThe Pink PantherPink AyeHoot KlootSaddle Soap OperaThe DogfatherThe DogfatherThe Pink PantherTrail of the Lonesome PinkThe DogfatherMother DogfatherBows and ErrorsDeviled Yeggs1975Rock-A-Bye MaybeFrom Nags to RichesThe Pink PantherPink StreakerForty Pink WinksThe DogfatherGoldilox & the Three HoodsThe Pink PantherKeep Our Forests PinkPink Campaign1976Mystic PinkThe Pink ProThe DogfatherMedicurThe Pink PantherPinky Doodle1977Therapeutic Pink1978String Along in PinkPink LemonadePink TrumpetYankee Doodle Pink
Feature films Year Title Credits1972Fritz the Catanimator1982Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales1983Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island1986The Transformers: The Movieanimation director1988Daffy Duck's Quackbustersanimator
Television Year Title CreditsNotes1972Clerow Wilson and the Miracle of P.S. 14animatorTV specialThe Barkleys3 episodes1973The Bear Who Slept Through ChristmasTV special1974The Magical Mystery Trip Through Little Red's Head1975The Hoober-Bloob Highway1977Bugs Bunny's Easter Special1978Michel's Mixed-Up Musical BirdBugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special1979The Bugs Bunny Mother's Day SpecialBugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet1980The Trouble with Miss SwitchPontoffel Pock, Where Are You?1981The Pink Panther in: Pink at First SightA Chipmunk Christmas1982Bugs Bunny's Mad World of TelevisionThe Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat1986-1987My Little Ponydirector1990-1991Tiny Toon Adventuresdirector/timing director
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References
External links Lambiek Comiclopedia article. Norman McCabe tribute