Frank Tashlin (born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, February 19, 1913
â€" May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an
American animator, cartoonist, children's writer, illustrator,
screenwriter, and film director. He was best known for his work on the
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated shorts for Warner
Bros., as well as his work as a director of live-action comedy
movies.Born in Weehawken, New Jersey, Tashlin drifted from job to job
after dropping out of high school in New Jersey at age 13. In 1930, he
began working for John Foster as a cartoonist on the Aesop's Fables
cartoon series, then worked briefly for Amadee J. Van Beuren, but he
was just as much a drifter in his animation career as he had been as a
teenager. Tashlin joined Leon Schlesinger's cartoon studio at Warner
Bros. as an animator in 1933, where he was known as a fast animator.
He used his free time to start his own comic strip in 1934 called Van
Boring, inspired by former boss Van Beuren, which ran for three years.
He signed his comic strip "Tish Tash," and used the same name for his
cartoon credits (at the time it was considered extremely
unprofessional to use anything except one's birth name among
animators, but Tashlin was able to get away with this due to the
anti-Germanic feelings of that era). Tashlin was fired from the studio
when he refused to give Schlesinger a cut of his comic strip revenues.
He joined the Ub Iwerks studio in 1934. He moved to Hal Roach's studio
in 1935 as a writer.He returned to Schlesinger in 1936 as an animation
director, where his diverse interest and knowledge of the industry
brought a new understanding of camerawork to the Warners directors.
"He used all different kinds of camera angles, montages, and pan
shots,vertical and horizontal." He directed 16 or 17 shorts from 1936
to 1938. He was making $150 a week. At one point he had an argument
with studio manager Henry Binder and resigned. In 1938, he worked for
Disney in the story department, where he made 50 dollars a
week.Afterward, he served as production manager at Columbia Pictures'
Screen Gems animation studio in 1941. He effectively ran the studio
and hired many former Disney staffers who had left as a result of the
Disney animators' strike. He launched The Fox and the Crow series, one
of the better products of the studio. He was fired over an argument
with the executives of Columbia.
â€" May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an
American animator, cartoonist, children's writer, illustrator,
screenwriter, and film director. He was best known for his work on the
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated shorts for Warner
Bros., as well as his work as a director of live-action comedy
movies.Born in Weehawken, New Jersey, Tashlin drifted from job to job
after dropping out of high school in New Jersey at age 13. In 1930, he
began working for John Foster as a cartoonist on the Aesop's Fables
cartoon series, then worked briefly for Amadee J. Van Beuren, but he
was just as much a drifter in his animation career as he had been as a
teenager. Tashlin joined Leon Schlesinger's cartoon studio at Warner
Bros. as an animator in 1933, where he was known as a fast animator.
He used his free time to start his own comic strip in 1934 called Van
Boring, inspired by former boss Van Beuren, which ran for three years.
He signed his comic strip "Tish Tash," and used the same name for his
cartoon credits (at the time it was considered extremely
unprofessional to use anything except one's birth name among
animators, but Tashlin was able to get away with this due to the
anti-Germanic feelings of that era). Tashlin was fired from the studio
when he refused to give Schlesinger a cut of his comic strip revenues.
He joined the Ub Iwerks studio in 1934. He moved to Hal Roach's studio
in 1935 as a writer.He returned to Schlesinger in 1936 as an animation
director, where his diverse interest and knowledge of the industry
brought a new understanding of camerawork to the Warners directors.
"He used all different kinds of camera angles, montages, and pan
shots,vertical and horizontal." He directed 16 or 17 shorts from 1936
to 1938. He was making $150 a week. At one point he had an argument
with studio manager Henry Binder and resigned. In 1938, he worked for
Disney in the story department, where he made 50 dollars a
week.Afterward, he served as production manager at Columbia Pictures'
Screen Gems animation studio in 1941. He effectively ran the studio
and hired many former Disney staffers who had left as a result of the
Disney animators' strike. He launched The Fox and the Crow series, one
of the better products of the studio. He was fired over an argument
with the executives of Columbia.
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