Earl Duvall
Encyclopedia
Earl Duvall was an artist best known for his work on Walt Disney
comic strips in the early 1930s and for a handful of animated cartoon short subjects he directed at Leon Schlesinger Productions for Warner Bros.
Duvall was periodically an inker for Floyd Gottfredson on the newspaper version of the Mickey Mouse daily edition comic strip in 1930-1932.
He also drew and wrote the Silly Symphonies
comic strip
Bucky Bug
for Walt Disney
.
He was invited to Warner Bros. in 1933 along with fellow Disney animator Tom Palmer
to head up the studio in the wake of Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising
's departure. In the event, Duvall was delayed working on other projects at Disney, and by the time he got to Warner Bros. Palmer had already been fired and replaced by Friz Freleng
. During his time there, Duvall directed a number of cartoons based around surprisingly adult themes, and was allowed to direct the studio's first color cartoon, Honeymoon Hotel
in 1934.
However, his career came to an abrupt end later in 1934, when he had a drunken argument with studio boss Leon Schlesinger
and demanded to be the best-paid animation director in the industry. Duvall returned later that day to apologize for his behavior, but found out that in the few short hours following the argument with Schlesinger (and despite an attempt by Freleng to salvage the situation), the boss had promoted Duvall's main animator, Jack King
to director and banned Duvall from ever setting foot in the studio again. Virtually overnight, Duvall went from being one of the industry's top animators to being unemployable, and asides from a brief stint as a story artist at Fleischer Studios
, much of his subsequent career saw him working in the comic industry again, quite often for Disney.
Duvall died in 1969, the same year as the last Looney Tunes
cartoon was released.
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
comic strips in the early 1930s and for a handful of animated cartoon short subjects he directed at Leon Schlesinger Productions for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
Career
Duvall career in the animation industry was short. He started as a layout artist and later as a member of the story department at Walt Disney Productions. During this time, he also worked as a cartoonist on Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies newspaper strips.Duvall was periodically an inker for Floyd Gottfredson on the newspaper version of the Mickey Mouse daily edition comic strip in 1930-1932.
He also drew and wrote the Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies is a series of animated short subjects, 75 in total, produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939, while the studio was still located at Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Bucky Bug
Bucky Bug
Bucky Bug is a fictional character, created by The Walt Disney Company. He first appeared in the initial Silly Symphonies comic strip; he was the first Disney character to debut in comics...
for Walt Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
.
He was invited to Warner Bros. in 1933 along with fellow Disney animator Tom Palmer
Tom Palmer (animator)
Anthony "Tony" Pipolo, known professionally as Tom Palmer was an Italian-American animator who was active in the 1930s and worked at several animation studios. He was born with the surname of "Pipolo" but changed his name to Palmer...
to head up the studio in the wake of Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising
Harman and Ising
Hugh Harman and Rudolf "Rudy" Ising were an American animation team best known for founding the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios...
's departure. In the event, Duvall was delayed working on other projects at Disney, and by the time he got to Warner Bros. Palmer had already been fired and replaced by Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
. During his time there, Duvall directed a number of cartoons based around surprisingly adult themes, and was allowed to direct the studio's first color cartoon, Honeymoon Hotel
Honeymoon Hotel
Honeymoon Hotel is an animated cartoon short subject in the Leon Schlesinger/Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies series, released February 17, 1934....
in 1934.
However, his career came to an abrupt end later in 1934, when he had a drunken argument with studio boss Leon Schlesinger
Leon Schlesinger
Leon Schlesinger was an American film producer, most noted for founding Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the golden age of Hollywood animation.-Early life and career:...
and demanded to be the best-paid animation director in the industry. Duvall returned later that day to apologize for his behavior, but found out that in the few short hours following the argument with Schlesinger (and despite an attempt by Freleng to salvage the situation), the boss had promoted Duvall's main animator, Jack King
Jack King (animator)
James Patton "Jack" King was an American comics artist and animator best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions.Born in Alabama, King began his animation career in the silent era in 1920 working at Bray Productions animation studio...
to director and banned Duvall from ever setting foot in the studio again. Virtually overnight, Duvall went from being one of the industry's top animators to being unemployable, and asides from a brief stint as a story artist at Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
, much of his subsequent career saw him working in the comic industry again, quite often for Disney.
Duvall died in 1969, the same year as the last Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
cartoon was released.
Filmography
As Director/Supervisor.- Buddy's GarageBuddy's GarageBuddy's Garage is an American animated short film. It is a Looney Tune cartoon, featuring Buddy, the second star of the series, & released on April 14, 1934. It was the last Warner Bros...
1934 (short) - Honeymoon HotelHoneymoon HotelHoneymoon Hotel is an animated cartoon short subject in the Leon Schlesinger/Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies series, released February 17, 1934....
1934 (short) - Sittin' on a Backyard Fence 1933 (short)
- Buddy's Show BoatBuddy's Show BoatBuddy's Show Boat is an American animated short film released by Warner Bros. on December 9, 1933. It is a Looney Tune featuring Buddy, the second star of the series. It was directed by Earl Duvall, here credited as "Duval," and was one of only five Warner Bros. cartoons that he directed...
1933 (short) - Buddy's Beer GardenBuddy's Beer GardenBuddy's Beer Garden is an American animated short film, released November 18, 1933 It is a Looney Tune cartoon, featuring Buddy, the second star of the series. It was supervised by Earl Duvall, here credited as "Duval," was one of only five Warner Bros. cartoons directed by him, and one of only...
1933 (short)