Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard

Storyboard

Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....

 artist and screenwriter

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

 for classic animated cartoon

Animated cartoon

An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...

 shorts

Short subject

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...

.

Career

In 1941, Maltese was hired by 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:...

 Productions, which three years later became Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

 (Maltese had actually appeared on camera in a 1940 Porky Pig

Porky Pig

Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...

 cartoon as a live-action guard at the Warner Brothers entrance gate, who winds up chasing the animated Porky around the Warners lot; the short is entitled You Ought to Be in Pictures

You Ought to Be in Pictures

You Ought to Be in Pictures is a 1940 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short film featuring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. The film combined live-action and animation, and features live-action appearances by Leon Schlesinger, writer Michael Maltese, and other Schlesinger Productions staff members. In 1994 it...

and was directed 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....

). He first worked for Freleng until 1945, but after that he worked for Chuck Jones

Chuck Jones

Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...

 for a very long time. He and Jones collaborated on classic cartoons like the Academy Award

Academy Awards

An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

-winning For Scent-imental Reasons

For Scent-imental Reasons

For Scent-imental Reasons is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short released in 1949. It was directed by Chuck Jones, written by Michael Maltese, and featured the characters Pepe Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat . It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film...

and the animated public health documentary, So Much for So Little

So Much for So Little

So Much for So Little is a 1949 short documentary film directed by Chuck Jones. It won an Academy Award in 1950 for Documentary Short Subject, tying with A Chance to Live. As a work of the United States Government, the film is in the public domain.-Plot:...

which won that same year for "Best Documentary Short Subject." Maltese was also the voice of the Lou Costello

Lou Costello

Louis Francis "Lou" Costello was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott...

-esque character in Wackiki Wabbit

Wackiki Wabbit

Wackiki Wabbit is a 1943 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon, starring Bugs Bunny. It was written by Tedd Pierce and directed by Chuck Jones. Voices were provided by Mel Blanc , Tedd Pierce , and Michael Maltese...

.

Some of his earlier works included The Wabbit Who Came to Supper

The Wabbit Who Came to Supper

The Wabbit Who Came to Supper is a 1942 American Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring early appearances by Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd...

and Fresh Hare

Fresh Hare

Fresh Hare is a Warner Bros. theatrical Merrie Melodies cartoon. It was directed by Isadore "Friz" Freleng, written by Michael Maltese, and produced by Leon Schlesinger...

, Hare Trigger

Hare Trigger

Hare Trigger is a 1945 Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon short starring Bugs Bunny directed by Friz Freleng. It marks the first appearance of Yosemite Sam, who appears as a train robber...

(which introduced Yosemite Sam

Yosemite Sam

Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...

), Baseball Bugs

Baseball Bugs

Baseball Bugs is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released on February 2, 1946 starring Bugs Bunny. It had a similar theme to MGM's 1944 Batty Baseball, which was directed by former WB cartoon director Tex Avery.-Overview:...

for Freleng; Bear Feat

Bear Feat

Bear Feat is a 1947-animated Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones, released in 1949 featuring The Three Bears.-Plot:Papa Bear sees an ad about a circus and makes his family practice until he learns it was called in 1928 and throws himself off a cliff.-Censorship:*When this cartoon aired on...

, Rabbit of Seville

Rabbit of Seville

Rabbit of Seville is a 1949 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in 1950. It was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese....

, and Rabbit Fire

Rabbit Fire

Rabbit Fire is a 1951 Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. Directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, The short is notable for being the first film in Jones' "hunting trilogy"—the other two films being Rabbit Seasoning and Duck! Rabbit, Duck!. It is also...

for Jones. Some of his best known cartoons are Feed the Kitty

Feed the Kitty

Feed the Kitty is a Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, in which bulldog Marc Antony adopts a small cat, Pussyfoot , and tries to hide it from his owner...

, Beep, Beep, Rabbit Seasoning

Rabbit Seasoning

Rabbit Seasoning is a 1952 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones, and starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. It is the sequel to Rabbit Fire, and the second entry in the "Hunting trilogy" directed by Jones and written by Michael Maltese...

, Don't Give Up the Sheep

Don't Give Up the Sheep

Don't Give Up the Sheep is a 1953 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and released by Warner Bros. Pictures featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog...

, Duck Amuck

Duck Amuck

Duck Amuck is a surreal animated cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The short was released in early 1953 by The Vitaphone Corporation, the short subject division of Warner Bros. Pictures, as part of the Merrie Melodies series...

, Bully for Bugs

Bully For Bugs

Bully for Bugs is a 1952 Warner Brothers Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in August 1953. It was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese.- Synopsis :...

, Bewitched Bunny

Bewitched Bunny

Bewitched Bunny is a Looney Tunes cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. Jones created the character Witch Hazel which debuted in this episode. Witch Hazel later appeared in Broom-Stick Bunny , A Witch's Tangled Hare , and in A-Haunting We Will Go...

, From A to Z-Z-Z-Z

From A to Z-Z-Z-Z

From A to Z-Z-Z-Z is a 1953 animated cartoon short by Chuck Jones in the Looney Tunes series. It was released by Warner Bros. in 1954.-Plot:The cartoon begins with an exterior shot of a school classroom. Through the windows, children are visible at their desks. They are learning arithmetic by rote...

, and Beanstalk Bunny

Beanstalk Bunny

Beanstalk Bunny, a 1954 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon was released on 12 February 1955. This theatrical cartoon was directed by Chuck Jones, and starred Mel Blanc as the voices of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Elmer Fudd, voiced by Arthur Q...

. These were all directed by Jones. He also worked on One Froggy Evening

One Froggy Evening

One Froggy Evening is an approximately seven-minute long Technicolor animated short film written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones, with musical direction by Milt Franklyn.The short makes the debut of Michigan J...

, the first appearance of future Warner Brothers mascot Michigan J. Frog

Michigan J. Frog

Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character who debuted in the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening , written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones...

.

Some of his later cartoons included Ali Baba Bunny

Ali Baba Bunny

Ali Baba Bunny is a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies short featuring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, directed by Chuck Jones and released in 1957. In 1994, it was voted #35 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field...

, Robin Hood Daffy

Robin Hood Daffy

Robin Hood Daffy is a 1958 Warner Brothers theatrical cartoon short, part of the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese...

, the seminal What's Opera, Doc?

What's Opera, Doc?

What's Opera, Doc? is a 1957 American animated cartoon short in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Chuck Jones for Warner Bros. Cartoons. The Michael Maltese story features Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny through a parody of 19th century classical composer Richard Wagner's operas, particularly...

and Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century

Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century

Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century is a Merrie Melodies cartoon created in 1952 and released on July 25, 1953, starring Daffy Duck as space hero Duck Dodgers, Porky Pig as his assistant, and Marvin the Martian as his opponent...

for Jones and Person to Bunny

Person To Bunny

Person to Bunny is a 1959 Merrie Melodies Bugs Bunny cartoon released on April 2, 1960. It stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. The cartoon is posthumous because Arthur Q. Bryan died before the release of the cartoon.- Plot :...

(the final time Arthur Q. Bryan

Arthur Q. Bryan

Arthur Quirk Bryan was a United States comedian and voice actor, remembered best for his longtime recurring role as well-spoken, wisecracking Dr...

 voiced Elmer Fudd

Elmer Fudd

Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...

) and Here Today, Gone Tamale (the only Speedy Gonzales

Speedy Gonzales

Speedy Gonzales is an animated caricature of a mouse in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast and speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent...

 cartoon he ever wrote) for Freleng. Maltese also collaborated with Jones on the 1960s Tom and Jerry

Tom and Jerry

Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...

theatrical shorts for MGM. From 1958 until 1970, he worked at Hanna-Barbera Productions on television cartoons such as Quick Draw McGraw

Quick Draw McGraw

The Quick Draw McGraw Show is the third cartoon television production created by Hanna-Barbera starring an anthropomorphic cartoon horse named Quick Draw McGraw following their success with The Ruff & Reddy Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show. The show debuted in syndication in the fall of 1959,...

, The Flintstones

The Flintstones

The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...

, and The Jetsons

The Jetsons

The Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...

.

Maltese also did scripts for comic books published by Western Publishing

Western Publishing

Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company was a Racine, Wisconsin firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Western Publishing also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products as Golden Books Family Entertainment...

, including for many of the same Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbera characters whose animated exploits he scripted.

Death

Maltese died on February 22, 1981 at Good Samaritan Hospital

Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles)

Good Samaritan Hospital is a hospital in Los Angeles, California, United States. The hospital has 408 beds.-History:Good Samaritan Hospital was founded in 1885, although the current hospital was built in 1976...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 after a six-month bout with cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

.