Warren Foster (October 24, 1904 – December 13, 1971) was an American writer, cartoonist and composer for the animation division of
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and later with
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
.
Early life
He was born in Brooklyn, New York to Marion B. Foster and Charles C. Foster.
Foster was educated at
Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is an elite public high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of ...
and later at the
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...
, joining
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
in 1956.
Career
Foster's long career with animation began in 1935 as a cel opaquer for
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of ...
, moving up to the story department a year later. He wrote two
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Comics by Warren Foster /ref> He started at Warner Bros Cartoons in 1938 as a writer on the
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated 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 criti ...
short, ''
Porky in Wackyland
''Porky in Wackyland'' is a 1938 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' animated short film, directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on September 24, 1938, and stars Porky Pig venturing out to find the last do-do bird, which he finds in Wackyland ...
'' and ended nearly 171 cartoons later in 1957, after finishing his work on the
Tweety Pie
Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being an English onomatopoeia for t ...
short, ''Tweet Dreams'' (ultimately released in 1959). He was the composer of Tweety's theme song, ''
I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat
"I Taut I Taw A Puddy-Tat" is a novelty song composed and written by Alan Livingston, Billy May and Warren Foster. It was sung by Mel Blanc, who provided the voice of the bird, Tweety and of his nemesis Sylvester.
The lyrics depict the basic ...
''.
He worked, sometimes uncredited, on cartoons considered among the greatest ever, including ''
Porky in Wackyland
''Porky in Wackyland'' is a 1938 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' animated short film, directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on September 24, 1938, and stars Porky Pig venturing out to find the last do-do bird, which he finds in Wackyland ...
'', ''
Book Revue
''Book Revue'' is a 1946 Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The cartoon was released on January 5, 1946, and features Daffy Duck.
The plotline is a mixture of the plots of Frank Tashlin's ''Speaking of the Weather' ...
'', ''
Show Biz Bugs
''Show Biz Bugs'' is a 1957 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' animated short directed by Friz Freleng and featuring Mel Blanc. The short was released on November 2, 1957, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
Plot
Arriving at the theatre where he and ...
'', ''
The Great Piggy Bank Robbery
''The Great Piggy Bank Robbery'' is a 1946 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' theatrical cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The cartoon was released on July 20, 1946, and stars Daffy Duck.
The short is Clampett's penultimate Warner cartoon, produced s ...
'' and ''
Daffy Doodles
''Daffy Doodles'' is a 1946 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Bob McKimson. The cartoon was released on April 6, 1946, and stars Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.
Daffy is the notorious "moustache fiend", bent on putting a mustache on every li ...
'', the latter four featuring
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...
in 1946, ''
Catty Cornered
''Catty Cornered'' is a 1953 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on October 31, 1953, and stars Tweety and Sylvester. It features a forerunner of the Rocky and Mugsy duo.
Plot
Tweety, wh ...
Bugs and Thugs
''Bugs and Thugs'' is a 1954 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on March 13, 1954, and stars Bugs Bunny, with Rocky and Mugsy. The film is a semi-remake of the 1946 cartoon '' Racketeer Rabbit ...
'' featuring
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...
in 1954.
His career took an upward turn in 1959 at Hanna-Barbera, where he spent the next seven years as a writer on a number of notable animated programs, beginning with ''
The Huckleberry Hound Show
''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and the second series produced by the studio following '' The Ruff and Reddy Show''. The show first aired in syndication on September ...
''. He contributed to the comedy, plot and character development of shows such as ''
The Yogi Bear Show
''The Yogi Bear Show'' is an American comedy animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that centers on the misadventures of forest-dwelling bear Yogi in Jellystone Park. The show debuted in syndication on January 30, 1961 ...
'', ''
Loopy De Loop
''Loopy De Loop'' is a theatrical cartoon short series produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera after leaving MGM and opening their new studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions. Loopy De Loop Profile 48 cartoons were produced between 19 ...
'' and ''
The Flintstones
''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...
'', including his final work on the feature-length '' The Man Called Flintstone'' in 1966.Iwao Takamoto said of Foster's work on ''The Flintstones'': "I believe his influence was one of the key factors for its success".
Foster is credited with the controversial banned cartoon ''
Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs
''Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs'' is a 1943 ''Merrie Melodies'' animated cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on January 16, 1943.
The film is an all-black parody of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale ''Snow White'', known to its ...
''.
Death
Warren Foster died on December 13, 1971 in
San Clemente, California
San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betwe ...
. His burial is located at El Toro Memorial Park in Lake Forest, California.