Fred Quimby

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Fred Quimby
Born Frederick C. Quimby
July 31, 1886(1886-07-31)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Died September 16, 1965(1965-09-16) (aged 79)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation Animation producer

Frederick C. "Fred" Quimby (July 31, 1886 – September 16, 1965) was an American cartoon producer, best known as a producer of Tom and Jerry cartoons, for which he won seven Academy Awards. He was the producer in charge of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, which included Tex Avery and the team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, creators of Tom and Jerry.

Contents

[edit] Life and career

Quimby was born in Minneapolis, and started his career as a journalist. In 1907, he managed a film theater in Missoula, Montana. Later, he worked at Pathé, rising to become a member of the board of directors before leaving in 1921 to become an independent producer. He was hired by 20th Century Fox in 1924, and then MGM in 1927 to head its short features department. In 1937, he was assigned to put together its animation department.[1][2]:65

In 1939, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera presented him with their project for a series of cartoons featuring a cat and a mouse. Quimby approved,[1] and the result was Puss Gets the Boot, which was nominated for an Academy Award. As producer, Quimby became a repeated recipient of the Academy Award for Animated Short Film for the Tom and Jerry films without inviting Hanna and Barbera on stage and his name became well known due to its prominence in the cartoon credits. Even though Quimby had taken sole credit for producing The Tom and Jerry series, he never actually worked on it. Besides, Quimby had a difficult relationship with animators:

“ ...unfortunately for a cartoon producer, [he had] no sense of humor to call upon... He knew nothing of animation and cartoons were a strange thing to him. Cast in the role of high school principal opposite the animators' boyish enthusiasms, he acted as liaisons between them and the front office, usually it seemed, turning down requests for bigger budgets, raises and special dispensations of funds.[3] ”


Quimby retired from MGM in 1955, with Hanna and Barbera assuming his role as co-heads of the studio. MGM's cartoon division did not last long after; it was closed in 1957. Quimby died in Santa Monica, California in 1965.

[edit] Oscar credits

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b The Creators
  2. ^ Barbera, Joseph (1994). My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing. ISBN 1-57036-042-1. 
  3. ^ http://www.tomandjerryonline.com/synopsis.cfm Similar opinions are expressed elsewhere, eg at http://www.animationshow.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1766.

[edit] External links

Stub icon This article about an American film producer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Quimby&oldid=471976915"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages