Norman McCabe facts for kids

Norman McCabe (born February 10, 1911 – died January 17, 2006) was a talented animator. He was born in England but became an American citizen. Norman McCabe had a very long career in animation. He worked on many famous cartoons until the 1990s.

Early Animation Career

Norman McCabe was born in England. He grew up in the United States. He started his career in Tacoma, Washington. There, he worked as an artist for theater lobbies. These were the entrance areas of movie theaters.

During the Great Depression, he moved to Los Angeles. He hoped to find more art jobs there. In the 1930s, he joined Leon Schlesinger Productions. This company made cartoons for Warner Bros.. He worked as an animator in Frank Tashlin's team.

In 1938, he moved to Bob Clampett's team. He helped animate and direct several classic black and white Looney Tunes cartoons. When Tex Avery left in 1941, Clampett took over Avery's team. Norman McCabe then took over Clampett's old team.

In 1943, Norman McCabe joined the Army. He was assigned to the Army Air Corps Training Film Unit. His last Warner Bros. cartoon before leaving was Tokio Jokio. It was a black and white cartoon about World War II. He was credited as "Cpl. Norman McCabe" in this film. He served in the First Motion Picture Unit. This unit was based at the Hal Roach Studios.

Working After World War II

After the war, Norman McCabe worked on many different projects. He created commercial illustrations. These included drawings for Bozo the Clown children's storybook records. He also worked on educational films.

He returned to animation in 1963. He joined a studio called DePatie-Freleng. There, he worked on the opening titles for the movie The Pink Panther. He continued to animate at DePatie-Freleng. He worked on Pink Panther cartoons. He also worked on more Warner Bros. cartoons. During this time, he was often called "Norm McCabe." He also directed cartoons made for TV at DePatie-Freleng.

In 1967, Norman McCabe moved to the Filmation animation studio. He worked on several popular Saturday-morning cartoon series there. He later worked on the adult animated movie Fritz the Cat in 1972. After that, he returned to DePatie-Freleng. He animated there until the late 1970s.

In the 1980s, Norman McCabe went back to Warner Bros.. He worked on new animation for Warner cartoon movies. He also helped teach new animators. He showed them how to work with the classic Warner cartoon characters. His last job was on the TV series Tazmania and Animaniacs. He helped time the animation for these shows.

Later Life and Legacy

Norman McCabe passed away in January 2006. He was 94 years old. He was the last director from the "golden age" of Warner Bros. Cartoons to die.

Today, Norman McCabe's work is not as well known. This is partly because he directed black and white cartoons. Some of his older cartoons, especially those from World War II like The Ducktators and Tokio Jokio, contain content that is not acceptable today. Norman McCabe himself felt a bit embarrassed by some of his old black and white cartoons. However, he was highly respected by many people in the animation world.