Warner Bros. Cartoons Leon Schlesinger was the production executive of
Leon Schlesinger Productions until his retirement in 1944 when
Warner Bros. Pictures bought the animation department and renamed it to
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc.
Eddie Selzer then became the production executive until 1958. In 1962, with the decline in moviegoing, DePatie was informed that the cartoon studio was going to be shut down. Shortly afterwards when Warner Bros. Cartoons closed down in 1963, significant production changes occurred for new Warner Bros. cartoons produced by the newly formed
DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. DePatie received on-screen production credit and cartoon director
Friz Freleng was promoted to producer.
Chuck Jones left for
Tom and Jerry theatricals and television adaptations. Character appearances were limited to
Daffy Duck,
Sylvester the Cat,
Speedy Gonzales, and
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, with one time appearances of
Granny,
Porky Pig,
The Goofy Gophers, and
Witch Hazel.
DePatie–Freleng Enterprises While he held his production position at Warner Bros., DePatie originally received no on-screen credit, similar to his two predecessors after Leon Schlesinger retired in 1944. In 1963, he began to receive on-screen credit with new producer (and former director)
Friz Freleng. Around this time, they formed
DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, also known as DePatie–Freleng Entertainment, and known on-screen as "DFE Films". Due to the success of the Pink Panther shorts, or in Art Leonardi's words the "Pink Power", they made title sequences for various TV shows, including
I Dream of Jeannie and various commercials.
The Pink Panther DePatie and Freleng animated opening segments for some of
Pink Panther feature films. In these, a Pink Panther appeared in the opening credits as the villain. Music was scored by
Henry Mancini.
The character would appear in many animated shorts
of his own (no longer as the villain) due to his critical acclaim in the title sequence, also produced by DePatie–Freleng. When these shorts aired on television, they were paired with backup segments. Music was composed by
William Lava,
Walter Greene, Doug Goodwin and David DePatie's son Steve DePatie. These cartoons were directed by many people including
Arthur Davis,
Robert McKimson,
Hawley Pratt, and
Gerry Chiniquy.
Dr. Seuss television specials Chuck Jones was producing Dr. Seuss specials for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, until MGM shut down its
animation studio. DePatie–Freleng picked up production of
The Cat in the Hat. Music was composed by
Dean Elliott for four Dr. Seuss specials,
Hawley Pratt directed three specials, and
Maurice Noble was production designer for three specials. Chuck Jones co-produced with
Ted Geisel while DePatie and Freleng were executive producers for
The Cat in the Hat only. Since Jones was
working for ABC, he stopped working on Dr. Seuss specials. Freleng and Ted Geisel became producer but were credited separately. DePatie was the only one credited as executive producer. Music was scored by
Joe Raposo for three later specials. DePatie–Freleng's last Dr. Seuss special was
The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, which was around the time that DFE became part of
Cadence Industries, and rebranded as
Marvel Productions.
Marvel Productions DePatie and some of his production staff worked for Marvel Productions. He was an executive producer. He left the company in 1984, and then briefly worked for
Hanna-Barbera, producing
Pink Panther and Sons, before retiring. == Death ==