Burness was born in
Los Angeles. His animation career began in 1930, working for
Romer Grey and
Ted Eshbaugh on
Goofy Goat Antics and the unreleased
Binko the Cub. In 1933 he transferred to
Van Beuren Studios, where he animated the film adaption of
The Little King. Burness transferred to
Harman-Ising in 1936 and to the
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio in 1938. He animated
Tom and Jerry at MGM until 1947. Burness worked briefly for
Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1948 and 1949, animating a number of
Looney Tunes and
Merrie Melodies shorts, under
Chuck Jones,
Friz Freleng and
Robert McKimson. He left Warner Bros. to become a director for
United Productions of America, animating the popular
Mr. Magoo series. Two of his Mr. Magoo shorts,
When Magoo Flew (1954) and ''Mr. Magoo's Puddle Jumper'' (1956), won Academy Awards for Best Short Subject. In 1958, Burness left UPA to join
Jay Ward Productions as director of
Rocky and his Friends and
Hoppity Hooper. While working for Jay Ward he co-wrote and was hired to direct
1001 Arabian Nights, a feature film featuring Mr. Magoo. Following disputes with producer
Stephen Bosustow, he left the project and was replaced by
Jack Kinney. ==References==