20 Facts About Leon Schlesinger

Leon Schlesinger was an American film producer who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros.

Leon Schlesinger was a distant relative of the Warner Brothers.

Leon Schlesinger was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 20,1884.

Leon Schlesinger then secured a contract with the studio to produce its brand-new Looney Tunes series, and he signed animators Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising to create these cartoons with their Bosko character as the star.

In 1932 and 1933 Leon Schlesinger produced six B-movie Westerns for Warners starring John Wayne.

Leon Schlesinger spent under $30,000 each because he did not need elaborate action sequences.

Leon Schlesinger was a shrewd businessman with a keen eye for talent.

Leon Schlesinger wooed animators away from other studios, including some of those who had once worked for Harman and Ising.

One of these was Friz Freleng, whom Leon Schlesinger promoted to oversee production of Looney Tunes and to develop the sister series, Merrie Melodies.

Leon Schlesinger's recruiting of Robert McKimson, Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, and Frank Tashlin further increased the quality of the studio's output.

Leon Schlesinger later added Carl Stalling and Mel Blanc, and collectively these men created such famous characters as Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny.

Leon Schlesinger largely took a "hands off" approach to the animation unit, allowing his directors freedom to create what they wished, provided that the resulting films were successful.

Leon Schlesinger's animators worked in a dilapidated studio, and Schlesinger briefly shut down the studio in mid-1941 when unionized employees demanded a pay raise.

Leon Schlesinger farmed some of the Looney Tunes out to brother-in-law Ray Katz for tax breaks.

Leon Schlesinger appeared as himself in Freleng's short You Ought to Be in Pictures, one that combines live action with animation.

Leon Schlesinger remained head of the animation studio until 1944 when he sold his assets to Warner Bros.

Leon Schlesinger continued to market the characters and headed Warners's Theater Services unit.

Leon Schlesinger was an avid racehorse fan and was a director of the Western Harness Racing Association.

Leon Schlesinger died from a viral infection on Christmas Day, 1949.

Leon Schlesinger is interred in the Beth Olam Mausoleum inside the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.