Hey, did AWN report Norm McCabe's death? I don't see it anywhere. If not, that's a damn shame. He was one of the most overlooked artists of all time. For a site dedicated to animation to overlook his obituary is just pathetic.
Well, if AWN did indeed choke this time, I'll correct things with this post. :p
Norm McCabe passed away January 18, 2006. He was 94.
Norm McCabe was the last of the original directors during Looney Tunes' golden era to pass on. He took over Bob Clampett's unit when Bob was promoted to Tex Avery's unit after HE went to MGM. McCabe never achieved the same status as his fellow directors such as Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, or Friz Freleng, but he did direct some fine cartoons nonetheless. Some of his best are The Ducktators (c. 1942), Daffy's Southern Exposure (c. 1942), and The Impatient Patient (c. 1942).
He left Warner's to fight in WWII. Unfortunately, there was no job for him at the studio when the war was over. So, he took many other jobs at little studios here and there until the oppurtunity to return to Warner's came up again. That didn't happen until around 1965, and by then the original studio had shut down and had reopened under the influence of Friz Freleng's new production company DePatie Freleng. Norm McCabe worked as an animator under the Warner's umbrella pretty much from that point on working all the way to the early 90's on Tiny Toon Adventures as well as Pinky and the Brain. (He also did some animation on Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the Cat along with other Looney Tunes animators).
In 2000, he even received the Windsor McCay Award that the Annie's which I believe is somewhat of a lifetime achievement award in the fied of animation.
Truly one of the greatest artists of our time. He will be missed.
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