This coming Monday (February 9) is the birthday of renowned animation historian Jerry Beck (born in 1955), so I have decided to do a special Saturday post on the many contributions he made to the Warner cartoons’ legacy, regarding history and home media releases (in the latter’s case, he contributed to every significant release as he wants to make sure ALL cartoons are available on physical media restored and uncut. And I can’t thank him enough for that even if I tried).

Books Written by Him:

1. “The Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons” (1989; got this for my 11th birthday on November 23, 2015; co-authored by music historian Will Friedwald)- This is how I found out what happens in every Warner cartoon I hadn’t seen prior as it contains a complete synopsis for all 1000 of them (albeit not as thoroughly detailed as this blog). For the rest of 2015 and practically all of 2016, I was basically obsessed with this thing and would read sections of it every day.

2. “I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat- Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety” (1991; got this for my 13th birthday on November 23, 2017)- While Tweety and Sylvester weren’t introduced until 1942 and 1945, respectively, this is still a very nice book about the duo. Contains the history of them together and apart, sections on significant directors, important characters they interacted with, and their entire filmography, with the synopses based off of what’s written about them in the Complete Illustrated Guide.

3. “The 50 Greatest Cartoons” (1994; got this for Christmas 2017)- This is a book that are what 1,000 animation professionals have determined are the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time, from across various studios. Obviously, the list is subjective, so many others (myself included) would believe that there are far more worthy contenders than the 50 in this book. The Warner cartoons included in this book are as follows, complete with where they are ranked:

   1. What’s Opera Doc (1957)

   2. Duck Amuck (1953)

   4. Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½th Century (1953)

   5. One Froggy Evening (1955)

   8. Porky in Wackyland (1938)

   12. Rabbit of Seville (1950)

   16. The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946)

   21. Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943)

   30. Rabbit Seasoning (1952)

   31. The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950)

   34. You Ought to Be in Pictures (1940)

   35. Ali Baba Bunny (1957)

   36. Feed the Kitty (1952)

   39. Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)

   45. Book Revue (1946)

   47. A Corny Concerto (1943)

   49. The Dover Boys (1942)

4. “Warner Bros. Animation Art” (1997; got this for Christmas 2016)- Another book that provides the history of the Warner cartoons and also contains sections on all the major directors (Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson, with Frank Tashlin, Arthur Davis, and Norm McCabe being mentioned in the “Additional Directors” section) and characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Sylvester and Tweety, Yosemite Sam, Michigan J. Frog, Taz, Speedy Gonzales, Pepe Le Pew, The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote, Foghorn Leghorn, and Marvin the Martian) and a gallery of all of the limited editions (pieces of collectible art that are either original or based off of a certain cartoon) that were drawn by the directors themselves (mostly Jones and Freleng as the ones from Clampett and McKimson were from Clampett’s daughter, Ruth Clampett, and McKimson’s son, Robert McKimson Jr.).

5. “Looney Tunes The Ultimate Visual Guide” (2003; got this for Valentine’s Day 2016)- A lavishly illustrated book, this is a fantastic way to introduce a young person to these cartoons in book form. Divided into sections and full of rare art, this is one I’ve always been proud to own (a similar book like this on the DePatie-Freleng cartoons also exists called “Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town”, which was published in 2005 and which I got in June 2021).

6. The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons (2010; got this for Christmas 2014)- similar to The 50 Greatest Cartoons in that the selections in this book were chosen by thousands of fans worldwide, this one is solely devoted to Warner Bros. cartoons. Since Beck felt that each cartoon deserves an equal amount of praise, he has the cartoons that made the book listed in alphabetical order instead of ranked (that’s how I like to list my favorites as well). Again, the list is subjective as there are some cartoons that I and others think are more deserving than others (when I get to the latest cartoon in MY 100, I plan to do a special Saturday post, where I list the 100 listed in this book, and then show you all MY ideal 100 greatest list. That won’t be until next January in 2027, as the latest cartoon on my list is from 1963). If you want to know the full list though, you can view it here.

Audio Commentaries by Beck on Various Home Media Releases:

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 1 (2003):

1. Canary Row (1950)

2. Canned Feud (1951)

3. Speedy Gonzales (1955)

4. Devil May Hare (1954)

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 (2004):

1. Gorilla My Dreams (1948)

2. Old Glory (1939)- with ink and paint artist Martha Sigall

3. Three Little Bops (1957)- with Stan Freberg

4. You Ought to Be in Pictures (1940)

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 (2005):

1. The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (1942)- with Martha Sigall

2. Hollywood Capers (1935)- with Martha Sigall

3. The Honey Mousers (1956)- with June Foray

4. I Haven’t Got a Hat (1935)

5. Birds Anonymous (1957)- with assistant (and later fully-fledged) animator Art Leonardi

6. Gonzales’ Tamales (1957)- with Art Leonardi

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 (2006):

1. 8 Ball Bunny (1950)

2. Rabbit Romeo (1957)- with June Foray

3. Puss N Booty (1943)

4. Cat Tails for Two (1953)- with Stan Freberg

5. Nuts and Volts (1964)- with Art Leonardi

6. Dough Ray Me-Ow (1948)

7. The Unexpected Pest (1956)- with June Foray

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 (2007):

1. Transylvania 6-5000 (1963)

2. Tom Thumb in Trouble (1940)

3. Bacall to Arms (1946)

4. Eatin’ on the Cuff (1942)

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 (2008):

1. My Favorite Duck (1942)

2. Shuffle Off to Buffalo (1933)

3. A Cartoonist’s Nightmare (1935)

Academy Awards Animation Collection: 15 Winners/26 Nominees (2008):

1. So Much for So Little (1949 animated documentary by Chuck Jones that won an Oscar)

2. Walky Talky Hawky (1946)

Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles The Chuck Jones Collection (2012):

1. Naughty But Mice (1939)

2. The Hypo Chondri Cat (1950)

Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 (2012):

1. Tabasco Road (1957)

2. Mexicali Shmoes (1959)

3. Porky’s Hare Hunt (1938)

4. Elmer’s Candid Camera (1940)

Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 3 (2014):

1. Honey’s Money (1962)- with June Foray

Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection (2020):

1. What’s Cookin Doc (1944)

2. Lumber Jack Rabbit (1954)

3. Knighty Knight Bugs (1958)

4. False Hare (1964)

Did I Interact with Him in Any Way?:

As a matter of fact, I did. In April 2021, my mom had encouraged me to see if I could reach out to Beck and ask him a few questions I might have had. Two of the three, he was happy to answer already:

1. I had asked if they actually did have any more Looney Tunes Super Stars DVDs planned since it had been rumored. He said he couldn’t recall if they did, but some of those did come out exactly the way he wanted them too (“Pepe Le Pew Zee Best of Zee Best” from 2011 in particular, since it contains Pepe’s entire filmography), while others were nothing like he wanted (“Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote Supergenius Hijinks” again from 2011, as he had wanted to get all of the remaining Jones Roadrunner cartoons out on this set, but instead Warner went for most of the Roadrunner cartoons from the DePatie-Freleng era as well as six post-Golden Age cartoons. While I personally am glad to have restored copies of the nine Golden Age cartoons on that set, we have fortunately gotten all of the Jones Roadrunner cartoons on subsequent sets, while the final two that had yet to be restored on disc- 1960’s “Fastest with the Mostest” and 1962’s “Zoom at the Top”- will be appearing on the upcoming Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault Volume 2).

2. The other one was regarding why the HBO Max restorations had such blatant errors like photoshopped titles and other amateurish edits that somehow got past quality control. The reason why is because those restorations were done overseas and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular Warner restoration team couldn’t do them, and these foreign artists didn’t know any better. Regardless, I am very glad they restored all those cartoons, as they look leaps and bounds better than what had been seen prior to 2020, and thankfully, the photoshopped titles have been the only thing wrong with them, for the most part.

The Post I Inspired:

The third question I had asked was what his least favorite Warner Bros. cartoons were. He used this as his post that following Monday on April 12, 2021, and I thought it was very cool that I was directly mentioned in that post (“I don’t usually build posts around email I get, but this past Saturday, reader Jonathan Adair sent in this question”). His least favorites, in three parts, are as follows:

“My Absolute Worsts”:

1. Good Night Elmer (1940; restored for HBO Max in 2020 and later put on Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault Volume 1 in 2025)

2. Tokio Jokio (1943; currently not restored due to racial content)

3. Corn Plastered (1951; restored for Looney Tunes Super Stars Porky and Friends Hilarious Ham in 2012)

4. Pre-Hysterical Hare (1958; restored for HBO Max in 2020 and later put on Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Volume 3 in 2024)

5. Dumb Patrol (1964; restored for HBO Max in 2020 and later put on Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Volume 3 in 2024)

“Not a Fan”:

1. Each Dawn I Crow (1949; restored for Looney Tunes Collector’s Vault Volume 1 in 2025)

2. Strife with Father (1950; restored for Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Volume 2 in 2012)

3. Hare Breadth Hurry (1963; restored for HBO Max in 2020 and later put on Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Volume 2 in 2023)

“Post-1964” (the Rudy Larriva Roadrunner cartoons to be exact):

1. Run Run Sweet Roadrunner (1965; currently on Tubi, albeit unrestored)

2. Tired and Feathered (1965; restored for HBO Max in 2020)

3. Boulder Wham (1965; this and cartoons 5-11 were restored for Looney Tunes Super Stars Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote Supergenius Hijinks in 2011)

4. Just Plane Beep (1965; restored for HBO Max in 2020)

5. Hairied and Hurried (1965)

6. Highway Runnery (1965)

7. Chaser on the Rocks (1965)

8. Shot and Bothered (1966)

9. Out and Out Rout (1966)

10. The Solid Tin Coyote (1966)

11. Clippety Clobbered (1966)