NAMES IN THE NEWS : Cartoonist Honored by His Fans

At age 83, Friz Freleng, the man who helped create a stable of Warner Bros. cartoon characters, could have long ago said, “That’s all folks!” and retired.

But Freleng is still busy tickling America’s funny bone.

Freleng was honored by about 60 cartoon buffs over the weekend at a reception sponsored by the Kansas City Museum in conjunction with a cartoon animation exhibit.

Freleng, a Kansas City native, said his latest project is a pilot television series starring one of his most popular characters, the Pink Panther.

He is on the Warner payroll as an adviser to the pilot, which he said CBS hopes to launch this fall. The combination live action and animated show revolves around a police officer and his feline companion, the Pink Panther.

Among his other creations were Porky Pig, named after two chubby childhood playmates; Yosemite Sam; Sylvester the Cat; Tweety Bird, and Speedy Gonzales. He was among those who contributed to the creation of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.