Chuck Jones Brought Cartoons to Life

In 1961, when I was 12 years old and dreaming of a career in cartoon animation, I had the privilege of meeting my idol, Chuck Jones, in his office on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank (“Wabbits and Opera,” editorial, Feb. 26). He graciously took time out to give me a brief tour and sent me off with words of encouragement and a few original cels. Alas, the cels have long since disappeared, but that afternoon has stayed with me.

Jones was incredibly modest about his long and brilliant career. He gave his characters all the credit--he called Bugs Bunny “that Oscar-winning rabbit!” But it was Chuck Jones who gave the great Warner Bros. cartoons their sense of humor.

Ted Herrmann

Los Angeles

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It is ironic that your editorial would rely so heavily on what Jones did not create: the words of the classic cartoons “Rabbit Seasoning” and “What’s Opera, Doc?” The famous “pronoun trouble” exchange between Bugs and Daffy Duck and the libretto of the Wagnerian spoof were, like the language and story lines of so many other “Chuck Jones cartoons,” the work of writer Michael Maltese.

Richard Corliss’ tribute to Jones in this week’s Time magazine characterized Maltese as Jones’ partner, and Jones himself was, according to Charles Solomon’s tribute in The Times, always ready to credit Maltese’s contributions. Why then did The Times fall into the auteurist trap of thinking that the director did everything?

Richard Leary

Los Angeles