The Pink Panther(TM) is the movie industry's hippest cartoon star. Film audiences of all ages, sophisticated cinemaohiles and drive-in denizens alike love the high style, clever humor and colorful adventures of this pink-inked feline.

Initally created by Friz Freleng for the opening title sequence of Blake Edward's, 1964 comedy farce THE PINK PANTHER, the cartoon character received reviews that were as good or better than the film itself! The new star had obviously clawed his mark, and a series of short subjects was immediately put info production.

Friz Freleng was the perfect man for the job. Having begun his career in the same small Kansas City studio where Walt Disney got his start in animation, Freleng moved to California in the late 1920s. He was soon helping fellow Kansas City animatios Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising start up the series of "Looney Tunes"(TM) for Warner Brothers release. With the exception of one year with M-G-M in the mid-1930s, Freleng was a Warner Brothers stalwart, becoming Senior Director and supervising now-classic cartoons staring Bugs Bunny(TM), Daffy Duck(TM), and Tweety(TM) for over 30 years. Freleng also directed the first cartoons starring Sylvester(TM), Porky Pig(TM) and Yosemite Sam(TM), ultimately winning four Academy Awards® for the studio.

In an illustrious career that has spanned 63 years, Friz Frelengwas involved in nearly all aspects of animation. As a creator, director, and producer, he created or contributed to many of the most memorable and award-winning cartoons ever produced.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Freleng moved to Hollywood as Head Animator of Warner Bros.' "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" cartoons. He animated the first Warner Bros. cartoon ever release, "Sinkin' In the Bathtub" (1930) and directed his first cartoon, "Bosko in Dutch" (1933).

Freleng remained at Warner Bros. for 33 years. During this time, he was a major developer of Warner Bros. characters, producing and directing over 300 cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and others. In addition he created Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, and Sylvester. Clearly evident in all of Freleng's cartoons was a unique talent for synchronizing the visual gag and the accompanying background music. While at Warner Bros., Freleng was honored with Academy Awards for the four shorts: "Tweetie Pie" (1947), Speedy Gonzales" (1955), "Birds Anonymous" (1957) and "Knighty Knight Bugs" (1958); and he was nominated for seven others.

In 1963, Freleng teamed up with David Depatie to form DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, which produced shorts for Warner Bros. and became the leading independent production company in the areas of animated film production, television specials and commercials.

In 1980, Freleng became a Senior Executive Producer where he produced three feature- length films incorporating his "classic" animated shorts along with new animated sequences: "The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie" (1981), "Bugs Bunny's 1001 Rabbit Tale?' (1982), and "Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island" (1983).

Freleng was the recipient of many prestigious awards: in 1981, he was honored by both The American Film Institute and the British Film Institute, with major retrospectives of his work. Also that year, the Chicago International Film Festival presented him with their Hugo Award for his lifetime contribution to the animation/film industry. In 1982, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences paid tribute to him at a gala event that featured nine of his most famous cartoons. In 1985, the New York Museum of Modern Art honored Freleng as part of their Golden Anniversary Salute to Warner Bros. Animation. In August, 1992, Freleng was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Friz continued to be a major contributor to the art of animation until his passing in May of 1995. Cities worldwide continue to honor Freleng with film festivals, museum exhibitions and retrospectives

When Warner Brothers shut down its animation department in 1962, Freleng teamed up with cartoon producer David DePatie to make animated commercials and industrial films. At this time, directory Blake Edwards - himself an aficionado of the classic Warner Brothers cartoons and silent comedies - approched Freleng about providing animation for the opening moments of his next film.

David DePatie recalls: "We got together with some of our guys and came up with probably 100 to 150 different illustrations of the Panther. I remember very well that we took them over to Blake's office and spread them all out and that he knew exactly what he wanted. He went right over, pointed to one of them and said 'that's the guy!'"

"Then they asked us to do a storyboard," remembers Freleng. "They just flipped when they saw it! When we finally got it onto the screen and they previewed it, the comment from the press was that the titles were better than the picture."

The cool contemporary style of the design and graphics (co-credited to Hawley Pratt), the distinctive theme music from Henry Mancini, and the pantomime comedy were a complete departure from the cheaply made theatrical cartoons created by their competitors. The first Panther cartoon, THE PINK PHINK, , was honored with an Academy Award®. "We made them for the theaters, and we made them for adults really," says Freleng. "They didn't appeal to children; they're a little too sophisticated. Adults are the people who are really the fans."

Though the theatrical cartoons continued for almost twenty years, it is the earlier entries - those directed by Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt - which are considerd classics. Freleng and Pratt placed the Panther in many offbeat situations: spoofing 60s trends such as secret agents in PINKFINGER and youth culture in PSYCHEDELIC PINK ; exploring musical thems in PINK, PLUNK, PLINK and romping into the surreal in PINK PUNCH. However the most entertaining of all the shorts are those featuring "the little man," who can turn up as anyone - including a safecracker in DIAL 'P' FOR PINK and a drunk in PINK PAJAMAS.

When Edwards directed an Inspector Clouseau folow-up the next year, a similar situation occured. The DePatie/Freleng opening title for A SHOT IN THE DARK, (1964) brought demands for yet another theatrical series. The resulting group of witty and distinctive cartoons, entitled THE INSPECTOR, featured the voice talents of comedian Pat Harrington as both the not-so-clever Inspector and his faithful assistant Deaux-Deaux.

The Pink Panther live-action feature films continued into the 70s, 80s, and 90s, each beginning with lavish animated opening titles.