Jones often recalled a small child who, when told that Jones drew Bugs Bunny, replied: “He doesn’t draw Bugs Bunny. He draws pictures of Bugs Bunny.” His point was that the child thought of the character as being alive and believable, which was, in Jones’ belief, the key to true character animation.
Born on September 21, 1912, in Spokane, Washington, Jones grew up in Hollywood, where he observed the talents of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton and worked occasionally as a child extra in Mac Sennett comedies. After graduating from Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles (now California Institute of the Arts), Jones drew pencil portraits for a dollar each on Olvera Street. Then, in 1932, he got his first job in the fledgling animation industry as a cel washer for former Disney animator, Ubbe Iwerks. It was at Iwerks Productions that he met Dorothy Webster, whom he married in 1932.
In 1936, Jones was hired by Friz Freleng as an animator for the Leon Schlesinger Studio (later sold to Warner Bros.). Jones admired and revered Freleng for the rest of his life, saying, “No one except Tex Avery had as perfect a sense of timing as did Friz Freleng.” In 1937, his daughter, Linda, was born, and in 1938 he directed his first film, The Night Watchman.
He worked with and for directors Tex Avery and Bob Clampett until the early forties, when they moved on to other studios. For the remainder of his years at Warner Bros., he worked with directors Freleng and Robert McKimson. He remained at Warner Bros. until the studio was closed in 1962.
During those years, sometimes referred to later as the “Golden Years” of Warner Bros. animation, Jones produced what are considered some of the most enduring cartoons ever made; most of them still enjoying worldwide recognition daily.
When Warner Bros. closed, and after a very short stay at the Disney Studios, Jones moved to MGM Studios, where he created new episodes for the Tom and Jerry cartoon series. While there, in addition to directing The Phantom Tollbooth and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Jones directed the Academy Award-winning film, The Dot and the Line.
Jones established his own production company, Chuck Jones Enterprises, in 1962, and produced nine half-hour animation films for television, including Rudyard Kipling’s Tikki Tavi, Mowgli's Brothers, and The White Seal, plus George Selden’s classic, The Cricket in Times Square.
After the death of his first wife, Jones met and married the love of his life, Marian Dern, who remained his best friend, lover, and companion until he passed away in 2002.
In the late seventies, Jones and his daughter, Linda, pioneered a continuing art business featuring limited-edition images created by Jones depicting scenes from his most enduring cartoons. He continued to support his daughter’s business, generously making appearances and creating drawings and paintings, in addition to signing countless editions of images that continue to delight collectors and fans worldwide.
One of his films, the Wagnerian mini epic, What's Opera, Doc?, was inducted into the National Film Registry for being “among the most culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant films of our time.”
He also produced, directed, and wrote the screenplays for Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a television classic, as well as the feature-length film, The Phantom Tollbooth.
In recent years, Jones’ work has been honored at film festivals and museums throughout the world, including a one-man retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. His autobiography, Chuck Amuck, appeared in 1989. Chuck Reducks, his follow-up to the first book, was published two years later.
In 1999, Jones established the Chuck Jones Foundation, designed to recognize, support and inspire continued excellence in art and the art of classic character animation. After his death, his family members changed the name to Chuck Jones Center for Creativity and expanded the mission to inspire creativity in people of all ages, especially children, by using his body of work.
Director Peter Bogdanovich once explained the enduring appeal of Jones’ work: “It remains, like all good fables and only the best art, both timeless and universal.”
After hearing that Jones had died, a four-year-old child asked her mother, between sobs, “Does this mean the bunny won’t be in the barber chair any more?”
The answer was, “No, the bunny will be in the barber chair forever.”