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Birth/Death

Birth: Aug 7, 1903, Kansas City
Death: July 18 1992, Newport Beach

Occupation/Title

Director, Producer, Actor, Writer, and Cinematographer.

Bio Summary

Early Life/Family

Education/Training

Career Outline

Rudolf started out as a journeyman animator in early 1920’s in the Kansas Disney Studio.?Career Outline? Rudolf, along with friend Hugh Harman started working at the first studio ran by Walt Disney in early 1920 in Rudolf’s home town, Kansas City. They were working on Disney’s Laugh-o-grams in 1922. But Disney went bankrupt and moved to california to start his new studio and Rudolf and Hugh stayed in Kansas city to start their own studio. This didn’t pan out so they both ended up on California working on Disney’s Alice and Oswald cartoons. During this Time, Charles Mintz took over distribution of Disney’s Cartoons and goes behind Walt’s back and hires out Rudolf Ising, Hugh Harman, as well as most all other animators. Mintz essentially stole Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and the studio from him. George Winkler, brother-in-law of Mintz ran the new studio that did the Oswald cartoons. Eventually Universal pictures, who owned the rights to Oswald, started Walter Lantz Studio’s and put Ising out of work.
Ising and Harman got together and created Bosko, a black stereotype cartoon character. They created and copyrighted Bosko in 1928 while still at disney. But when Walter Lantz studios took over and gave the rights of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Universal, Ising and Harman and Firz Freleng made the first Bosko cartoon, The Talk Ink Kid. This was the first sound cartoon with dialogue and it had Bosko interacting with a live action animator, Rudolf Ising. They showed this to Leon Schlesinger of Warner Bros. in 1930 who hired Rudolf and Hugh to do Bosko in a new series of cartoons called Looney Tunes. This new studio did well and when that series of cartoons became a sucess, Ising oversaw the companion to Looney Tunes called Merrie Melodies. These films were made to promote the Warner Music catalog. With animation as good as the Disney Studios and catchy tunes, the first Bosko cartoon in 1930, Sinkin in the Tub, was a huge hit.
By 1933 things began to dissolve for Ising and Harman. Ising and Harman left Warner Bros. over budget conflicts. They asked for more money to improve their films and were rejected. Because they still had the rights to Bosko, they took him to MGM Studios in 1934 and started more Bosko shorts. Ising was directing one-shot stories called Happy Harmonies (a pun on the Harmon-Ising, or “harmonising”) that were based on music but had weak or no plots, such as The Calico Dragon (1935). These cartoons ran greatly over budget and by 1937 MGM fired them both. Ising, along with Harman, did freelance work and in 1938 directed Merbabies for Disney. Disney went back on a deal for guaranteeing two other Harman and Ising pictures, so they sold the cartoon to MGM who hired them back. During this time, Ising created Barney Bear, a sleepy cartoon character loosley based on himself.
Ising quit the studio and joined the military in 1941. He was a major in the 18th Air Force Base Unit (First Motion Picture Unit) where he produced war effort films. After the War, Ising again teamed up with Harman and together they made industrial and commercial films.?Comments On Style??Influences?Lutz Book, Paul Terry films?Personality??Anecdotes?Ising was well know for falling asleep on the job, providing inspiration for his MGM character Barney Bear.?

Comments On Style

Influences

Personality

Anecdotes

Miscellaneous

Filmography

Directing titles

High Up (1928)
Fiery Fireman (1928)
Homeless Homer (1928)
Sinkin’ in the Bathtub (1930)
Congo Jazz (1930)
Hold Anything (1930)
Box Car Blues (1930)
The Booze Hangs High (1930)
Big Man from the North (1931)
Ain’t Nature Grand! (1931)
Ups ‘n Downs (1931)
Dumb Patrol (1931)
Yodeling Yokels (1931)
Bosko’s Holiday (1931) (uncredited)
The Tree’s Knees (1931)
Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931)
Lady, Play Your Mandolin! (1931)
One More Time (1931)
You Don’t Know What You’re Doin’! (1931)
Bosko’s Soda Fountain (1931)
Hittin’ the Trail for Hallelujah Land (1931)
Red-Headed Baby (1931)
Pagan Moon (1932)
Freddy the Freshman (1932)
Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee (1932)
Goopy Geer (1932)
It’s Got Me Again! (1932)
Moonlight for Two (1932)
The Queen Was in the Parlor (1932)
I Love a Parade (1932)
Bosko’s Store (1932)
You’re Too Careless with Your Kisses! (1932)
I Wish I Had Wings (1932)
A Great Big Bunch of You (1932)
Three’s a Crowd (1932)
The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives (1933)
One Step Ahead of My Shadow (1933)
Young and Healthy (1933)
The Organ Grinder (1933)
Wake Up the Gypsy in Me (1933)
I Like Mountain Music (1933/I)
Shuffle Off to Buffalo (1933)
Cubby’s World Flight (1933)
We’re in the Money (1933)
The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon (1933)
The Discontented Canary (1934)
The Old Pioneer (1934)
Toyland Broadcast (1934)
When the Cat’s Away (1935)
The Lost Chick (1935)
The Calico Dragon (1935)
The Chinese Nightingale (1935)
Barnyard Babies (1935)
The Old Plantation (1935)
Honeyland (1935)
Alias St. Nick (1935)
The Early Bird and the Worm (1936)
Two Little Pups (1936)
The Pups’ Picnic (1936)
Little Cheeser (1936)
The Pups’ Christmas (1936) (uncredited)
The Hound and the Rabbit (1937)
The Wayward Pups (1937)
Little Buck Cheeser (1937)
The Little Bantamweight (1938)
Merbabies (1938)
The Little Goldfish (1939)
The Bear That Couldn’t Sleep (1939)
One Mother’s Family (1939)
The Fishing Bear (1940)
Puss Gets the Boot (1940) (uncredited)
Home on the Range (1940)
Swing Social (1940)
The Milky Way (1940)
Romeo in Rhythm (1940)
The Homeless Flea (1940)
Mrs. Ladybug (1940)
The Prospecting Bear (1941)
Dance of the Weed (1941)
The Rookie Bear (1941)
The Flying Bear (1941)
The First Swallow (1942)
The Bear and the Beavers (1942)
Little Gravel Voice (1942)
Bats in the Belfry (1942)
Wild Honey (1942) ?… aka How to Get Along Without a Ration Book
Barney Bear’s Victory Garden (1942)
Bah Wilderness (1943)
The Boy and the Wolf (1943)
The Uninvited Pest (1943) (uncredited)
Private Snafu Presents Seaman Tarfu in the Navy (1946)
Good Wrinkles (1951)

Producer – filmography

Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid (1929) (producer) ?
Sinkin’ in the Bathtub (1930) (producer) ?
Congo Jazz (1930) (producer)
Hold Anything (1930) (producer)
Box Car Blues (1930) (producer)
The Booze Hangs High (1930) (producer)
Big Man from the North (1931) (producer)
Ain’t Nature Grand! (1931) (producer)
Ups ‘n Downs (1931) (producer)
Dumb Patrol (1931) (producer)
Yodeling Yokels (1931) (producer)
Bosko’s Holiday (1931) (producer)
The Tree’s Knees (1931) (producer)
Bosko Shipwrecked! (1931) (producer)
Bosko the Doughboy (1931) (producer)
Bosko’s Soda Fountain (1931) (producer)
Bosko’s Fox Hunt (1931) (producer)
Bosko and Honey (1932) (producer)
Bosko at the Zoo (1932) (producer)
Battling Bosko (1932) (producer)
Big-Hearted Bosko (1932) (producer) ?… aka Bosko’s Orphans
Bosko’s Party (1932) (producer)
Bosko and Bruno (1932) (producer)
Bosko’s Dog Race (1932) (producer)
Bosko at the Beach (1932) (producer)
Bosko’s Store (1932) (producer)
Bosko the Lumberjack (1932) (producer)
Ride Him, Bosko! (1932) (producer)
Bosko the Drawback (1932) (producer)
Bosko’s Dizzy Date (1932) (producer) ?… aka Bosko and Honey (video title)
Bosko’s Woodland Daze (1932) (producer)
Bosko in Dutch (1933) (producer)
Bosko in Person (1933) (producer)
Bosko the Speed King (1933) (producer)
Bosko’s Knight-Mare (1933) (producer)
Bosko the Sheep-Herder (1933) (producer)
Beau Bosko (1933) (producer)
Bosko’s Picture Show (1933) (producer)
Bosko the Musketeer (1933) (producer)
Bosko’s Mechanical Man (1933) (producer)
The Discontented Canary (1934) (producer)
The Old Pioneer (1934) (producer)
Tale of the Vienna Woods (1934) (producer)
Bosko’s Parlor Pranks (1934) (producer)
Toyland Broadcast (1934) (producer)
Hey, Hey Fever (1935) (producer)
When the Cat’s Away (1935) (producer)
The Calico Dragon (1935) (producer)
The Chinese Nightingale (1935) (producer)
Poor Little Me (1935) (producer)
Good Little Monkeys (1935) (producer)
Barnyard Babies (1935) (producer)
The Old Plantation (1935) (producer)
Honeyland (1935) (producer)
Alias St. Nick (1935) (producer)
Run, Sheep, Run (1935) (producer)
Bottles (1936) (producer)
The Early Bird and the Worm (1936) (producer)
The Old Mill Pond (1936) (producer)
Two Little Pups (1936) (producer)
The Old House (1936) (producer)
The Pups’ Picnic (1936) (producer)
To Spring (1936) (producer)
Little Cheeser (1936) (producer)
The Pups’ Christmas (1936) (producer)
Circus Daze (1937) (producer)
Swing Wedding (1937) (producer)
Bosko’s Easter Eggs (1937) (producer)
Little Ol’ Bosko and the Pirates (1937) (producer) ?… aka Bosko and the Pirates
The Hound and the Rabbit (1937) (producer)
The Wayward Pups (1937) (producer)
Little ol’ Bosko and the Cannibals (1937) (producer)
Little Buck Cheeser (1937) (producer)
Little ol’ Bosko in Bagdad (1938) (producer)
Pipe Dreams (1938) (producer)
The Little Bantamweight (1938) (producer)
The Bear That Couldn’t Sleep (1939) (producer)
Puss Gets the Boot (1940) (producer) ?
Bats in the Belfry (1942) (producer)
Chips Off the Old Block (1942) (producer)
Private Snafu Presents Seaman Tarfu in the Navy (1946) (producer)
Tom and Jerry” (1965) TV Series (producer) (uncredited) ?

Miscellaneous Crew – filmography?(1960s) (1930s) (1920s)

Little Red Riding Hood (1922/II) (animator) ?
The Four Musicians of Bremen (1922) (animator)
Jack and the Beanstalk (1922) (animator)
Goldie Locks and the Three Bears (1922) (animator)
Puss in Boots (1922) (animator)
Cinderella (1922/I) (animator)
Alice’s Wonderland (1923) (animator)
Plane Crazy (1928) (animator)
Alice in Wonderland (1933) (animator) (segment “The Walrus and the Carpenter”) (uncredited) ?
Tom and Jerry” (1965) TV Series (animation director) (uncredited) ?

Actor – filmography?(1930s) (1920s)

Alice’s Wonderland (1923) ?
Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid (1929) (uncredited) …. Cartoonist
Ride Him, Bosko! (1932) …. Cartoonist?

Writer – filmography
“Tom and Jerry” (1965) TV Series (writer) (uncredited) ?

Cinematographer – filmography
Alice’s Wonderland (1923)

Honors

Academy Award “Short Subject Cartoons” for Its Got Me Again! of the Merrie Melodies series 1932
Academy Award “Short Subject Cartoons” for The MIlky Way 1940?
Annie Award: Winsor McCay Award 1976

Related Links

Bibliographic References

imbd.com/name/nm0411208
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harman_and_Ising
http://bosko.toonzone.net/creators/harman-ising/
http://members.aol.com/EOCostello/i.html
http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Harman/ interview_hugh_harman.htm
Animation Art, by Jerry Beck. Published by Harper Design. pgs 20, 42, 43, 62, 64, 65

BIO-AAA-029

Contributors To This Listing

Josh Reed

To make additions or corrections to this listing, please click on COMMENTS below…

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