Biography for
Hugh Harman More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

31 August 1903, Pagosa Springs, Colorado, USA

Date of Death

25 November 1982, Chatsworth, California, USA

Mini Biography

Hugh Harman was one of the pioneers of animation. While not a great animator, he was present during the early days. He began his work with Walt Disney in 1922, working on Disney's early Laugh-o-Gram toons. When that company went bankrupt, Harman and partner Rudolf Ising tried to start a new series based on the Arabian Nights, but were unable to obtain funding. Disney called them back when he began work for Charles Mintz, producing the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. After a dispute over pricing, Mintz forced out Disney and kept Harman and Ising on for another year, when they in turn were forced out (and replaced by a young Walter Lantz). Harman, Ising, and a few other ex-Disney animators put together a pilot short, "Bosko the Talkink Kid", which was used by producer Leon Schlesinger to obtain a contract with Warner Brothers' studios to produce animated cartoons. Harman and Ising started the Loony Toons and Merrie Melodies cartoons, and produced them for several years. After another argument over money (this time with Schlesinger), H&I left Warner Brothers for MGM in 1933. They produced "Happy Harmonies" for MGM until yet again they left over financial arrangements. After MGM, H&I formed their own studio, but this was not a success. MGM hired the two men back, but by this time their faux-Disney style of animation was out of fashion, and they found themselves eclipsed by the works of Hanna and Barbara (whom they had hired) and Fred "Tex" Avery. In the 40s and 50s, both men did some work for Walter Lantz Studios.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Mike Konczewski

Trivia

Brother of animator Fred Harman.

Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising signed a contract on October 3, 1939 to provide the major portion of M-G-M's cartoon product for the 1939-1940 production season. The contract spanned seven years and under it, Harman and Ising each would head a unit producing nine pictures (cartoons) annually. Fred Quimby would continue as head of the Metro (cartooon) department, and Milt Gross would continue his work on the current (1938-1939) product.