Ben Washam

American animator, noted for the crisp, angular style and sleek, fluid movement of his characters. A gent of considerable wit and good humour, Washam made significant contributions to Warner Brothers cartoons under the auspices of Chuck Jones between 1941 and 1963. Two of his trademarks were Bugs Bunny's notably wider cheeks and pointier teeth, plus the fist spinning to a blur to herald a fight. His characters also tended to nod while talking. One of the most famous scenes animated by Washam has Bugs shaving Elmer Fudd's head before making a salad on it in Rabbit of Seville (1950). Washam briefly joined Jones at MGM in the 60's to direct several episodes of 'Tom & Jerry' and later worked on commercial subjects for 'Rocky & Bullwinkle' creator Jay Ward. A skilled and natural pedagogue, he generously provided free weekly tuition to animation students at his home in Laurel Canyon for several years, beginning in 1967. Earlier, he had served two terms as president of the Screen Animators Guild (1948-1949), an experience which led to him to caustically observe that any meeting that did not end "with at least one fistfight in the parking lot was a dud!".