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Dave Monahan

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David Lloyd George Monahan[1] (3 March 1918 – 27 May 2003) was one of the writers to work at Warner Bros. Cartoons. His initial tenure at Warner Brothers spanned the period from 1938 to 1942, during which he toiled on several of the early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies entries for Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny.

It was said that Monahan fit in perfectly with the rest of the wacky crew at 'Termite Terrace', helping to devise practical jokes, whenever possible, "to relieve the boredom". According to Michael Maltese, who would took over the mantle of leading story writer after Monahan's departure, included once setting fire to the studio "just for the hell of it, just to see if it burned. And it wouldn't burn."

He returned for a brief spell in 1947, mainly working under Arthur Davis' unit as screenwriter. He announced his permanent exit from Warner Brothers with "I'm going to the dentist", before driving halfway across the United States to secure a job elsewhere.

Monahan latterly worked as a writer and director of commercials.

Life and career[]

Dave in the 1960s

Dave in the 1960s

Monahan was born in San Bernardino, California where he lived for eight years and started his career in 1927 working as a cast member for the Our Gang shorts that were produced by Hal Roach in which he appeared in two shorts "Baby Brother"[2] and "Chicken Feed"[3] which were both released in 1927. In 1937 two years after Monahan graduated from high school, he started working for Leon Schlesinger Productions as a gag writer. Monahan worked as a writer under the supervision of both Tex Avery and Chuck Jones the latter for which he worked for following Tedd Pierce's departure to Max Fleischer's studio in Miami. Following Avery's suspension from the studio in 1941, Monahan went to work briefly for Friz Freleng before he left the following year to serve as a sergeant in the U.S. Army (his final two cartoons that he wrote in 1942, "Saps in Chaps" and "Lights Fantastic", both had his name credited onscreen as "Sgt. Dave Monahan", reflecting on this). After the war ended, Monahan returned to the studio in 1947 working for Arthur Davis' unit and wrote four cartoons before he left for the Screen Gems cartoon studio. Monahan later worked as a writer and director of commercials. He also directed the live action sequences of an animated feature, The Phantom Tollbooth (1970);[4] the animated sequences were directed by Chuck Jones and Abe Levitow.

Death[]

Monahan, as a lifelong smoker, died from emphysema at the age of 85.[4]

Looney Works[]

References[]

  1. ↑ https://www.lordheath.com/Dave_Monahan.html
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080509062035/http://theluckycorner.com/rps/061.html
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080509123145/http://theluckycorner.com/rps/062.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20080509164545/http://www.reelserviceshawaii.com/mydad/
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