Eddie Selzer

Edward "Eddie" Selzer (January 12th, 1893 - February 22nd, 1970) was an American producer best known for succeeding Leon Schlesinger as the studio-head of Looney Tunes. Unlike his predecessor, Eddie received no onscreen credit as producer. Much of what is known about Eddie's life comes from Chuck Jones' biography, Chuck Amuck: The Life & Times Of An Animated Cartoonist, in which the director indicates that the producer was "an interfering bore with no sentiment or appreciation towards animated cartoons." Some historians also claim that Friz Freleng nearly quit after an argument with Eddie, who didn't think that pairing Sylvester The Cat with Tweety Bird was an ideal decision. The argument culminated when Friz reported slammed his drawing-pencil on Eddie's desk, telling the producer that if he thought he knew so much about cartoons, then he should do the work instead. Eddie backed off on the issue and apologized to Friz later that evening, which was a wise decision for 2 reasons: 1. Warner Brothers didn't lose a talented director like Friz Freleng; and 2. Tweetie Pie, the very 1st Tweety/Sylvester cartoon, went on to win Warner Brothers' 1st Academy Award For Best Short Film (1947), with the duo proving to be one of the most endearing of Looney Tunes pairs. According to other historians, Eddie also forbade Robert McKimson from creating any future cartoons featuring The Tasmanian Devil upon seeing the character's debut appearance and declaring him to be too "grotesque" to recur. It is believed that Eddie changed his mind only upon being informed by Jack Warner that Tasmanian was a massive hit with audiences. Eddie retired in 1957 and was replaced by John Burton as the head of Warner Brothers Cartoons.