Paul Julian

Paul Julian (born Paul Hull Husted on June 25, 1914 – September 5, 1995) was an American artist and designer most noted for his work as a background artist for Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes cartoon shorts. He worked primarily for director Friz Freleng's Sylvester and Tweety Bird shorts. His warm and tightly-cropped urban scenes were also featured early in his career in the 1946 Bugs Bunny short Baseball Bugs, and in the crime syndicate-themed Daffy Duck short Golden Yeggs. Born in Illinois, Julian also provided the Road Runner's "Beep-Beep!" There is confusion over whether the sound made is "beep beep" or "meep meep". In, the sound is clearly labeled "beep beep", but the sound is heard by most as "meep meep". The interviews included in the DVD commentary were recorded by animation historian Michael Barrier for his book Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. Julian first made the sound on the Warner Bros. parking lot. He imitated a car horn, as a lighthearted way to get people out of his way when he was in a hurry. Julian recorded several versions, and editor Treg Brown made more versions through speeding some up, and looping some together. These recordings were ultimately used for the Road Runner cartoons. Julian directed two animated films himself, "Baby Boogie" (1955), and the nightmarish "The Hangman", (1964) and was a production designer for the 1978 anime fantasy Winds of Change (film), based on Ovid's Metamorphoses. He died in 1995 in Van Nuys, California.