1961 in animation

Years in animation:	1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
Years:	1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964

Events in 1961 in animation.

Events

January

• January 24: Voice actor Mel Blanc suffers a car accident, which leaves him in a coma for two weeks. He is brought back to consciousness by addressing his Looney Tunes characters, in whose voices he replies.[1][2]
• January 25: Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians premiers, directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske and Clyde Geronimi.[3]
• January 30: The first episode of The Yogi Bear Show is broadcast. The series also marks the debuts of Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle.[4]

February

• February 20: Wolfgang Reitherman's Goofy cartoon Aquamania premiers.[5]
• February 25: The first episode of Art Clokey's Davey and Goliath airs.[6]

April

• April 17: 33rd Academy Awards: Munro wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.[7]

May

• May 1: The first episode of Otogi Manga Calendar is broadcast, the first anime TV series.[8]

August

• August: The first episode of Pingwings is broadcast.[9]

September

• September 7: Switchin' Kitten, the first Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by Gene Deitch premiers.[10]
• September 15: In The Flintstones episode The Hit Song Writers Hoagy Carmichael is special guest voice.
• September 24: In the first episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Ludwig von Drake makes his debut.[11]
• September 27: The first episode of Hanna-Barbera's Top Cat airs.[12]
• The first episode of Jay Ward's Dudley Do-Right is broadcast.[13]

October

• October 4: The first episode of The Alvin Show airs.[14]

Specific date unknown

• Bagdasarian Productions is founded by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. to produce works based on his fictional characters, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Their first production was the animated series The Alvin Show (1961-1962).
• Lev Atamanov's The Key premiers.[15]
• Arthur Lipsett's Very Nice, Very Nice premiers.[16]

Films released

Television series

Main article: List of animated television series of the 1960s § 1961

Births

May

• May 3: Joe Murray, American animator (Rocko's Modern Life)

July

• July 5: Patrizia Scianca, Italian voice actress (dub in various anime series)

August

• August 4: Lauren Tom, American actress (voice of Amy Wong in Futurama).
• August 21: Stephen Hillenburg, American animator writer and artist (SpongeBob SquarePants) [17]

Deaths

February

• February 27: Nate Collier, American animator, illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 77.[18]

November

• Hy Hirsh, American photographer and film director, dies at age 59 or 60.[19]

See also

• 1961 in anime

Sources

1. "Mel Blanc, Man of Many Voices, Badly Injured". The Terre Haute Tribune. Terre Haute, Indiana. UPI. January 25, 1961. p. 5. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
2. That's Not All, Folks!, 1988, by Mel Blanc and Philip Bashe. Warner Books, ISBN 0-446-39089-5 (softcover), ISBN 0-446-51244-3 (hardcover)
3. "One Hundred and One Dalmatians". Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
4. "The Yogi Bear Show". Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
5. "Aquamania". Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
6. "Davey and Pal Make TV Bow", Hartford Courant, February 18, 1961, p. 11
7. "The 33rd Academy Awards (1961) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
8. "Manga Calendar (TV) - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
9. "The Pingwings". Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
10. "Gene Deitch". lambiek.net. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
11. Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television - A Complete History. New York: Hyperion Books. pp. 67, 76. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
12. "Top Cat". Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
13. The Moose That Roared: The Story of Jay Ward, Bill Scott, a Flying Squirrel, and a Talking Moose by Keith Scott (ISBN 0-312-19922-8), p. 168
14. "The Alvin Show". Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
15. "The Key". Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
16. "Arthur Lipsett: Inside His Disturbed & Disturbing Collage Films". Oct 5, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
17. "Stephen Hillenburg". lambiek.net. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
18. "Nate Collier". lambiek.net. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
19. Thoben, Jan. "Technical Sound-Image Transformations". See This Sound Compendium. Ludwig Boltzmann Istitut. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.