Let's Talk About Tex Trivia Quiz

Answer: Porky Pig

Frederick Bean (aka Tex) Avery was born in Taylor, Texas on February 26, 1908. He moved to Los Angeles in 1928 where he embarked on a career in the animated cartoon industry. Tex Avery worked with several other studios before he was hired to work for Leon Schlesinger Productions, which was associated with and later owned by Warner Bros.

Tex Avery introduced the character Daffy Duck in a Porky Pig "Looney Tunes" short titled "Porky's Duck Hunt", which was first released on April 17, 1937. "Porky's Duck Hunt" was also the first Warner Bros. cartoon to feature famous voice actor Mel Blanc (1908-1989).

Answer: Egghead

Tex Avery is credited with creating the character named Egghead who debuted in the "Merrie Melodies" short titled "Egghead Rides Again". The short was first released on July 17, 1937. Egghead was portrayed as a bald slender man with light green pants, a dark green jacket and a brown bowler hat.

Egghead appeared in a dozen shorts before March 2, 1940 when Warner Bros. director Chuck Jones released the "Merrie Melodies" short titled "Elmer's Candid Camera". It featured a redesign of Egghead, who was renamed Elmer Fudd. The short also featured an early unnamed version of Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd was drawn in the same outfit that Egghead had worn in "Egghead Rides Again".

Answer: parrot

"I Wanna Be a Sailor" was first released on September 25, 1937. It starred a character named Peter, a young parrot who had dreams of becoming a sailor like his father. Peter's mother was very much against this idea, as Peter's father had gone missing, leaving her to raise three children by herself. This was the only short to feature Peter Parrot.

Early in his professional career, Tex Avery lost vision in his left eye due to an injury he sustained while horsing around with colleagues. Tex and several coworkers were allegedly flinging office supplies at each other when a paper clip struck Tex Avery in the eye. It is believed that Tex' loss of depth perception may have actually contributed to the success of his career.

Answer: A Wild Hare

On July 27, 1940, Tex Avery released the "Merrie Melodies" short "A Wild Hare", which was the first short to properly feature the character Bugs Bunny. Bugs' design was adapted from an unnamed rabbit character that was created by Ben (aka Bugs) Hardaway, whom the character was named after.

In "A Wild Hare", Bugs Bunny was voiced by Mel Blanc, where he used Bugs' signature catchphrase "What's up, doc?" for the first time. Tex Avery claimed that he used to say the line himself during his high school years. "A Wild Hare" was also the first of many encounters between the definitive Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

Answer: Droopy

Tex Avery left Warner Bros. in 1941 due to creative differences between himself and producer Leon Schlesinger. He was later hired to work for Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer (MGM) that same year, where Tex Avery would create some of his more violent, nonsensical and risque cartoon shorts.

On March 20, 1943, MGM and Tex Avery released the short titled "Dumb-Hounded", which was the first cartoon to feature Droopy. Though Droopy appeared to be small, slow and unemotional, he was quick-witted and was almost always one step ahead of his adversaries. Droopy was also stronger than he looked, especially when someone made him mad.

Answer: Red Riding Hood

On May 8, 1943, MGM released a Tex Avery short titled "Red Hot Riding Hood", which put a Hollywood spin on the classic children's fairy tale. Instead of taking place at a woodland cottage, the story was moved to the city, where Red Riding Hood was portrayed as an attractive nightclub singer. The character, known simply as Red, would become another recurring character in Tex Avery's cartoon library.

Many of Tex Avery's cartoon shorts, especially those made in his MGM years, seemed to push the envelope of entertainment intended for children. There have been more than a dozen cartoons created by Tex Avery for both Warner Bros and MGM that have been banned from television due to racial stereotypes.

Answer: Screwball Squirrel

"Screwball Squirrel" was first released by Tex Avery on April 1, 1944. It introduced the titular red rodent who later became a recurrent character in Tex Avery's MGM shorts. "Screwball Squirrel" started off as if it were a cutesy cartoon featuring forest animals. Screwy Squirrel soon appeared to quickly and violently change the narrative. The rest of the short involved Screwy making life miserable for a dog named Meathead.

Some other notable recurring MGM characters created by Tex Avery include two bears named George and Junior, as well as Butch/Spike, a bulldog who was often the antagonist in most shorts he was featured in.

Answer: The Cat That Hated People

"The Cat That Hated People" was first released on November 20, 1948. The cartoon featured an unnamed cat who became frustrated with the way people treated him. Adults would walk all over him, children would abuse him and he was never allowed to sing. In order to get away from people, the cat decided to take a rocket up to the Moon, where things got even worse for him.

There have been several Tex Avery shorts created for MGM, that involve cats not named Tom. These include the shorts "King-Size Canary", "Bad Luck Blackie" and "Ventriloquist Cat".

Answer: Little Johnny Jet

The MGM cartoon "Little Johnny Jet" was first released on April 18, 1953. The story focused on John, a B-29 bomber plane who fought during World War II. He was in the middle of a midlife crisis after he was declared to be obsolete by the U.S. Air Force.

John and his wife were soon graced with a baby plane named Junior who was born as a speedy jet, which initially angered John. John then set out to try prove himself against the Air Force's new jet aircraft in order to provide for his son. John struggled to keep up with the jets and nearly crashed before Junior managed to save him. Junior's performance managed to impress the Air Force, who ordered 10,000 more planes like him.

Answer: Chilly Willy

Tex Avery left MGM in 1953 and went to briefly work for Walter Lantz Productions, the studio famous for the characters Woody Woodpecker and Chilly Willy. This was actually Tex Avery's second stint with Walter Lantz as he had previously worked for him in the early 1930's before he was hired by Leon Schlesinger and Warner Bros.

Tex Avery directed two cartoon shorts featuring Chilly Willy, "I'm Cold" (1954) and "The Legend of Rockabye Point" (1955). His second tenure with Walter Lantz ended in 1955, after which Tex Avery went into semi-retirement. Tex Avery did some work for Hanna-Barbera and produced a few animated television commercials before he passed away on August 26, 1980.