Editing Fred Quimby

{{Short description|American animation producer, and journalist (1886–1965)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Fred Quimby
| image              = Fred Quimby - Nov 1920 EH.jpg
| caption            = Quimby in 1920
| birth_name         = Frederick Clinton Quimby
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1886|7|31|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1965|9|16|1886|7|31|mf=y}}
| death_place        = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| years_active       = 1921–1955
| occupation         = Animation producer
| spouse             = {{marriage|Sue Quimby|1923|1954|end=d.}}
}}

'''Frederick Clinton Quimby'''<ref name="Disney">{{cite book|last=Susanin|first=Timothy S.|title=Walt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years, 1919–1928|url=https://archive.org/details/waltbeforemickey00susa|url-access=limited|year=2011|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn= 978-1604739602|page=[https://archive.org/details/waltbeforemickey00susa/page/n322 290]}}</ref> (July 31, 1886 – September 16, 1965) was an American [[animation]] producer and journalist best known for producing the ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' cartoon series, for which he won seven [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Films]]. He was the film sales executive in charge of the [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio]], which included [[Tex Avery]], Droopy, Butch Dog, Barney Bear, [[Michael Lah]] and multiple one-shot cartoons, as well as [[William Hanna]] and [[Joseph Barbera]], the creators of ''Tom and Jerry''.

==Life and career==
Quimby was born in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVeK2elZxTcC&dq=Fred+Quimby+was+born+in+Minnesota&pg=PA158 | isbn=9781461664024 | title=The a to Z of Animation and Cartoons | date=April 2010 | publisher=Scarecrow Press }}</ref> and started his career as a journalist. In 1907, he managed a film theater in [[Missoula, Montana]]. Later, he worked at [[Pathé]], and became a member of the board of directors before leaving in 1921 to become an independent producer. He was hired by [[Fox Film]] in 1924, and moved to MGM in 1927 to head its short features department. In 1937, he was assigned to create MGM's animation department.<ref name = lafn/><ref name="BarberaAutoBio">{{cite book|last=Barbera|first=Joseph|title=My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century|year=1994|publisher=[[Turner Publishing]]|location=Atlanta, GA|isbn=1-57036-042-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mylifeintoonsfro00barb}}</ref>{{rp|65}}

In 1939, [[William Hanna]] and [[Joseph Barbera]] presented Quimby with a proposal for a series of cartoons featuring a cat and a mouse. Although he had no interest in the idea, Quimby approved,<ref name=lafn>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lafn.org/~snakebite/tomandjerry/creators.html |title=Lafn.org |website=www.lafn.org |accessdate=June 29, 2021}}</ref> and the result was ''[[Puss Gets the Boot]]'', which was nominated for an [[Academy Award]]. Initially, he refused to pursue more Cat and Mouse cartoons after ''Puss Gets the Boot''. However, following the critical and financial success of that cartoon, he agreed to make ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' an official cartoon of the MGM cartoon studio.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} As producer, Quimby became a multiple recipient of the [[Academy Award for Animated Short Film]] for the ''Tom and Jerry'' films, though he never invited Hanna and Barbera onstage when he accepted the awards. His name became well known due to its prominence in the cartoon credits, and Quimby took sole credit for approving and producing the ''Tom and Jerry'' series.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} Quimby was not involved in the creative process and had a difficult relationship with animators, including Hanna and Barbera, who believed that Quimby was not fit for a real animation leader:

{{cquote|...unfortunately for a cartoon producer, [he had] no sense of humor to call upon... He knew nothing of animation and cartoons were a strange thing to him. Cast in the role of high school principal opposite the animators' boyish enthusiasms, he acted as liaisons between them and the front office, usually it seemed, turning down requests for bigger budgets, raises and special dispensations of funds.<ref>[http://www.tomandjerryonline.com/synopsis.cfm Tom and Jerry Online]. Similar opinions are expressed elsewhere, e.g. [http://www.animationshow.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1766 here] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517132823/http://www.animationshow.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1766 |date=May 17, 2011 }}.</ref>}}

After the production of ''Good Will to Men'' (a remake of ''[[Peace on Earth (film)#Remake|Peace on Earth]]''), Quimby retired from MGM in May 1955, with Hanna and Barbera assuming his role as co-heads of the studio and taking over the production title for the ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts. Despite the success with Hanna and Barbera, MGM assumed that re-releasing old cartoons would be more profitable, and the MGM's cartoon division did not last long after; it was closed in 1957. MGM would later contract first [[Gene Deitch]] and then [[Chuck Jones]] to produce more ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts through their own studios during the 1960s.

Quimby died of a [[heart attack]] in [[Santa Monica, California]] on September 16, 1965, about seven weeks after his 79th birthday, and was buried at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in [[Glendale, California]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-DgDAAAQBAJ&q=fred+quimby+1965+buried&pg=PA608|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.|first=Scott|last=Wilson|date=August 22, 2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786479924|access-date=June 29, 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Academy Award credits==
* [[13th Academy Awards|Nominated]] for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1940: ''[[Puss Gets the Boot]]'' – producer (with [[Rudolf Ising]]) <ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of New Mexico|last=Capace|first=Nancy|year=2001|isbn=9780403096077|pages=173|publisher=Somerset Publishers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bE-OBlP-zPUC&q=puss%20gets%20the%20boot%20oscar}}</ref>
* Winner [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1940: ''[[The Milky Way (1940 film)|The Milky Way]]'' – producer (with Rudolf Ising)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1941|title=The 13th Academy Awards &#124; 1941|website=Oscars.org &#124; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=October 5, 2014 |access-date=June 29, 2021}}</ref>
* Nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1941: ''[[The Night Before Christmas (1941 film)|The Night Before Christmas]]'' – producer<ref name=41:>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1942|title=The 14th Academy Awards &#124; 1942|website=Oscars.org &#124; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=October 3, 2014 |access-date=June 29, 2021}}</ref>
* Nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1941: ''[[The Rookie Bear]]'' – producer<ref name=41:/>
* Nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1942: ''[[The Blitz Wolf]]'' – producer<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1943|title=The 15th Academy Awards &#124; 1943|website=Oscars.org &#124; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=October 4, 2014 |access-date=June 29, 2021}}</ref>
* Winner [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1943: ''[[The Yankee Doodle Mouse]]'' – producer
* Winner [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1944: ''[[Mouse Trouble]]'' – producer
* Winner [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1945: ''[[Quiet Please!]]'' – producer
* Winner [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1946: ''[[The Cat Concerto]]'' – producer
* Nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1947: ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse]]'' – producer
* Winner [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1948: ''[[The Little Orphan]]'' – producer
* Nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1949: ''[[Hatch Up Your Troubles]]'' – producer
* Nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1951: ''[[Jerry's Cousin]]'' – producer
* Winner [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1952: ''[[The Two Mouseketeers]]'' – producer
* Winner [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1953: ''[[Johann Mouse]]'' – producer <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1953/F--J|title=The 25th Academy Awards &#124; 1953|website=Oscars.org &#124; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=June 29, 2021}}</ref>
* Nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1953: ''[[Little Johnny Jet]]'' – producer
* Nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1954: ''[[Touché, Pussy Cat!]]'' – producer
* Nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Best Animated Short Subject]] 1955: ''[[Peace on Earth (film)#Remake|Good Will to Men]]'' – producer (with [[William Hanna]] & [[Joseph Barbera]])

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fred Quimby}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0703642}}
* [http://www.tomandjerryonline.com/synopsis.cfm The Tom and Jerry Story]
* [http://www.lafn.org/~snakebite/tomandjerry/creators.html The Creators – The Magic Behind The Cartoon]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quimby, Fred}}
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American animated film producers]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Minneapolis]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)]]
[[Category:Film producers from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Journalists from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people]]
[[Category:Producers who won the Best Animated Short Academy Award]]