Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett (May 8 1913—May 4 1984) was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes series of cartoons from Warner Bros. and the television shows Time for Beany, and Beany and Cecil.

Early career

Clampett showed an interest in animation and puppetry from his early teens in Los Angeles. The young Clampett designed the first Mickey Mouse dolls for Walt Disney. As Clampett would later claim in interviews, Disney was impressed with the young artist, and promised him a job. However, a lack of space at Disney's tiny Hyperion studio prevented Clampett from taking the position. Instead, he secured a job in 1931 at the studio of Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising where he worked on the studio's Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. In his first years at the studio, Clampett mostly worked for Friz Freleng, under whose guidance Clampett grew into an able animator. In 1935, he designed the studio's first major star, Porky Pig, who appeared in Freleng's film I Haven't Got a Hat.