View source for Earl Duvall

{{Short description|American artist and animator}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
'''Owen Earl Duvall''' ({{IPAc-en|d|uː|ˈ|v|ɔː|l}}; June 7, 1898 &ndash; December 21, 1950)<ref>{{cite web | url = https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgZkdXZhbGwSBG93ZW4-/ | accessdate = April 21, 2023 | website = ANC Explorer | title = Burial detail: Duvall, Owen E, Sr }}</ref> was an American artist and animator best known for his work on [[Disney comics|Disney comic strips]] in the early 1930s and for a handful of animated short films he directed at [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]].

==Career==

===Disney Studio===
Duvall started as a layout artist and later as a member of the story department at [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Productions]]. During this time, he also worked as a cartoonist on the [[Mickey Mouse (comic strip)|''Mickey Mouse'' daily strip]] and the ''[[Silly Symphony (comic strip)|Silly Symphony]]'' Sunday [[comic strip]].<ref name=IDW-v1>{{cite book |last1=Duvall |first1=Earl |last2=Taliaferro |first2=Al |last3=Osborne |first3=Ted |last4=De Maris |first4=Merrill |title=Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 1 |date=2016 |publisher=IDW Publishing |location=San Diego |isbn=978-1631405587}}</ref>

According to [[Jack Kinney]], a director who worked at Disney for many decades, Duvall was a "charming story man" who dressed well and was "the spitting image of the Prince of Wales", but often "lived beyond his means". Duvall left Disney's in rather unusual circumstances - pressed by Disney for several weeks to show his storyboards, Duvall simply gathered his belongings one day and left the company, "leaving Walt holding the bag".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kinney |first1=Jack |title=Walt Disney & Assorted Other Characters: An Unauthorized Account of the Early Years at Disney's |date=1989 |publisher=Harmony Books |isbn=978-0517570579 |page=75}}</ref>

===Warner Bros===
He was invited to [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]] in 1933 along with fellow Disney animator [[Tom Palmer (animator)|Tom Palmer]] to head up the studio in the wake of [[Harman and Ising|Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising]]'s departure. He was responsible for the creation of [[Buddy (Looney Tunes)|Buddy]]. In the event, Duvall was delayed working on other projects at Disney, and by the time he got to Warner Bros. Palmer, who directed the first Buddy cartoon, had already been fired and replaced by [[Friz Freleng]]. 

Tom Palmer left the Schlesinger studio after completing only two animated short films. Duvall replaced him as the director of the next few films of the studio. Duvall had experience as a story man for both Disney and Harman and Ising. [[Norman McCabe]], who worked as an [[Inbetweening|inbeetweener]] for the studio, recalled Duvall's resemblance to [[Edward VIII|Prince Edward]], the [[Prince of Wales]].<ref name=Barrier>{{cite book |last1=Barrier |first1=Michael |title=Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195167290}}</ref> Animation historian [[Michael Barrier (historian)|Michael Barrier]] considers that Duvall's princely looks and "aura of [[sophistication]]" helped him get ahead. Wherever Duvall worked, people were at least giving him the benefit of the doubt.<ref name="Barrier"/>

During his time at the Schlesinger studio, Duvall directed a number of cartoons based around surprisingly adult themes, and was allowed to direct the studio's first color cartoon, ''[[Honeymoon Hotel (1934 film)|Honeymoon Hotel]]'' in 1934. He only completed work on five animated short films. Three of them were part of the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'', and two of them were part of the ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' series.<ref name="Barrier"/> However, after a drunken argument with producer [[Leon Schlesinger]], Duvall left the studio. 

The departures of Palmer and Duvall left Schlesinger in need of new directors. Even composer [[Bernard B. Brown]] received credits for directing two ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts. By early 1934, Schlesinger appointed [[Friz Freleng]] as the main director of the ''Merrie Melodies'' series and [[Jack King (animator)|Jack King]] as the main director of the ''Looney Tunes'' series.<ref name="Barrier"/>

==Death==
Duvall died in 1950.

==Filmography==
As Director/Supervisor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245116/|title=Earl Duvall|website=IMDb|accessdate=21 April 2023}}</ref>
* ''[[Buddy's Garage]]'' 1934 (short)
* ''[[Honeymoon Hotel (1934 film)|Honeymoon Hotel]]'' 1934 (short)
* ''[[Sittin' on a Backyard Fence]]'' 1933 (short)
* ''[[Buddy's Show Boat]]'' 1933 (short)
* ''[[Buddy's Beer Garden]]'' 1933 (short)

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0245116}}
*[https://www.lambiek.net/artists/d/duvall_earl.htm His profile in Lambiek Comiclopedia]
* {{Inducks author|EDu|Earl Duvall}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Duvall, Earl}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
[[Category:American animated film directors]]
[[Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons directors]]
[[Category:Disney comics artists]]