"Dumb-Hounded"

Frederick Bean 'Tex' Avery (1908-1980) was a descendant of Judge Roy Bean and Daniel Boone. He was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, best known for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. His most significant work was for Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he created the characters of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Droopy, and Screwy Squirrel.

Avery's cartoons became known for their sheer lunacy, breakneck pace, and a penchant for playing with the medium of animation and film in general that few other directors dared to approach. Avery's first short released by MGM, The Blitz Wolf, an Adolf Hitler parody, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) in 1942.

Avery's most famous MGM character debuted in 1943 in Dumb-Hounded. Droopy was a calm, little, slow-moving and slow-talking dog who still won out in the end. The character was initially nameless. He would not be called "Droopy" onscreen until his fifth cartoon, Señor Droopy (1949).

Dumb-Hounded appears today in honour of a special person's birthday.