Trivia Fact:    Fred Quimbywas actively despised by the animation staff and was considered a no-talent liason between management and the MGM artists.    He actively worked as a mercenary manager who only cared for immediate profits. Originally being a short film producer who rose to the ranks of the board of directors of a French production company importing movies to America, MGM placed him in charge of creating a static animation division due to his experience with talkies (films with sound). He was reported to have had little to no sense of humor, thought cartoons were pointless (he stated that he didn't understand their appeal), and was allegedly drunk during most work meetings.  He delegated most of his active duties (rarely giving credit and firing subordinates frequently) and made it apparent to all members of the staff that he hated attending any of the sweatbox reels that he should have been directly supervising as head of the animation department. (this includes all of the awesome cartoons we all know and love that he supposedly won academy awards for)  He was known to sporadically slash budgets during production (well after budgets for the productions would have been locked in to ensure quality after storyboarding and initial pencil tests) and fired many employees before bonus incentives could be fulfilled and awarded. He took sole credit for every academy award won by the Tom & Jerry cartoons during his run much to the ire of the creative heads of staff and the animators who worked on them.Â
William Hannah and Joseph Barbera held a life long hatred of him documented in many books, interviews and biographies since Quimby's death in the mid 60s.Â
Log in to comment