"Animation isn't the illusion of life; it is life."
Born September 21, 1912 in Spokane, Washington. He started his career as a child actor in Mack Sennett silent comedies. He graduated from Chouinard Art Institute, the now named California Institute of the Arts and got his first job working in the Ubbe Iwerks' studio.
In 1936 he began to work for Leon Schlesinger's studio, which was later bought by Warner Brothers, he helped in the development of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Elmer Fudd, and he created Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner,Pepe le Pew and Marvin Martian.
Chuck directed The Night Watchman, a short film that was released in 1938. He continued to work at Warner Bros. until the animation studio closed in 1962. Chuck then moved to MGM, where he improved Tom and Jerry by using his wit to appeal to adults as well as children. At MGM he co-wrote and co-directed The Phantom Tollbooth and directed The Dot and the Line, which received an Academy Award.
In 1966, he directed Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, for which he won the Peabody Award for Television Program Excellence.
Chuck created over 300 animated films, and made a business of selling images from his cartoons. He was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in the field of animation in 1996.
Chuck Jones died of conjestive heart failure at the age of 89 on February 23, 2002.
Sources: the BBC
www.chuckjones.com