Michael Maltese

Michael Maltese was born on February 6, 1908, in New York City, and died on February 22, 1981. He is best remembered as the screenwriter and storyboard artist behind some of the most celebrated animated shorts of the mid-20th century, particularly those produced for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. Maltese’s most fruitful collaboration was with director Chuck Jones during the 1950s, a partnership that yielded a string of acclaimed cartoons. Among these, *What’s Opera, Doc?* was voted the greatest animated short of all time by a panel of animation professionals, and four of the top five on that list were Maltese-Jones productions.

Maltese’s work in comics began in the mid-1950s, where he wrote for a range of licensed titles, including *Daffy Duck*, *Bugs Bunny*, and *Looney Tunes*, as well as *The Pink Panther* and the German-language *Zeichentrickfilm Klassiker*. He was credited on 53 issues through 1984, with his most frequent credits appearing in *Golden Comics Digest*. His scripts for both screen and page were marked by a sharp, character-driven wit and a gift for physical comedy. While he never received a major industry award during his lifetime, his influence on animation and comic storytelling remains foundational, with his work continuing to be studied and celebrated by fans and scholars alike.