Tom McKimson

Tom McKimson was an American animator and comic book artist, best known for his work on Warner Bros. cartoon characters. He was born Thomas Jacob McKimson on March 5, 1907, in Denver, Colorado. He died on February 14, 1998, in West Los Angeles, California.

McKimson moved with his family to Los Angeles in the 1920s and studied at the Otis Art Institute. He began his animation career in 1929 at the Walt Disney Studio, assisting animator Norm Ferguson. After a year, he worked briefly for Romer Grey before joining Harman-Ising Studios around 1932. At Warner Bros., he became a layout artist in Bob Clampett's unit and is credited with the original design for Tweety Bird. He also provided layouts for Arthur Davis's unit.

Alongside his animation work, McKimson illustrated for Dell Comics, contributing to *Bugs Bunny* and *Road Runner* comic books. He collaborated with his brother Charles and artist Pete Alvarado on the *Roy Rogers* daily comic strip from 1949 to 1953, using the pseudonym "Al McKimson." After leaving Warner Bros. in 1947, he became an art director for Western Publishing, Dell's parent company, where he worked until his retirement in 1972.

McKimson was active in the Masonic fraternity and enjoyed playing polo. His legacy includes his foundational work on beloved animated characters and his contributions to comic book adaptations of Warner Bros. properties.