Pete Burness
Wilson David "Pete" Burness (June 16, 1904 – July 21, 1969) was an American animator and animation director. He was perhaps best known for his work on the Mr. He also contributed to the Tom and Jerry series, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, and Rocky and His Friends.
Pete Burness
- Born
- 1904 · Los Angeles.
- Died
- 1969 · Pasadena.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- film producer · animator · film director
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Wilson David "Pete" Burness (June 16, 1904 – July 21, 1969) was an American animator and animation director. He was perhaps best known for his work on the Mr. He also contributed to the Tom and Jerry series, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, and Rocky and His Friends.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Pete Burness. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q7171875 · wikipedia · Pete Burness
In this article
Biography
Biography
Burness was born in Los Angeles. His animation career began in 1930, working for Romer Grey and Ted Eshbaugh on Goofy Goat Antics and the unreleased Binko the Cub. In 1933 he transferred to Van Beuren Studios, where he animated the film adaptation of The Little King. Burness transferred to Harman-Ising in 1936 and to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio in 1938. He animated Tom and Jerry at MGM until 1947. Burness worked briefly for Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1948 and 1949, animating a number of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts, under Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson. He left Warner Bros. to become a director for United Productions of America, animating the popular Mr. Magoo series. Two of his Mr. Magoo shorts, When Magoo Flew (1954) and Mr. Magoo's Puddle Jumper (1956), won Academy Awards for Best Short Subject. In 1958, Burness left UPA to join Jay Ward Productions as director of Rocky and his Friends and Hoppity Hooper. While working for Jay Ward he co-wrote and was hired to direct 1001 Arabian Nights, a feature film featuring Mr. Magoo. Following disputes with producer Stephen Bosustow, he left the project and was replaced by Jack Kinney. Burness died of pancreatic cancer in 1969.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1904
Pete Burness born at Los Angeles.
1969
Pete Burness died at Pasadena.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Los Angeles.
Birth place
Pasadena.
Death place
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
36,804 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Peta SergeantPerson
- Petar B. VasilevPerson
- Petar BožovićPerson
- Petar ValchanovPerson
- Pete DocterPerson
- Pete DuelPerson
- Pete EdochiePerson
- Pete McCormackPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Pete Burness?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.