Will Friedwald

While I’ve dedicated my life to continued research and writing about animated cartoons, my erstwhile colleague Will Friedwald (co-author of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies and Warner Bros. Animation Art) has made quite a name for himself as a noted jazz historian, critic and producer. Author of several outstanding books on the likes of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, Will made news this week by proclaiming he has the world’s largest iTunes collection.

I have no idea if his claim is true, but back in the day no one was as fiercely determined to collect information and data on classic cartoons as Will (Note the images of Baby Huey and The Ghostly Trio on his t-shirt). Animation’s loss is jazz music’s gain. Check out his regular writings in The New York Sun.