Edward Stacey "Ted/Tedd" Pierce III (12 August 1906 - 19 February 1972) was an American writer, animator, voice actor, and artist. Pierce spent the majority of his career as a writer for the Warner Bros. "Termite Terrace" animation studio, working alongside fellow luminaries such as Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese. Pierce also worked as a writer at Fleischer Studios from 1939 to 1941. Jones credited Pierce in his 1989 autobiography Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist as being the inspiration for the character Pepé Le Pew, the haplessly romantic French skunk due to Pierce's self-proclamation that he was a ladies' man.
In early credits he was shown as "Ted Pierce." He was said to have added an extra "d" to his name as a way of "lampooning" puppeteer Bil Baird when he dropped one of the Ls from his first name.
He contributed (with Bill Danch) the story of the 1962 Tom and Jerry cartoon Tall in the Trap, directed by Gene Deitch. Originally the cartoon would have starred Sylvester and Speedy Gonzales and would have been directed by Robert McKimson. However, McKimson disapproved of the storyline, and decided not to use it. Instead, Pierce sold it to Danch and Deitch, who were desperately looking for suitable storylines for Tom and Jerry.
In his Warners career, Pierce worked with three of the three best-known Warner animation directors (Jones, McKimson and Friz Freleng). He contributed many notable storylines for all three of them, including Freleng's Hare Do (1949), Bad Ol' Putty Tat (1949), Bunker Hill Bunny (1950) and Big House Bunny (1950); Jones' Hare Tonic (1945, an early success for both of them) and Broom-Stick Bunny (1956); and McKimson's Hillbilly Hare (1950), Lovelorn Leghorn (1951) and Cat-Tails for Two (1953), the last of which was Speedy Gonzales' first appearance. However, because much of Pierce's Termite Terrace career was spent with McKimson's unit (McKimson considered the least-known Warners animation director), it would follow that Pierce was generally overshadowed by his contemporaries as screenwriters at Warners, Warren Foster and Maltese.
Acting credits[]
- My Green Fedora (1935) - The Weasel yell
- Along Flirtation Walk (1935) - Coach
- Into Your Dance (1935) - Captain Benny, Poetry Reciter
- The Country Mouse (1935) - Ring Announcer
- I Love to Singa (1936) - Jack Bunny
- Porky the Rain-Maker (1936) - Narrator
- Porky's Poultry Plant (1936) - Baseball Commentator
- At Your Service Madame (1936) - W.C. Squeals
- Toy Town Hall (1936) - Radio Announcer
- Boulevardier from the Bronx (1936) - Dizzy Dan
- The CooCoo Nut Grove (1936) - W.C. Squeals
- Porky the Wrestler (1937) - Man-Mountain grunts
- Porky's Road Race (1937) - W.C. Fields, Edna May Oliver, Announcer, George Arliss, Leslie Howard, Starter
- I Only Have Eyes for You (1937) - Announcer
- Uncle Tom's Bungalow (1937) - Narrator
- Porky's Building (1937) - Sandy C. Ment
- Little Red Walking Hood (1937) - Mean Old Wolf
- Porky's Double Trouble (1937) - Hood #2
- The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos (1937) - Jack Bunny, Ben Birdie, Tizzie Fish
- Porky's Hero Agency (1937) - Medusa, Ethiopian
- Jungle Jitters (1938) - Elmer, The Queen
- A Star is Hatched (1938) - J. Megga Phone, W.C. Fields, Movie Star Guide, Clem
- Porky the Fireman (1938) - Falling Man, Stepin Fetchit
- Have You Got Any Castles? (1938) - W.C. Fields
- Cinderella Meets Fella (1938) - Palace Guard, Prince (saying "Baby!")
- Porky's Spring Planting (1938) - Chicken #1
- The Major Lied 'Til Dawn (1938) - Major Twombly
- Wholly Smoke (1938) - Porky's Mother, Nick O'Teen
- Cracked Ice (1938) - W.C. Squeals
- Porky in Wackyland (1938) - Mysterious Voices, Al Jolson Duck
- Porky's Naughty Nephew (1938) - Yell
- Thugs with Dirty Mugs (1939) - Second Henchman
- Old Glory (1939) - Paul Revere
- Fagin's Freshman (1939) - Fagin
- Hold the Lion, Please (1942) - Leo the Lion
- The Squawkin' Hawk (1942) - Rooster
- Fox Pop (1942) - Fox Prisoner
- The Dover Boys at Pimento University (1942) - Tom Dover, Larry Dover
- A Tale of Two Kitties (1942) - Babbit
- Super-Rabbit (1943) - Man #2, Football cheerleading
- The Aristo-Cat (1943) - Bertie (one line)
- Scrap Happy Daffy (1943) - Nazi Crowd
- Tin Pan Alley Cats (1943) - Al Jolson Duck (archive sound)
- Wackiki Wabbit (1943) - Thin Castaway
- Gripes (1943) - Soldiers (saying "Ah nuts!!!")
- Snafuperman (1944) - Soldier #1
- Hare Force (1944) - Sylvester
- The Return of Mr. Hook (1945) - Sailor
- Tale of Two Mice (1945) - Babbit
- Baseball Bugs (1946) - "You're Out!!"
- Quentin Quail (1946) - Quentin Quail
- The Mouse-merized Cat (1946) - Babbit
- Scent-imental Over You (1947) - Crowd voice
- A Hare Grows in Manhattan (1947) - Dogs
- Strife With Father (1950) - Monte
- French Rarebit (1951) - Louis
- The Prize Pest (1951) - Wentworth J. Whistlestop
- Bell Hoppy (1954) - Alley Cats
Warner Bros. Roles[]
(Looney Tunes franchise)