Virgil Ross (1907-1996) witnessed firsthand the birth of such great animated stars as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. His 60 year career spanned work from Mintz to Schlesinger/Warner Bros. and through the era of low budget television animation.

Though men such as Chuck Jones and Tex Avery, whom Ross followed to Schlesinger Studios, dominate the lore of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes, Ross left an indelible stamp in the movements of the great Schlesinger/Warner Bros. characters. So entwined with the world of animation, Ross even married an ink and paint girl at Schlesinger’s. He remained at Warner Bros. until 1964, when he roamed to different studios including Filmation, Hanna Barber, DePatie Freleng (where he followed Friz Freleng, the director to whose unit Ross worked for twenty years).

He passed away in May of 1996 after suffering a stroke earlier that year. Ross worked as he advanced in years, though he spent much of his later public life attending gallery and store openings dedicated to his and other’s work in the golden age of animation. In the twilight of his life his work achieved the beaux arts status denied his craft as animation slipped past its golden age.