Tedd Pierce

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Edward Stacey "Tedd" Pierce III (August 12, 1906, – February 19, 1972), was an American animated cartoon writer, animator 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. Jones credited Pierce in his 1989 autobiography Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist as being the inspiration for the character Pepe LePew.

Pierce also got occasional voice work in the cartoons. His natural voice was similar to that of Bud Abbott, and among his various cartoons were the two Babbit and Catstello reels. He was also the "tall, thin" character in Wackiki Wabbit.

In early credits he was shown as "Ted". 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 l's 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. McKimson wasn't happy with the storyline, and decided not to use it. Instead, Pierce was able to sell it to Deitch who was desperately looking for suitable storylines for Tom and Jerry.