Paul Houlton Terry (February 19, 1887 – October 25, 1971) was an American cartoonist, animator, screenwriter, film director and producer. He produced over 1,300 cartoons between 1915 and 1955 including the many Terrytoons cartoons. His studio's most famous character is Mighty Mouse, and also created Heckle and Jeckle, Gandy Goose and Dinky Duck.
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Early life
Born in California to Joseph and Minnie Perron, Terry's parents moved to San Francisco where he spent most of his early life. In 1904 he began working as a news photographer and drawing cartoons for newspapers such as the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Call, and the San Francisco Examiner. He contributed to a weekly comic strip about a dog titled "Alonzo" for the San Francisco Call in 1909, before it was taken over by his brother John a year later. He later transferred to the New York Press in 1910, a newspaper in New York City.
In 1914, Terry became interested in animation after seeing Winsor McCay's Gertie the Dinosaur. While still working for the newspaper, he made his first film, Little Herman, which he completed in four months in his living room. He struggled to sell the film to distributors until he met Edwin Thanhouser, executive of the Thanhouser film company of New Rochelle, New York, in 1915. Thanhouser organized a successful test screening with children and agreed to distribute the film.