DePatie was born on December 24, 1929 in Los Angeles at The Good Samaritan Hospital. His father, Edmond L. DePatie, was the head of the counter department at Warner Bros, and he would spend his entire career at Warner, and later became executive vice president and general manager of the studio, reporting only to Jack Warner. Because of this, David, in his own words, became a "Warner Brat".
Warner Bros. Cartoons
was the production executive of Leon Schlesinger Productions until his retirement in 1944 when Warner Bros. bought the animation department and renamed it to Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. Eddie Selzer then became the production executive until 1958. John W. Burton then became producer for a few years until Burton accepted a position of another company that Leon Schlesinger founded called Pacific Title and Art. DePatie became production executive in 1961, taking over for Burton. The first thing he produced for the studio was a 1963 pilot named Philbert and it was directed by Friz Freleng, but was never picked up, and was the last cartoon produced by the company. In 1962, with the decline in moviegoing, DePatie was informed that the cartoon studio was going to be shut down. Shortly afterwards when Warner Bros. Cartoons closed down in 1963, significant production changes occurred for new Warner Bros. cartoons produced by the newly formed DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. DePatie received on-screen production credit and cartoon director Friz Freleng was promoted to producer. Chuck Jones left for Tom and Jerry theatricals and television adaptations. Character appearances were limited to Granny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Speedy Gonzales, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, The Goofy Gophers, and Witch Hazel. Production was subcontracted to Format Films.
DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
While he held his production position at Warner Bros., DePatie originally received no on-screen credit, similar to his two predecessors after Leon Schlesinger retired in 1944. In 1963, he began to receive on-screen credit with new producer Friz Freleng. Around this time, they formed DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, also known as DePatie–Freleng Entertainment, and known on-screen as "DFE Films".
Chuck Jones was producing Dr. Seuss specials for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, until MGM shut down its animation studio. DePatie–Freleng picked up production of The Cat in the Hat. Music was composed by Dean Elliott for four Dr. Seuss specials, Hawley Pratt directed three specials, and Maurice Noble was production designer for three specials. Chuck Jones co-produced with Ted Geisel while DePatie and Freleng were executive producers for The Cat in the Hat only. Since Jones was working for ABC, he stopped working on Dr. Seuss specials. Freleng and Ted Geisel became producer but were credited separately. DePatie was the only one credited as executive producer. Music was scored by Joe Raposo for three later specials. DePatie–Freleng's last Dr. Seuss special was The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, which was around the time that DFE became part of Cadence Industries, and rebranded as Marvel Productions.
Marvel Productions
DePatie and some of his production staff worked for Marvel Productions. He was an executive producer. He left the company in 1984, and then briefly worked for Hanna-Barbera, producing Pink Panther and Sons, before retiring.
