It Was Twenty Years Ago Today: The Premier of "Pinky & the Brain"

That's "Pinky & the Brain" the primetime series, which premiered at 7pm on Sunday night, September 10, 1995 on The WB.  After their success on "Animaniacs," the two lab mice broke into primetime with their own show.  The title of the first episode:  "Das Mouse," written by Peter Hastings, directed by Liz Holzman and Al Zegler, produced by Peter, Rusty Mills, me and Mr. Spielberg, and starring the vocal performances of Rob Paulsen as Pinky and Maurice LaMarche as the Brain.  

And, now it's 20 years later, and since the world is not yet in the Brain's control, we must assume that Pinky & the Brain have spent the last 7305 nights attempting to take over the world -- without success.  

But there's always tomorrow night.

"Why, what are we going to do tomorrow night, Brain?"

"The same thing we do every night, Pinky -- try to take over the world." 

"They're dinky, they're Pinky & the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain." 

"Narf" forever!    

Rusty Mills -- Animation Director

Liz Holzman, Tom, Rusty Mills, Nelson Recinos, Jon McClenanhan, on their way to the Emmy Awards, mid-1990s

Rusty Mills, the Emmy-winning director and producer of many of the very best episodes of Animaniacs and Pinky & the Brain, passed away on Dec 7, 2012, at the age of 49.     Rusty leaves behind his beloved wife Andrea, his son Evan, his family, friends and colleagues who loved and admired him, and cartoons fans around the world who will be entertained by his great work for years to come.    

Please contribute generously to The Rusty Mills Cancer Fund at --

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/Rusty-Mills-Cancer-Fund/35172

The Last "Pinky and the Brain" Script: "Star Warners"

Here's the cover page from the last "Pinky and the Brain" script:  "Star Warners."  You can see that it was quite the group effort.  At the recording session, I asked the cast and crew members on hand to sign my script...for posterity.