Woody Woodpecker was created in 1940 with connections to artist Ben “Bugs” Hardaway who was involved in the Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Woody Woodpecker first appeared in the 1940s in theatrical short films. Woody was originally voiced by prolific voice actor Mel Blanc, who was succeeded by Hardaway and later by Grace Stafford, wife of Walter Lantz. Woody Woodpecker cartoons were first broadcast on television in 1957 under the title The Woody Woodpecker Show, which featured Lantz, cartoons bookended by new footage of Woody and live-action footage of Lantz.
Lantz produced theatrical cartoons longer than most of his contemporaries, and Woody Woodpecker remained a staple of Universal’s release schedule until 1972. The character has been revived since then only for special productions and occasions, saved for one new Saturday morning cartoon, The New Woody Woodpecker Show, for the Fox Network in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Woody has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 7000 Hollywood Boulevard. He also made a cameo alongside many other famous cartoon characters in the 1988 fi lm Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Woody Woodpecker and friends are also icons at the Port Aventura Park in Salou, Spain. |
