WALTER LANTZ CHARACTERS SERIES

The judge, however, ruled for Lantz, saying that Blanc had failed to copyright his voice or his contributions. Mel Blanc sued Lantz for half a million dollars, claiming that Lantz had used his voice in later cartoons without permission. Despite this, Blanc's distinctive laugh was used throughout the cartoons.Дuring 1948, the Lantz studio created a hit Academy Award-nominated tune in 'The Woody Woodpecker Song', featuring Blanc's laugh. and left the Lantz studio, gagman Ben Hardaway, the man who was the main force behind Knock Knock, became the bird's voice. When Blanc accepted a full-time contract with Leon Schlesinger Productions/ Warner Bros. Mel Blanc supplied Woody's voice for the first three cartoons.

WALTER LANTZ CHARACTERS SERIES

The brash woodpecker character was similar to the early Daffy Duck, and Lantz liked the results enough to build a series around it. Taking her advice, though a bit skeptical, Lantz debuted Woody Woodpecker in an Andy Panda short, Knock Knock. Grace suggested that Walter use the bird for inspiration as a cartoon character. During their honeymoon, the couple kept hearing a woodpecker incessantly pecking on their roof. In 1940, Lantz married actress Grace Stafford. However, one character, Andy Panda, stood out and soon became Lantz's headline star for the 1939-1940 production season. Meany, Miny and Moe (three ne'er-do-well chimps), Baby-Face Mouse, Snuffy Skunk, Doxie (a comic dachshund) and Jock and Jill (monkeys that resembled Warner Brothers' Bosko) were some personalities Lantz and his staff came up with. When Oswald had worn out his welcome, Lantz needed a new character. By 1940, he was negotiating ownership for the characters he had been working with. Lantz became an independent producer, supplying cartoons to Universal instead of merely overseeing the animation department. In September 1929, Lantz released his first cartoon, Race Riot.Д«y 1935, he parted company with Nolan. Nolan was (and still is) best known for perfecting the 'rubber hose' style of animation. Nolan's previous credentials included inventing the panorama background and developing a new, streamlined Felix the Cat. Lantz inherited many of his initial staff, including animator Tom Palmer and musician Bert Fiske from the Winkler studio, but importantly he chose fellow New York animator, Bill Nolan, to help develop the series. As fate would have it, Lantz won the bet, and Oswald was now his character. While schmoozing with Laemmle, Lantz wagered that if he could beat Laemmle in a game of poker, the character would be his. Universal president Carl Laemmle grew dissatisfied with the Mintz-Winkler product and fired them, deciding instead to produce the Oswalds on the Universal lot. Earlier that year, Mintz and his brother-in-law George Winkler had succeeded in snatching Oswald from the character's creator, Walt Disney. Mintz as director on the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon series for Universal Studios. He also resorted to odd jobs, one of them being the chauffeur for one of Hollywood's most important moguls. In the meantime, he worked briefly for director Frank Capra and was a gag writer for Mack Sennett comedies. Lantz moved to Hollywood, California after Bray switched to a publicity film studio in 1927, where he attempted to set up his own cartoon studio with Pinto Colvig, but their sound cartoons never got produced. In 1924, Lantz directed, animated, and even starred in his first cartoon series, Dinky Doodle, and soon replaced George 'Vernon' Stallings as head of production (In the 1920s, Bray began to concentrate on competing with Hal Roach, the 'king of two-reelers'). Bray Studios on the Jerry On The Job series. Lantz worked at the newspaper and attended art school at night.Д«y the age of 16, Lantz was working in the animation department under director Gregory La Cava. Kafka also helped him land a job as a copy boy at the New York American, owned by William Randolph Hearst. A wealthy customer named Fred Kafka liked his drawings on the garage's bulletin board and financed Lantz's studies at the Art Students League of New York. While working as an auto mechanic Lantz got his first break. He was inspired when he saw Winsor McCay's animated short, Gertie the Dinosaur. Walter Lantz was always interested in art, completing a mail order drawing class at age twelve. According to Joe Adamson's biography, The Walter Lantz Story, Lantz's father was given his new surname by an immigration official who anglicized it. Lantz was born in New Rochelle, New York to Italian immigrant parents, Francesco Paolo Lantz (formerly Lanza) and Maria Gervasi from Calitri. Biography Early years and start in animation

Walter lantz characters