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Finding Aid for the Walter Lantz Animation Archive, 1940-1979
47
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Description
Collection consists of materials related to the career of cartoon animator, Walter Lantz.
Includes production files, subject files, cels, drawings, backgrounds, exposure sheets,
and comic books and posters. Production files contain writer's and director's materials
used in pre-and early production. Subject files contain correspondence, clippings,
photographs and personal material. Comic books consist largely of foreign language
publications from the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s including El Pajaro Loco, Haccke
Hackspett, Nakke Nakuttaja, O Pica-Pau, Picchiarello, Pico, and Soren Spaette, and
English language comics published from the 1940s-50s including Andy Panda, Chilly Willy,
Woody Woodpecker, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and New Funnies.
Background
Lantz was born in New Rochelle, NY, Apr. 27, 1900; at 12 years old he took his first
mail-order cartoon drawing course which affected his entire life and career; he began
working as a copyboy for the Hearst newspaper, New York American, where he was
recommended to Gregory LaCava; from that point he started his career as a cartoonist
drawing characters such as the Katzenjammer kids, Happy Hooligan, Krazy Kat, and Mutt and
Jeff; produced and directed his first cartoon series, Colonel Heeza Liar, at J.R. Bray
Studios in NY (1922); moved to Hollywood, CA in 1926 and wrote for Max Sennet comedies;
started with Universal Studios in 1928 where he produced Oswald Rabbit for 10 years; in
1930, he produced The King of Jazz, the first technicolor cartoon and Bing Crosby's first
sound recording in a film; married Grace Stafford in 1941 who later became the voice of
Woody Woodpecker; Lantz started his own production company in 1935 and served as its
president into the 1970s; Lantz who is best remembered for Woody Woodpecker, Chilly
Willy, and Andy Panda, received an Honorary Academy Award, 1978; died Mar. 22, 1994, in
Burbank, CA.
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the Performing Arts Special Collections, UCLA. All
requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing
to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Dept.
of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Availability
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for access.