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Finding Aid for the Walter Lantz Animation Archive 1927-1972
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.
Extent
ca. 800 boxes
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Performing Arts Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
Availability
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice
required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Performing Arts Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.