Collection Guide
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Lantz (Walter) animation archive
PASC.0047
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Table of contents
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. The bulk of the collection consists of materials related to the music
production process at the Lantz Studios from 1951-70. Includes the holographs of scores,
parts, and detail sheets for Woody Woodpecker cartoons and various commercials. Also
includes music sketches, recording routines, reports, and sorted printed classical and
popular sheet music used as source material for various productions. Production scores
include the work of Lantz music directors Darrell Calker, Frank Churchill, Walter Greene,
James Dietrich, Frank Marsales, Eugene Poddany, and Clarence Wheeler.
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
400.0 Linear Feet
(800 boxes)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All
other 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
Portions of collection unprocessed. Material in the Merchandising and Scrapbooks,
1930-1972; Personal Papers, 1927-1972; and Institutional Relationships: Papers and Records,
1927-1972 series is unavailable for access. Please see LSC's Access to Unprocessed Collections Policy for more information
about levels
of discovery and access of special collections materials and registering interest in
unprocessed collections.