Today in Film History (November 25th, 1940): Woody Woodpecker Makes his First Appearance in "Knock Knock"!

Woody Woodpecker was a cartoon character who was created by Walter Lantz and storyboard artist, Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, in 1940. Hardaway had previously co-created two other iconic cartoon characters, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, at Warner Bros. cartoon studio in the late-1930s. Woody Woodpecker was originally voiced by "The Man of 1000 Voices", Mel Blanc, who was succeeded by Danny Webb, Kent Rogers, Ben Hardaway, among others. The original Woody Woodpecker cartoons were shown in movie theaters, just like other short cartoon films of the time, due to a lack of television sets in American homes. Woody Woodpecker cartoons made their broadcast television debut in 1957, under the title, "The Woody Woodpecker Show". The character has since become a cartoon icon from history, and made a comeback in the 2017, live action/CGI hybrid feature film, "Woody Woodpecker", and the 2024 Netflix-exclusive film, "Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp".