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Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic red-headed woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Studios. Though not the first of the screwball characters that became popular in the 1940s, Woody is perhaps the most indicative of the type.

Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon anthropomorphic woodpecker that has appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios[2][3] between 1940 and 1972.[4]

He was created in 1940 by Lantz and storyboard artist Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, who had previously laid the groundwork for two other screwball characters, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, at the Warner Bros. cartoon studio in the late 1930s. Woody's character and design evolved over the years, from an insane bird with an unusually garish design to a more refined looking and acting character in the vein of the later Chuck Jones version of Bugs Bunny.[5] Woody was originally voiced by prolific voice actor Mel Blanc, who was succeeded in the shorts by Danny Webb, Kent Rogers, Ben Hardaway, and, finally, Grace Stafford (wife of Walter Lantz).[6]

Woody Woodpecker cartoons were first broadcast on television in 1957 under the title The Woody Woodpecker Show, which featured Lantz cartoons bookended by new footage of Woody and live-action footage of Lantz. Lantz produced theatrical cartoons longer than most of his contemporaries, and Woody Woodpecker remained a staple of Universal's release schedule until 1972, when Lantz finally closed down his studio.

The character has been revived since then for special productions and occasions, as well as for The New Woody Woodpecker Show, a Saturday-morning cartoon television series featuring prolific voice actor Billy West as Woody that aired from 1999 to 2002.[7][8]

Woody has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard. He also made a cameo appearance alongside many other famous cartoon characters in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Like Mickey Mouse of The Walt Disney Company and Bugs Bunny of Warner Bros., Woody Woodpecker is the official mascot of Universal Studios. Woody and his friends are also icons at the Universal Studios Theme Parks worldwide, as well as the PortAventura Park in the PortAventura World, Salou, Spain (they were originally brought to the park by Universal Studios, and remain there today despite Universal no longer having a financial stake in the park).