Inspector Willoughby
Encyclopedia
Inspector Willoughby is a cartoon character created by Walter Lantz
, and named after the Hollywood avenue which runs alongside the building where Lantz's office was housed (at 861 Seward Street). In Mississippi Slow Boat (1961) the character is addressed as Inspector Seward Willoughby. His cartoons were often shown on The Woody Woodpecker Show
alongside Woody Woodpecker
, Chilly Willy
, and Andy Panda
.
's Droopy in voice and stature. When on the job, he always goes after any villains which ends with them behind bars. Despite his diminutive height, he is able to physically restrain and use impressive judo
moves on men twice his size.
Inspector Willoughby also had other jobs outside of his secret agent work, such as a truant
officer, male nurse, and park
ranger. It has been speculated that he has relatives in those jobs. The first appearance of a Willougby-esque character was a cannery security guard in Salmon Yeggs (1958). Although small bald men have also been seen in The Clip Joint, Billion Dollar Boner
and Hunger Strife, they were not "true" Willoughbies.
Walter Lantz
Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and director, best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.-Early years and start in animation:...
, and named after the Hollywood avenue which runs alongside the building where Lantz's office was housed (at 861 Seward Street). In Mississippi Slow Boat (1961) the character is addressed as Inspector Seward Willoughby. His cartoons were often shown on The Woody Woodpecker Show
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
alongside Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
, Chilly Willy
Chilly Willy
Chilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive anthropomorphic penguin living in Alaska, although the species is native only to the southern hemisphere. He was created by Paul J. Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953...
, and Andy Panda
Andy Panda
Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947 and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The titular character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a...
.
Bio
Inspector Willoughby (AKA Secret Agent 6 7/8) was a secret agent with droopy eyes, a bushy mustache, and laconic voice. He solved mysteries and fought crime. He was very similar to Tex AveryTex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
's Droopy in voice and stature. When on the job, he always goes after any villains which ends with them behind bars. Despite his diminutive height, he is able to physically restrain and use impressive judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
moves on men twice his size.
Inspector Willoughby also had other jobs outside of his secret agent work, such as a truant
Truancy
Truancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. The term typically describes absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate "excused" absences, such as ones related to medical conditions...
officer, male nurse, and park
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
ranger. It has been speculated that he has relatives in those jobs. The first appearance of a Willougby-esque character was a cannery security guard in Salmon Yeggs (1958). Although small bald men have also been seen in The Clip Joint, Billion Dollar Boner
Billion Dollar Boner
Billion Dollar Boner is the 96th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on January 5, 1960, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal International.- References :...
and Hunger Strife, they were not "true" Willoughbies.
Other media
- Inspector Willoughby was featured in an episode of The New Woody Woodpecker ShowThe New Woody Woodpecker ShowThe New Woody Woodpecker Show is an animated television series based on the original cartoon by Walter Lantz, produced by Universal Animation Studios and aired from 1999 until 2002 on FOX and YTV...
and was voiced by Maurice LaMarcheMaurice LaMarcheMaurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
.
External links
- Inspector Willoughby at Toonopedia