Presented is a Walter Lantz painted and signed animation cel of his popular animated cartoon character “Woody Woodpecker” in a framed display of a “Woody Golf” animation cel. The famed Hollywood cartoonist and producer signed his name in red paint at the lower left of the cel, which features the red, blue, white and yellow bird character holding a putter in the crook of his right arm, a green pencil in his right hand, and a scorecard in his left hand, at the center of the 11 x 12-inch cel. The cel is mounted within an ivory background, gray with blue accent matte and displayed in a 19 x 20-inch brown wood with glass frame. In 1940, Lantz’s animated character first appeared in a Universal Pictures animated Andy Panda short cartoon entitled “Knock, Knock”. According to Lantz himself, he came up with the character during his honeymoon. He and his wife kept hearing a woodpecker incessantly pecking on their roof. She suggested that Walter use the bird for inspiration as a cartoon character. Taking her advice, though a bit skeptical, Lantz created the brash woodpecker character, similar to the early Daffy Duck. Woody Woodpecker became an instant hit and got his own series during 1941 and was popular in films and television through the early 1970s.

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