Ben Hardaway

Born: 1895-05-21

Joseph Benson 'Ben' (a.k.a. 'Bugs') Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. While at the Leon Schlesinger / Warner Bros. studio during the late 1930s, Hardaway, in 1938, co-directed Porky's Hare Hunt, the first film to feature a rabbit. When this unnamed, embryonic rabbit was given a new model sheet for a later short, since, according to Chuck Jones, Hardaway "didn't draw it very well", designer Charlie Thorson inadvertently offered a permanent name by titling the model sheet "Bugs' Bunny" since it was meant for Hardaway's unit. By the time the rabbit was redesigned and refined for the film A Wild Hare, the name was already being used in relation to the character in studio publicity materials. In 1940, Hardaway joined the staff of Walter Lantz Productions, where he helped Walter Lantz in creating the studio's most famous character, Woody Woodpecker. Hardaway wrote or co-wrote most of the stories for the 1940–1950 Woody Woodpecker shorts, as well as supplying Woody's voice between 1944 and 1949. [biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]


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Woody Dines Out

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1945-03-31

Woody Woodpecker goes out to dine and accidentally stumbles into a taxidermist's shop, thinking...

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The Barber of Seville

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1944-04-21

Woody is standing outside the Seville Barber Shop looking at the ads. Wanting a "victory...

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Wet Blanket Policy

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1948-08-27

Woody Woodpecker buys life insurance with the beneficiary being Buzz Buzzard who wants to...

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Pantry Panic

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1941-11-23

Woody's friends warn him that the groundhog has predicted a blizzard. Unconcerned, Woody decides...

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Woody Woodpecker and Friends

as Various Voices
Released: 1982-01-02

A compilation of ten classic Walter Lantz cartoons: Knock Knock (1940), The Bandmaster (1947),...

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The Loose Nut

as Woody Woodpecker / Bull Dozer (voice)
Released: 1945-12-17

Woody Woodpecker goes to the park for a game of golf, and quickly gets at odds with some workers...

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Woody the Giant Killer

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1947-12-15

Out of work, Woody complains about his not having any living quarters. A slick talking con man...

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The Reckless Driver

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1946-08-26

Driving down a U.S. highway, Woody Woodpecker passes a billboard which reminds him that he...

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Wild and Woody!

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1948-12-31

Woody Woodpecker gallops into a wild western town, which can't keep a sheriff very long due to...

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Smoked Hams

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1947-04-27

Wally Walrus is a day sleeper and requires daily rest while his neighbor in the adjacent...

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The Beach Nut

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1944-10-15

A crowd gathers at the beach to witness vacationer Wally Walrus thrashing Woody Woodpecker....

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Ski For Two

as Woody Woodpecker
Released: 1944-11-12

Planning a vacation, Woody reads in the newspaper about Swiss Chard Lodge which promises lots of...

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Who's Cookin Who?

as Woody Woodpecker / Starvation (voice)
Released: 1946-06-23

Woody Woodpecker is sleeping. He awakens, under a blanket of snow, to find that both Winter and...

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Ace in the Hole

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1942-06-21

Woody Woodpecker is a stable boy. The stables are located right in an airfield, and the sound of...

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It's an Ill Wind

as Dizzy Duck
Released: 1939-01-27

Porky and his friend Dizzy Duck go fishing, but their trip is cut short by a thunderstorm. They...

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Chew-Chew Baby

as Woody Woodpecker (voice) (uncredited)
Released: 1945-02-04

Boarding house proprietor Wally Walrus takes out an ad in the local paper looking for a...

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The Dippy Diplomat

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1945-08-26

A newspaper announces that Ivan Awfulitch, the famous ambassador, is due to have a barbecue with...

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Fair Weather Fiends

as Woody Woodpecker (voice)
Released: 1946-11-18

After a storm strands them on a deserted island, Woody Woodpecker and his wolf friend end up...

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The Hollywood Matador

as Woody Woodpecker
Released: 1942-02-08

The bull is watching through a knothole as the great bullfighter, Woody Woodpecker, is showing...

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