- Ben Hardaway
Joseph Benson "Ben/Bugs" Hardaway (1897 - 1957) was a
storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer, and director for several Americananimation studios during theThe Golden Age of Hollywood animation . He was sometimes credited as J.B. Hardaway, Ben Hardaway, Buggsy Hardaway, and B. Hardaway. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0362041/ imdb.com] ] While at the Schlesinger/Warner Bros. studio studio during the late 1930s, Hardaway served as a storyman, and co-directed several "Looney Tunes " and "Merrie Melodies " shorts withCal Dalton duringFriz Freleng 's three-year exodus toMGM . In 1938, Hardaway co-directed the first film to feature an embryonic version ofBugs Bunny . This, as yet unnamed, embryonic rabbit had been created byBob Clampett after a weekend of drawing which is described in great detail in the interview published by Michael Barrier in the now defunct magazine "Funnyworld" issue #12 (1970). [http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Funnyworld/Clampett/interview_bob_clampett.htm MichaelBarrier.com - Funnyworld Revisited: Bob Clampett Interview ] ] A new drawing of a redesigned rabbit had been requested by the story department as described byVirgil Ross , the animator of "A Wild Hare " in an interview published in "Animato" magazine issue #19. [ [http://bp2.blogger.com/_vGn2cXqGA1M/Rx1OWZmS27I/AAAAAAAAAGI/xzzJxxCZZRk/s1600-h/Ross+interview+pg+17.jpg/ bp2.blogger.com] ]Animator Ben "Bugs" Hardaway inadvertently christened him when "his casual sketch of a proposed rabbit character" was labeled "Bugs's Bunny" by a fellow employee, as described in the "
Encyclopædia Britannica ". [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9095426/Bugs-Bunny/ britannica.com] ] When Freleng returned to Warner Bros. in 1939, Hardaway was demoted back to storyman. In 1940, Hardaway joined the staff ofWalter Lantz Productions , where he helpedWalter Lantz in creating the studio's most famous character,Woody Woodpecker . Hardaway wrote or co-wrote most of the stories for the 1940-1949 "Woody Woodpecker" shorts, as well as supplying Woody's voice during this period as well (Mel Blanc voiced Woody for the woodpecker's first four cartoon appearances: "Knock Knock", "Woody Woodpecker", "The Screwdriver", and "Pantry Panic ").Hardaway was also the writer for the "
Pow Wow the Indian Boy " cartoon series that aired as part of the "Captain Kangaroo " TV show.References
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