History Of Sylvester

Sylvester the Cat, also known as Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr., Puddy Tat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional Tuxedo cat, that appears in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Cartoons. The character can often be seen chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales or Hippety Hopper. The character of Sylvester was created by Isadore ‘Friz’ Freleng in 1945. Since its inception, Sylvester has appeared in around 96 cartoons. The character was listed at the 33^rd position, along with Tweety, among the list of top 50 best cartoon characters by TV Guide. Read through the following lines to know more interesting and amazing information on the history, origin and background of Sylvester.

 

Interesting & Amazing Information On Origin & Background Of Sylvester 

Sylvester was first created in 1945 to resemble a clown. This is the reason why the character flaunts a red, low crutch clown nose and baggy pants. Sylvester debuted with ‘Life with Feathers’, where a henpecked bird tried to commit suicide, rather than Sylvester eating him. The first lispy words of the character were “Thufferin' Thuccotash” which were uttered by the cat throughout his career. The cat was voiced by Mel Blanc who had earlier lent his voice for Daffy Duck as well. In 1947, Sylvester was paired with Tweety Bird in the cartoon titled ‘Tweetie Pie’. The cartoon portrayed Sylvester as the jealous housecat trying to eat Tweety. This concept was then continued and seen in countless cartoons.

 

The cartoon short won Warner Bros. their first Academy Award and thus, began the journey of Sylvester and Tweety as a perfect team. Eventually, the audiences were introduced to Granny, Tweety’s owner, and Hector, Tweety’s bulldog bodyguard. Although Sylvester was paired with his most famous rival, Tweety, he was also seen having encounters with Speedy Gonzales, Spike and Chester, Porky Pig, Hippety Hopper, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd and Wile E. Coyote as well. Apart from being used in Freleng’s cartoons, Sylvester found a place in Bob Clampett’s ‘Kitty Kornered’, Arthur Davis’s ‘Doggone Cats’ and ‘A Hick, A Slick, and a Chick’ and Chuck Jones ‘Scaredy Cat’, ‘Claws for Alarm’ and others.

 

Sylvester was also used by Robert McKimson, who created Hippety Hopper and Sylvester Junior and directed various cartoons starring the lisping cat, Sylvester. Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson directed the speedy Gonzales series, which saw Sylvester very often. Sylvester and Tweety last appeared together in 1964’s ‘Hawaiian Aye Aye’. However, the Warner Animation’s department closed down in 1964. It reopened as DePatie/ Freleng Enterprises in the late 1964. The studio came to be best known for the series of “Pink Panther” movie titles and cartoon series. Sylvester last appeared in a theatrical cartoon titled ‘A Taste of Catnip’, starring Daffy Duck, who suddenly gets the urge to chase Speedy Gonzales.

 

Sylvester later starred in ‘Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries’, a half-hour series that appeared on WB network, from 1996 to 1999. Sylvester appeared in several other Warner Bros. movies, such as ‘Space Jam’ and ‘Looney Tunes: Back in Action’. Since then, Sylvester cartoons have appeared on various networks and cable channels, including CBS, ABC, TNT, TBS, Nickelodeon, the WB and Cartoon Network. Various cartoon TV packages and series have died, but Looney Tunes cartoons have proved that enduring characters like Sylvester do not. Sylvester is, undoubtedly, one of the most diverse cartoon characters ever created.