Henery Hawk
Encyclopedia
Henery Hawk is a cartoon character from the American Looney Tunes
series, who appeared in twelve cartoons. His first appearance was The Squawkin' Hawk
, directed by Chuck Jones
and produced by Leon Schlesinger
. Henery's next appearance was Walky Talky Hawky
which also featured Foghorn Leghorn and The Barnyard Dawg
, directed by Robert McKimson
. Henery's last appearance was Strangled Eggs
. His latest appearance was The Looney Tunes Show
.
with a forelock
of feathers. The young bird lives at home with his parents, and speaks with tough-guy bravado. He was played in the first short by Kent Rogers
. The role was then assumed by Mel Blanc
(and later by Joe Alaskey
). Henery has a high-pitched voice and perpetually angry temperament.
In a typical Foghorn/Henery cartoon, Henery strikes out on his own for the first time, eager to capture (and presumably consume) a chicken
. Having led a sheltered life, however, he does not know what a chicken looks like, only that chicken hawks eat them. Foghorn presumes that this diminutive, naïve troublemaker is no real threat; however, seeing the potential for annoyance, he points & manipulates Henery in the direction of Barnyard Dawg. The remainder of the cartoon is usually consumed by Dawg and Leghorn alternately assuring Henery that the other is a chicken and encouraging him to attack the "chicken" mercilessly. In a reversal, the cartoon The Foghorn Leghorn
has Foghorn wanting Henery to believe Foghorn is a chicken, where Henery believes Foghorn is merely a "loud-mouthed schnook," supposedly a separate kind of creature. Later, when Barnyard Dawg calls Foghorn a "good-for-nothing chicken", Henery finally wises up.
Many cartoons ended with Henery capturing one (or both) of his tormentors, pragmatically shrugging his shoulders over whether his prey may or may not be an actual fowl. Typically, he would decide that one of them must be a real chicken and would therefore knock out and capture both.
Henery Hawk is also a supporting character in the Looney Tunes comic books; in pre-1970s stories, he often starred in features of his own, typically played against Oliver Owl as well as Foghorn.
Henery Hawk made a brief cameo appearance in the bleacher scenes of the 1996 film, Space Jam
.
Henery Hawk first appeared in The Looney Tunes Show
episode "Fish and Visitors" in the Merrie Melodies segment "Chickenhawk" (sung by Barnyard Dawg
) where he tries to eat Foghorn Leghorn, while Foghorn tries to break him of his craving.
In 2011, Henery Hawk appeared in a commercial for GEICO
along with Foghorn Leghorn. In the commercial, Foghorn was serving as a reader for a "book on tape" version of the Charles Dickens
novel A Tale of Two Cities
when Henery--sick and tired of Foghorn's ad-libbing--takes a club and hits Foghorn with it off-camera.
Video games
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
series, who appeared in twelve cartoons. His first appearance was The Squawkin' Hawk
The Squawkin' Hawk
The Squawkin' Hawk was an American animated cartoon short in the Merrie Melodies series, first released to theatres in 8 October 1942. It was produced by Leon Schlesinger, directed by Chuck Jones, music by Carl Stalling and released to theatres by Warner Bros. It features the first appearance of...
, directed by Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and produced by Leon Schlesinger
Leon Schlesinger
Leon Schlesinger was an American film producer, most noted for founding Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the golden age of Hollywood animation.-Early life and career:...
. Henery's next appearance was Walky Talky Hawky
Walky Talky Hawky
Walky Talky Hawky is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1946 and directed by Robert McKimson. All voice characterizations are performed by Mel Blanc.-Plot:...
which also featured Foghorn Leghorn and The Barnyard Dawg
Barnyard Dawg
Barnyard Dawg is a Looney Tunes character. An adult anthropomorphic basset hound, he is the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn and was voiced by Mel Blanc...
, directed by Robert McKimson
Robert McKimson
Robert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
. Henery's last appearance was Strangled Eggs
Strangled Eggs
Strangled Eggs is a "Merrie Melodies" cartoon animated short starring Foghorn Leghorn, Miss Prissy and Henery Hawk. Released March 18, 1961, the cartoon is directed by Robert McKimson. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc.-Plot:...
. His latest appearance was The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show is a packaged show, created for Cartoon Network, and broadcast from 2002 to 2005. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The show featured cartoon shorts from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon series produced from 1930 to 1969.-External links:...
.
Character biography
Henery is a tiny, brown chicken hawkChickenhawk (bird)
In the United States, a Chickenhawk or Chicken Hawk is an unofficial designation for three species of North American hawks: the Cooper's Hawk, the Sharp-shinned Hawk and the Red-tailed Hawk. The term Chicken Hawk, however, is inappropriate...
with a forelock
Forelock
The forelock or foretop is a part of a horse's mane, that grows from the animal's poll and falls between the ears and onto the forehead...
of feathers. The young bird lives at home with his parents, and speaks with tough-guy bravado. He was played in the first short by Kent Rogers
Kent Rogers
Kent Rogers was a Hollywood impressionist who appeared in several live-action shorts and features and a voice actor for Warner Bros..-Career:...
. The role was then assumed by Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
(and later by Joe Alaskey
Joe Alaskey
Joseph "Joe" Alaskey is an American actor, comedian, and voice artist, credited as one of the successors of Mel Blanc in impersonating the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons. He was born in Watervliet, New York.-Other work:Alaskey has also done voices...
). Henery has a high-pitched voice and perpetually angry temperament.
In a typical Foghorn/Henery cartoon, Henery strikes out on his own for the first time, eager to capture (and presumably consume) a chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
. Having led a sheltered life, however, he does not know what a chicken looks like, only that chicken hawks eat them. Foghorn presumes that this diminutive, naïve troublemaker is no real threat; however, seeing the potential for annoyance, he points & manipulates Henery in the direction of Barnyard Dawg. The remainder of the cartoon is usually consumed by Dawg and Leghorn alternately assuring Henery that the other is a chicken and encouraging him to attack the "chicken" mercilessly. In a reversal, the cartoon The Foghorn Leghorn
The Foghorn Leghorn
The Foghorn Leghorn is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1948 and directed by Robert McKimson. Foghorn has to convince an unbelieving Henery Hawk that he really is a "chicken. Rooster, that is."...
has Foghorn wanting Henery to believe Foghorn is a chicken, where Henery believes Foghorn is merely a "loud-mouthed schnook," supposedly a separate kind of creature. Later, when Barnyard Dawg calls Foghorn a "good-for-nothing chicken", Henery finally wises up.
Many cartoons ended with Henery capturing one (or both) of his tormentors, pragmatically shrugging his shoulders over whether his prey may or may not be an actual fowl. Typically, he would decide that one of them must be a real chicken and would therefore knock out and capture both.
Henery Hawk is also a supporting character in the Looney Tunes comic books; in pre-1970s stories, he often starred in features of his own, typically played against Oliver Owl as well as Foghorn.
Henery Hawk made a brief cameo appearance in the bleacher scenes of the 1996 film, Space Jam
Space Jam
Aside from Jordan, a number of NBA players and coaches appeared in the film. Larry Bird portrays a friend of Jordan who joins him for a game of golf. When the Monstars steal the NBA players' talent, they invade a game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, causing the Knicks' Patrick...
.
Henery Hawk first appeared in The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show is a packaged show, created for Cartoon Network, and broadcast from 2002 to 2005. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The show featured cartoon shorts from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon series produced from 1930 to 1969.-External links:...
episode "Fish and Visitors" in the Merrie Melodies segment "Chickenhawk" (sung by Barnyard Dawg
Barnyard Dawg
Barnyard Dawg is a Looney Tunes character. An adult anthropomorphic basset hound, he is the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn and was voiced by Mel Blanc...
) where he tries to eat Foghorn Leghorn, while Foghorn tries to break him of his craving.
In 2011, Henery Hawk appeared in a commercial for GEICO
GEICO
The Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
along with Foghorn Leghorn. In the commercial, Foghorn was serving as a reader for a "book on tape" version of the Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
novel A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature....
when Henery--sick and tired of Foghorn's ad-libbing--takes a club and hits Foghorn with it off-camera.
Cartoons
Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies- The Squawkin' HawkThe Squawkin' HawkThe Squawkin' Hawk was an American animated cartoon short in the Merrie Melodies series, first released to theatres in 8 October 1942. It was produced by Leon Schlesinger, directed by Chuck Jones, music by Carl Stalling and released to theatres by Warner Bros. It features the first appearance of...
(debut) (August 8, 1942) (directed by Chuck Jones) - Walky Talky HawkyWalky Talky HawkyWalky Talky Hawky is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1946 and directed by Robert McKimson. All voice characterizations are performed by Mel Blanc.-Plot:...
(August 31, 1946) (directed by Robert McKimson) - Crowing PainsCrowing PainsCrowing Pains is a cartoon in the Looney Tunes series that was released in 1947. The cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson, stars Henery Hawk, Sylvester, and Foghorn Leghorn and The Barnyard Dawg, all of whom are voiced by Mel Blanc. It is also the first cartoon to feature more than two Looney Tunes...
(July 12, 1947) (directed by McKimson) - You Were Never DuckierYou Were Never DuckierYou Were Never Duckier is an animated cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series from 1948. Starring Daffy Duck and Henery Hawk, this cartoon was significant for several reasons. It ushered in a new "era" as the first ever Warner Bros. cartoon in the post-1948 package to be released...
(August 7, 1948) (directed by Jones) - The Foghorn LeghornThe Foghorn LeghornThe Foghorn Leghorn is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1948 and directed by Robert McKimson. Foghorn has to convince an unbelieving Henery Hawk that he really is a "chicken. Rooster, that is."...
(October 9, 1948) (directed by McKimson) - Henhouse HeneryHenhouse HeneryHenhouse Henery is a 1949 Foghorn Leghorn cartoon made by Warner Bros. and directed by Robert McKimson featuring Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.-Plot:The story beginning with Henery Hawk on a quest to catch a chicken...
(July 2, 1949) (directed by McKimson) - The Scarlet PumpernickelThe Scarlet PumpernickelThe Scarlet Pumpernickel is a 1949 animated Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in 1950, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese....
(cameo) (March 4, 1950) (directed by Jones) - The Leghorn Blows at MidnightThe Leghorn Blows at MidnightThe Leghorn Blows at Midnight is a 1949 Foghorn Leghorn cartoon, released by Warner Bros. in 1950, which was directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon also features Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.-Plot:...
(May 6, 1950) (directed by McKimson) - Leghorn SwoggledLeghorn SwoggledLeghorn Swoggled is a 1950 Foghorn Leghorn cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson and released by Warner Bros. in 1951. The cartoon also features Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg, and has a plot that is similar to Henhouse Henery and The Leghorn Blows at Midnight .-Plot:The story begins with the...
(July 28, 1951) (directed by McKimson) - The Egg-Cited RoosterThe Egg-Cited RoosterThe Egg-Cited Rooster is a 1951 Foghorn Leghorn cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson and released by Warner Bros. in 1952.-Plot:The story begins with Foghorn being forced by his domineering wife to remain in the henhouse to sit on an egg that is about to hatch while his wife goes our to play bridge...
(October 4, 1952) (directed by McKimson) - All Fowled UpAll Fowled UpAll Fowled Up is a 1954 Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1955 and directed by Robert McKimson. The cartoon also features Henery Hawk and the Barnyard Dawg.-Plot:...
(February 19, 1955) (directed by McKimson) - Strangled EggsStrangled EggsStrangled Eggs is a "Merrie Melodies" cartoon animated short starring Foghorn Leghorn, Miss Prissy and Henery Hawk. Released March 18, 1961, the cartoon is directed by Robert McKimson. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc.-Plot:...
(March 18, 1961) (directed by McKimson) - Chickenhawk (The Looney Tunes ShowThe Looney Tunes ShowThe Looney Tunes Show is a packaged show, created for Cartoon Network, and broadcast from 2002 to 2005. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The show featured cartoon shorts from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon series produced from 1930 to 1969.-External links:...
) (May 24, 2011) (directed by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone)
Video games
- The Bugs Bunny Birthday BlowoutThe Bugs Bunny Birthday BlowoutThe Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout, known in Japan as and in Europe as The Bugs Bunny Blowout, is the title of a Kemco video game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
- Space JamSpace JamAside from Jordan, a number of NBA players and coaches appeared in the film. Larry Bird portrays a friend of Jordan who joins him for a game of golf. When the Monstars steal the NBA players' talent, they invade a game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, causing the Knicks' Patrick...