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Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Encyclopedia
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., Sylvester the Cat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional character
, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat
in the Looney Tunes
and Merrie Melodies
repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird
, Speedy Gonzales
, or Hippety Hopper
. The name "Sylvester" is a play on Felis silvestris, the scientific name for the wild cat
species
(domestic cats like Sylvester, though, are actually Felis catus). The character debuted in Friz Freleng
's Life With Feathers
(1945). Freleng's 1947 cartoon Tweetie Pie
was the first pairing of Tweety with Sylvester, and the Bob Clampett
-directed Kitty Kornered
(1946) was Sylvester's first pairing with Porky Pig
. Sylvester appeared in 103 cartoons in the golden age.
Sylvester was #33 on TV Guide
's list of top 50 best cartoon characters, together with Tweety.
stated that Sylvester's voice is based on that of Daffy Duck
, plus the even-more-slobbery lisp, and minus the post-production speed-up that was done with Daffy's. Conventional wisdom is that Daffy's lisp, and hence also Sylvester's, were based on the lisp of producer Leon Schlesinger
. However, Blanc made no such claim. He said that Daffy's lisp was based on him having a long beak, and that he borrowed the voice for Sylvester. He also pointed out that, minus the lisp, Sylvester's voice was fairly close to his own (a claim that his son Noel Blanc has confirmed). In addition, director
Bob Clampett
, in a 1970 Funnyworld interview
, agreed with Blanc's account concerning Schlesinger
.
To emphasize the lisp, as with Daffy's catchphrase "You're desthpicable", Sylvester's trademark exclamation is "Sufferin' succotash
!", which is said to be a minced oath of "Suffering Savior". (Daffy also says "Sufferin' succotash!" from time to time.)
Prior to Sylvester's appearance in the cartoons, Blanc voiced a character named Sylvester on The Judy Canova
Show using the voice that would eventually become associated with the cat.
Sylvester shows a lot of pride in himself, and never gives up. Despite (or perhaps because of) his pride and persistence, Sylvester is, with rare exceptions, placed squarely on the "loser" side of the Looney Tunes winner/loser hierarchy. He shows a different character when paired with Porky Pig
in explorations of spooky places, in which he doesn't speak, and behaves as a scaredy cat. He also appears in a handful of cartoons with Elmer Fudd
, most notably in a series of cartoons underwritten by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
extolling the American economic system.
Perhaps Sylvester's most developed role is in a series of Robert McKimson
-directed shorts, in which the character is a hapless mouse-catching instructor to his dubious son, Sylvester Junior, with the "mouse" being a powerful baby kangaroo
which he constantly mistakes for a "king-size mouse". His alternately confident and bewildered episodes bring his son to shame, while Sylvester himself is reduced to nervous breakdowns.
Sylvester also had roles in a few cartoons:
In the 1970s and 1980s, Sylvester appeared in various Warner Bros. television specials, and in the 1980s, he appeared in the feature-film compilations
.
In the television series Tiny Toon Adventures
, Sylvester appeared as the mentor of Furrball
. The character also starred in The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries
. In the series, he plays the narrator in the beginning of episodes.
In Loonatics Unleashed
Sylvester's descendent and likely Sylvester Junior's descendent is Sylth Vester, a hitman hired by the villain, Queen Granicus to kill the Royal Tweetums so she won't have to lose her throne. Despite his best efforts he's beaten by the Loonatics. Later on the series, it is shown that he's not entirely a bad guy, for he helped the Loonatics finding the Royal Tweetums (who was hidden) and fighting against Optimatus and Deuce's, and their plan to take over the Universe. Just like his ancestor, Sylth Vester tries to kill Tweety's descendant, using all kinds of tricks.
In 1985, Sylvester could be heard in an episode of the game show Press Your Luck
. Host Peter Tomarken
had earlier incorrectly credited his catchphrase "Suffering Succotash!" to Daffy Duck. Even though all three contestants had correctly answered "Sylvester," they were ruled incorrect. In a segment produced later and edited into the broadcast, Sylvester phoned Tomarken and told him, "Daffy Duck steals from me all the time." All three participants returned to compete in future episodes.
Sylvester has "died" the most of any Looney Tunes characters, having "died" in "I Taw a Putty Tat
", "Back Alley Oproar
", "Peck Up Your Troubles
", "Satan's Waitin'
", "Mouse Mazurka", Tweety's Circus
, "Trick or Tweet
", and "Tweet and Lovely".
Western Publications produced a comic book about Tweety and Sylvester entitled Tweety and Sylvester first in Dell Comics
Four Color
series #406, 489, and 524, then in their own title from Dell Comics
(#4-37, 1954–62), then later from Gold Key Comics
(#1-102, 1963–72). In a Garfield cartoon, he made a cameo by sending Rosalina (Garfield) a love letter.
episode "Werewolf VS Unicorn" voiced by Patrick Pinney
. During Arnold Schwarzenegger
’s announcement of illegal aliens from Mexico, Sylvester demonstrates a wired fence that will keep the aliens out, only for it to be penetrated by Speedy Gonzales.
Sylvester makes a cameo appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
, where he provides the punchline for a double-entendre joke regarding Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd
)'s identity. Sylvester appears as part of the TuneSquad team in Space Jam
, bearing the number 9 on his jersey. He also has two cameo appearances in Looney Tunes: Back in Action
, but the second time, "Sylvester" is really Mr. Smith in disguise.
In the My Life as a Teenage Robot
episode "Bradventure" Jenny and Brad accidentally captures Sylvester and Snagglepuss
.
A baby version of Sylvester is part of the title cast of characters in Baby Looney Tunes
.
Sylvester is featured, with his Looney Tunes
co-stars, in Cartoon Network
's series, The Looney Tunes Show
. He is voiced by Jeff Bergman
.
), he was called "Thomas" in his first appearance with Tweety Bird in Tweetie Pie
.
Sylvester (as well as Speedy Gonzales
and Porky Pig
) appeared in a skit seen at the end of an episode of the game show Press Your Luck
. Earlier in the episode, Daffy Duck
was incorrectly listed as the correct answer to the question "Which well-known cartoon character is famous for uttering the immortal words 'Sufferin Succotash!'?" At the end of the episode, Mel Blanc
called the show in his Sylvester voice to correct host Peter Tomarken
on the gaffe. Tomarken assured "Sylvester" that future "Looney Tunes"-related questions would be run by Sylvester's office and that the three contestants in the episode would be given a second chance, as any spins that were to be awarded for the correct answer would have affected the course of the episode's gameplay. He made an appearance on The Looney Tunes Show
episode "Devil Dog", where he and Tweety get chased by Taz.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat
Bicolor cat
A bicolor cat has white fur combined with fur of some other color, for example black or tabby. There are various patterns of bicolor cat. These range from Van pattern through to solid color with a throat locket...
in the Looney Tunes
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...
and Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird
Tweety
Tweety Bird is a fictional Yellow Canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being a typical English onomatopoeia for the sounds of birds...
, Speedy Gonzales
Speedy Gonzales
Speedy Gonzales is an animated caricature of a mouse in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast and speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent...
, or Hippety Hopper
Hippety Hopper
Hippety Hopper is a young kangaroo cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series of cartoons. Robert McKimson introduced Hippety Hopper in Hop, Look and Listen , which established the pattern for future Hippety Hopper cartoons....
. The name "Sylvester" is a play on Felis silvestris, the scientific name for the wild cat
Wild cat
The wildcat is a small cat with several subspecies and a very broad distribution, found throughout most of Africa, Europe, and southwest and central Asia into India, China, and Mongolia. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar or smaller size. Sometimes included is...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
(domestic cats like Sylvester, though, are actually Felis catus). The character debuted in Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
's Life With Feathers
Life With Feathers
Life with Feathers is a 1945 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng and produced and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Short Film...
(1945). Freleng's 1947 cartoon Tweetie Pie
Tweetie Pie
Tweetie Pie is a 1947 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, depicting the first pairing of Tweety and Sylvester.When Tweety's creator, director Bob Clampett, left the Warner Bros...
was the first pairing of Tweety with Sylvester, and the Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
-directed Kitty Kornered
Kitty Kornered
Kitty Kornered is a 1946 Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Robert Clampett and produced and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. Considered among Clampett's best and wackiest films, Kitty Kornered was Clampett's final cartoon starring his longtime star Porky Pig , and marks the...
(1946) was Sylvester's first pairing with Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
. Sylvester appeared in 103 cartoons in the golden age.
Sylvester was #33 on TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
's list of top 50 best cartoon characters, together with Tweety.
Character
Sylvester's trademark is his sloppy and yet stridulating lisp. In his autobiography, That's Not All Folks!, voice actor Mel BlancMel 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...
stated that Sylvester's voice is based on that of Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
, plus the even-more-slobbery lisp, and minus the post-production speed-up that was done with Daffy's. Conventional wisdom is that Daffy's lisp, and hence also Sylvester's, were based on the lisp of producer 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:...
. However, Blanc made no such claim. He said that Daffy's lisp was based on him having a long beak, and that he borrowed the voice for Sylvester. He also pointed out that, minus the lisp, Sylvester's voice was fairly close to his own (a claim that his son Noel Blanc has confirmed). In addition, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
, in a 1970 Funnyworld interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
, agreed with Blanc's account concerning 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:...
.
To emphasize the lisp, as with Daffy's catchphrase "You're desthpicable", Sylvester's trademark exclamation is "Sufferin' succotash
Succotash
Succotash is a food dish consisting primarily of corn and lima beans or other shell beans. Other ingredients may be added including tomatoes and green or sweet red peppers. Because of the relatively inexpensive and more readily available ingredients, the dish was popular during the Great...
!", which is said to be a minced oath of "Suffering Savior". (Daffy also says "Sufferin' succotash!" from time to time.)
Prior to Sylvester's appearance in the cartoons, Blanc voiced a character named Sylvester on The Judy Canova
Judy Canova
Judy Canova , born Juliette Canova, was an American comedienne, actress, singer and radio personality. She appeared on Broadway and in films...
Show using the voice that would eventually become associated with the cat.
Sylvester shows a lot of pride in himself, and never gives up. Despite (or perhaps because of) his pride and persistence, Sylvester is, with rare exceptions, placed squarely on the "loser" side of the Looney Tunes winner/loser hierarchy. He shows a different character when paired with Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
in explorations of spooky places, in which he doesn't speak, and behaves as a scaredy cat. He also appears in a handful of cartoons with Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
, most notably in a series of cartoons underwritten by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic non-profit organization in the United States. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors.-Overview:...
extolling the American economic system.
Perhaps Sylvester's most developed role is in a series of 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...
-directed shorts, in which the character is a hapless mouse-catching instructor to his dubious son, Sylvester Junior, with the "mouse" being a powerful baby kangaroo
Hippety Hopper
Hippety Hopper is a young kangaroo cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series of cartoons. Robert McKimson introduced Hippety Hopper in Hop, Look and Listen , which established the pattern for future Hippety Hopper cartoons....
which he constantly mistakes for a "king-size mouse". His alternately confident and bewildered episodes bring his son to shame, while Sylvester himself is reduced to nervous breakdowns.
Sylvester also had roles in a few cartoons:
- Kitty KorneredKitty KorneredKitty Kornered is a 1946 Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Robert Clampett and produced and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. Considered among Clampett's best and wackiest films, Kitty Kornered was Clampett's final cartoon starring his longtime star Porky Pig , and marks the...
(1946), a Bob ClampettBob ClampettRobert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
cartoon in which a black-nosed, yellow-eyed Sylvester was teamed with three other cats to oust owner Porky PigPorky PigPorky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
from his house. - Back Alley OproarBack Alley OproarBack Alley Oproar is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short originally released in theaters on March 27, 1948. The short features Sylvester and Elmer Fudd as its main characters, voiced by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan respectively...
(1948), a Friz FrelengFriz FrelengIsadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
cartoon (actually a remake of the 1941 short Notes To You) wherein Sylvester pesters the sleep-deprived Elmer FuddElmer FuddElmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
by performing several amazing musical numbers in the alley (and even a sweet lullabyLullabyA lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
("go to sleep...go to sleep...close your big bloodshot eyes...") to temporarily ease Elmer back to the dream worldDream world (plot device)Dream world is a commonly used plot device in fictional works, most notably in science fiction and fantasy fiction. The use of a dream world creates a situation whereby a character is placed in a marvellous and unpredictable environment and must overcome several personal problems to leave it...
... very temporarily. - 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....
(1950), a Chuck JonesChuck JonesCharles 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...
cartoon in which Sylvester plays the Basil RathboneBasil RathboneSir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
-like villain to Daffy DuckDaffy DuckDaffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
's Errol FlynnErrol FlynnErrol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
-esque hero.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Sylvester appeared in various Warner Bros. television specials, and in the 1980s, he appeared in the feature-film compilations
Product bundling
Product bundling is a marketing strategy that involves offering several products for sale as one combined product. This strategy is very common in the software business , in the cable television industry Product bundling is a marketing strategy that involves offering several products for sale as...
.
In the television series Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
, Sylvester appeared as the mentor of Furrball
Furrball
Furrball is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is one of the main characters on the show.-Description:Furrball is a young, blue male cat with a hole on his right ear and a bandage on his tail...
. The character also starred in The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries
The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries
The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, is an animated television series which aired from 1995 to 2001 on Kids' WB and was later re-run on Cartoon Network...
. In the series, he plays the narrator in the beginning of episodes.
In Loonatics Unleashed
Loonatics Unleashed
Loonatics Unleashed is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that ran on the Kids' WB for two seasons from 2005 to 2007 in the United States, Teletoon in Canada, Kids Central in Singapore, Cartoon Network's Boomerang in Australia, Cartoon Network in the UK,...
Sylvester's descendent and likely Sylvester Junior's descendent is Sylth Vester, a hitman hired by the villain, Queen Granicus to kill the Royal Tweetums so she won't have to lose her throne. Despite his best efforts he's beaten by the Loonatics. Later on the series, it is shown that he's not entirely a bad guy, for he helped the Loonatics finding the Royal Tweetums (who was hidden) and fighting against Optimatus and Deuce's, and their plan to take over the Universe. Just like his ancestor, Sylth Vester tries to kill Tweety's descendant, using all kinds of tricks.
In 1985, Sylvester could be heard in an episode of the game show Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck is an American television daytime game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on September 19, 1983 on CBS and ended on September 26, 1986. In the show, contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game...
. Host Peter Tomarken
Peter Tomarken
Peter David Tomarken was an American television personality primarily known as the host of Press Your Luck.-Early life:...
had earlier incorrectly credited his catchphrase "Suffering Succotash!" to Daffy Duck. Even though all three contestants had correctly answered "Sylvester," they were ruled incorrect. In a segment produced later and edited into the broadcast, Sylvester phoned Tomarken and told him, "Daffy Duck steals from me all the time." All three participants returned to compete in future episodes.
Sylvester has "died" the most of any Looney Tunes characters, having "died" in "I Taw a Putty Tat
I Taw a Putty Tat
I Taw a Putty Tat is a 1947 short animated cartoon, released in 1948, directed by Friz Freleng. It stars Tweety and Sylvester, both voiced by Mel Blanc...
", "Back Alley Oproar
Back Alley Oproar
Back Alley Oproar is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short originally released in theaters on March 27, 1948. The short features Sylvester and Elmer Fudd as its main characters, voiced by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan respectively...
", "Peck Up Your Troubles
Peck Up Your Troubles
Peck Up Your Troubles is a 1945 animated short featuring Sylvester directed by Friz Freleng.-Plot:Sylvester is determined to get a woodpecker that just moved in, high in a tree. He climbs, but the bird greases the tree; he starts to cut it down, but a mean dog stops him...
", "Satan's Waitin'
Satan's Waitin'
Satan's Waitin' is a 1953 animated Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, released in 1954, starring Sylvester and Tweety.-Synopsis:...
", "Mouse Mazurka", Tweety's Circus
Tweety's Circus
Tweety's Circus is a "Merrie Melodies" cartoon animated short starring Tweety, Sylvester, and various circus animals. Released June 4, 1955, the cartoon is directed by Friz Freleng...
, "Trick or Tweet
Trick or Tweet
Trick Or Tweet is a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies animated cartoon first released in 1959. Written by Warren Foster and directed by Friz Freleng, with voice characterizations by Mel Blanc, the cartoon stars Tweety, Sylvester the Cat and a rival orange-red cat named Sam .-Synopsis:As Tweety is...
", and "Tweet and Lovely".
Western Publications produced a comic book about Tweety and Sylvester entitled Tweety and Sylvester first in Dell Comics
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
Four Color
Four Color
Four Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was a long-running American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
series #406, 489, and 524, then in their own title from Dell Comics
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
(#4-37, 1954–62), then later from Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
(#1-102, 1963–72). In a Garfield cartoon, he made a cameo by sending Rosalina (Garfield) a love letter.
In other media
Sylvester appears in the Robot ChickenRobot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
episode "Werewolf VS Unicorn" voiced by Patrick Pinney
Patrick Pinney
Patrick Pinney is an American voice actor. He attended college at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where he had many friends including assistant director Michele Panelli Venetis and San Francisco Bay area costumer Alison Barnwell Morris , with whom he costarred in "The...
. During Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
’s announcement of illegal aliens from Mexico, Sylvester demonstrates a wired fence that will keep the aliens out, only for it to be penetrated by Speedy Gonzales.
Sylvester makes a cameo appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
, where he provides the punchline for a double-entendre joke regarding Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
)'s identity. Sylvester appears as part of the TuneSquad team in 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...
, bearing the number 9 on his jersey. He also has two cameo appearances in Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a 2003 American live action/animated adventure comedy film directed by Joe Dante and starring Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Timothy Dalton, and Steve Martin. The film is essentially a feature-length Looney Tunes cartoon, with all the wackiness and surrealism typical...
, but the second time, "Sylvester" is really Mr. Smith in disguise.
In the My Life as a Teenage Robot
My Life as a Teenage Robot
My Life as a Teenage Robot is an American animated television series, created by Rob Renzetti for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of XJ-9, better known as Jenny Wakeman, a female robot designed to protect Earth, who is excessively addicted to teen-related activities, which are almost...
episode "Bradventure" Jenny and Brad accidentally captures Sylvester and Snagglepuss
Snagglepuss
Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character created in 1959, a pink anthropomorphic mountain lion voiced by Daws Butler. He is best known for his famous catchphrase, "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", along with phrases such as "Exit, stage left!" Snagglepuss was originally known as "Snaggletooth"...
.
A baby version of Sylvester is part of the title cast of characters in Baby Looney Tunes
Baby Looney Tunes
Baby Looney Tunes is a Canadian-American animated television series that shows Looney Tunes characters as toddlers. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation....
.
Sylvester is featured, with his Looney Tunes
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...
co-stars, in Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's series, 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:...
. He is voiced by Jeff Bergman
Jeff Bergman
Jeff Allen Bergman is an American voice actor, who provides the modern day voices of various classic cartoon characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, George Jetson, Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, and Huckleberry Hound.-Life and career:Originally from Philadelphia,...
.
Naming
Although the character was named Sylvester in later cartoon shorts (beginning with 1948's Scaredy CatScaredy Cat
Scaredy Cat is a 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and produced and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was the first of three Jones cartoons which placed Porky Pig and Sylvester the cat in a spooky setting where only Sylvester was aware of the danger - the other two films...
), he was called "Thomas" in his first appearance with Tweety Bird in Tweetie Pie
Tweetie Pie
Tweetie Pie is a 1947 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, depicting the first pairing of Tweety and Sylvester.When Tweety's creator, director Bob Clampett, left the Warner Bros...
.
Other appearances
Speedy Gonzales
Speedy Gonzales is an animated caricature of a mouse in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast and speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent...
and Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
) appeared in a skit seen at the end of an episode of the game show Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck
Press Your Luck is an American television daytime game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on September 19, 1983 on CBS and ended on September 26, 1986. In the show, contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game...
. Earlier in the episode, Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
was incorrectly listed as the correct answer to the question "Which well-known cartoon character is famous for uttering the immortal words 'Sufferin Succotash!'?" At the end of the episode, 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...
called the show in his Sylvester voice to correct host Peter Tomarken
Peter Tomarken
Peter David Tomarken was an American television personality primarily known as the host of Press Your Luck.-Early life:...
on the gaffe. Tomarken assured "Sylvester" that future "Looney Tunes"-related questions would be run by Sylvester's office and that the three contestants in the episode would be given a second chance, as any spins that were to be awarded for the correct answer would have affected the course of the episode's gameplay. He made an appearance on 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 "Devil Dog", where he and Tweety get chased by Taz.
External links
- Sylvester's history at Warner Bros' official website (requires flash).