Almanac: Daffy Duck
And now a page from our "Sunday Morning" Almanac: April 17th, 1937, 79 years ago today ... the day animation went daffy.
For that day saw the premiere of a Warner Brothers cartoon titled "Porky's Duck Hunt."
The cartoon followed Porky Pig as he attempted to bag a most unusual duck ... a duck quite unwilling to follow the rules:
Porky: "Hey, that wasn't in the script!"
Daffy: "Don't let that worry you, Skipper! I'm just a darn fool crazy duck!"
Actually, make that DAFFY Duck, in his very first film role -- his first, but by no means his last.
In the years and cartoons that followed, Daffy became a full-fledged star.
He survived many an encounter with that other, equally ineffective hunter Elmer Fudd.
And he traded wisecracks a-plenty with his supposed rival, Bugs Bunny.
One thing Daffy and all his colleagues shared was the talent of the late Mel Blanc, who gave voice to them all.
Blanc died in 1989 at the age of 81. However, the animated menagerie he spoke for lives on, as popular as ever. Nothing daffy about that at all!
- Gallery: Happy 75th birthday, Bugs Bunny! ("Sunday Morning" 07/27/15)
- Almanac: "Pinocchio" ("Sunday Morning," 02/23/14)
- Almanac: Walt Disney ("Sunday Morning," 12/15/13)
- Almanac: Donald Duck ("Sunday Morning," 06/09/13)
- Almanac: Woody Woodpecker ("Sunday Morning," 12/25/12)
For more info:
- looneytunes.com
- "The Essential Daffy Duck" compilation available on DVD from Amazon