Walter Lantz , born the April 27th 1900 with New La Rochelle in the State of New York, dead the March 22nd 1994, is a American Cartooniste. Lantz was born in a family from immigrant Italy NS.

Teenager, it begins in the press group from William Randolph Hearst in his studio from creation from famous “the Comic S”. He works thereafter with the Bray Studios, then joined Hollywood where he collaborates some time with Mack Sennett. He is successively employed by Walt Disney and Universal Studios before creating his own studio of cartoons. Among his collaborators at Universal, it ensures the formation the animation of some Tex Avery, promised with a bright future….

But it is with Woody Woodpecker, appeared as a supporting character in the series Andy Panda (another hero of Walter Lantz) that real success bursts. The Co-creator of the character was Ben Hardaway (this one had just created Daffy Duck with the Warner Bros. Pictures and with also outlined the first Bugs Bunny).

The famous cry of Woody was initially pushed by White Mel, then after its departure for Warner Bros by Grace Stafford-Lantz, the second wife of Walter, who had auditioned and obtained anonymously this role.

In 1954, Walter Lantz finds Tex Avery (which has just left MGM) for 4 cartoons which reveal Chilly Willy.

Walter Lantz creates and produced 1940 with 1972 194 cartoons of Woody Woodpecker.

Many times nominated at the Oscars (1934, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955 and 1956) in the category “short film of animation”, it never gained the trophy for one of its cartoons. But it became in 1979 the first creator of “short films of animation  ” to off obtain a Oscar of honor for the whole of its work “For bringing joy and laughter to every single share the world through his animated motion pictures.  ”