Woody Woodpecker

Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures. Though not the first of the "screwball" characters that became popular in the 1940s, Woody is perhaps the most indicative of the type. Woody was created in 1940 by storyboard artist Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, who had previously laid the groundwork for 2 other such characters, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.