Joseph Benson Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...

artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

studios during

The Golden Age of Hollywood animation The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the late 1960s, where theatrical animated shorts began losing popularity to the ...

. He was sometimes credited as J. B. Hardaway, Ben Hardaway, B. Hardaway and Bugs Hardaway. He fought in World War I in the 129th Field Artillery Regiment, Battery D.Bugs Hardaway of Battery D
/ref>

Army service

Hardaway was enlisted in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on June 4, 1917, and was discharged on April 9, 1919, a total of 26 months. The Non-Animated Bugs
/ref> He was led in the 129th Field Artillery Regiment by future president

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, in which he attended his reception planned by

Forrest Smith Forrest Smith (February 14, 1886 – March 8, 1962) was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of Missouri. He was a Democrat. Personal life Forrest Smith was born February 14, 1886, near Hardin in Ray County, Missouri. After ...

at the Shoreham Hotel in 1949 and his inauguration, following him being re-elected. The last 14 months of his service were served in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Career

Hardaway started his career at the Kansas City Post as a cartoonist before eventually going into the animation business, working for the Kansas City Film Ad Service. He later worked for the

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...

and the

Ub Iwerks Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks ( ), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentious ...

Studio, after which Hardaway was hired by the Leon Schlesinger studio as a gagman for the

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, director, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

unit. He was promoted to director for seven

Buddy Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) *Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) *Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992) *Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...

animated shorts. Afterwards he resumed working as a gagman and storyman. He started receiving film credits in 1937. His writing credits include ''

Daffy Duck & Egghead ''Daffy Duck & Egghead'' is a 1938 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon produced in 1937 and directed by Tex Avery. The cartoon was released on January 1, 1938, and stars Daffy Duck and Egghead. Plot Egghead (in a voice imitating radio com ...

'' and ''The Penguin Parade''. While at the Schlesinger/Warner Bros. studio during the late 1930s, Hardaway served as a storyman, and co-directed several ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

'' and ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animation, animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 197 ...

'' shorts with

Cal Dalton Cal Dalton (December 2, 1908 – June 1974) was an American animator and director at Warner Bros. Cartoons. Work Dalton's first commercial animation work was in 1930 at the ill-fated Romer Grey Studios. He later worked on an animated short vers ...

during

's two-year exodus to

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Leon Schlesinger Leon Schlesinger (May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949) was an American film producer who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the Golden Age of American animation. He was a distant r ...

needed a replacement for Freleng, and Hardaway's previous experience in the job resulted in his promotion. In 1938, Hardaway co-directed ''

Porky's Hare Hunt ''Porky's Hare Hunt'' is a 1938 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' animated short film directed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway and an uncredited Cal Dalton, which stars Porky Pig as a hunter whose quarry is a little white rabbit. The short was released on ...

'', the first film to feature a rabbit. When this unnamed, embryonic rabbit was given a new model sheet for a later short, designer

Charlie Thorson Charles "Charlie" Gustav Thorson (29 August 1890 – 7 August 1966) was a Canadian political cartoonist, character designer, children's book author and illustrator. Thorson is best known as the man who designed an early version of the then yet ...

inadvertently offered a permanent name by titling the model sheet " Bugs' Bunny" since it was meant for Hardaway's unit. By the time the rabbit was redesigned and refined for the film ''

A Wild Hare ''A Wild Hare'' is a 1940 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Tex Avery. The short subject features Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny, the latter making what is considered his first official appearance.Adamson, Joe (1990). ''Bugs Bunny: ...

'', the name was already being used in relation to the character in studio publicity materials.Frank Tashlin An Interview by Michael Barrier
/ref> When Freleng returned to Warner Bros. in 1939, Hardaway was demoted back to storyman. In 1940, Hardaway joined the staff of

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...

, where he helped

Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lantz ...

in creating the studio's most famous character,

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by Lan ...

. Hardaway wrote or co-wrote most of the stories for the 1940–1950 ''Woody Woodpecker'' shorts, as well as supplying Woody's voice between 1944 and 1949.

Shamus Culhane James H. "Shamus" Culhane (November 12, 1908 – February 2, 1996) was an American animator, film director, and film producer. He is best known for his work in the Golden age of American animation. Career Shamus Culhane worked for a number of ...

, the director of the Woody cartoons in the 40's, thought Hardaway's humor was crude and formulaic. Nevertheless, the collaboration worked, and many consider this the golden era of Woody cartoons. During his second year at Lantz, he wrote the story for ''

Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat "Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat" is a 1941 hit boogie-woogie popular song written by Don Raye. A bawdy, jazzy tune, the song describes a laundry woman from Harlem, New York, United States, whose technique is so unusual that people come from al ...

'', whose reissue got withdrawn by Universal in February 1949 due to multiple complaints from the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

for its racist stereotypes of African-Americans. Hardaway died in 1957 from cancer, supposedly a long-term effect of exposure to chemical weapons during World War I. Most obituaries in newspapers said he was 66, despite the fact that he was born in 1895, not 1890, and they noted his creations Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker. The last thing he worked on was ''

Adventures of Pow Wow ''Adventures of Pow Wow'' is an American animated cartoon that was broadcast on the ''Captain Kangaroo'' show during the 1950s. The series is in the public domain due to failure to renew copyright. Plot The cartoon features the pre-adolescent Nat ...

'', although he only wrote four episodes, which have lost audio.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardaway, Ben 1895 births 1957 deaths American male voice actors American male screenwriters American animated film directors Animators from Missouri American television writers Film directors from Missouri American male television writers American storyboard artists Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Warner Bros. Cartoons directors Walt Disney Animation Studios people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Walter Lantz Productions people American military personnel of World War I