Professor Grampy is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

cartoon character appearing in the ''

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...

'' series of shorts produced by

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...

and released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. He appeared in nine of the later ''Betty Boop'' cartoons beginning with ''

Betty Boop and Grampy ''Betty Boop and Grampy'' is a 1935 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop. The short features Grampy in his first appearance. Plot Betty receives an invitation to a party from her elderly relative, Grampy. As she strolls a ...

'' (1935). He had a starring role in the "Color Classic" ''

Christmas Comes But Once A Year ''Christmas Comes But Once a Year'' is a 1936 animated short produced by Fleischer Studios and released on December 4, 1936 by Paramount Pictures. It is part of the ''Color Classics'' series. The cartoon features Professor Grampy, a character ...

'' (1936). Grampy is an ever-cheerful and energetic senior citizen with a bald, dome-shaped head, white beard, and black nose (depicted with a red nose in color productions). One author speculates that the character's design may suggest he is

Ko-Ko the Clown Koko the Clown is an animated character created by Max Fleischer. He first appeared as the main protagonist in ''Out of the Inkwell'' (1918-1929), a major animated series of the silent era. Throughout the series, he goes on many adventures with h ...

in retirement. His primary activities include singing, dancing and building

Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadge ...

-esque devices out of ordinary household items. When presented with an unexpected problem, he puts on his thinking cap (a

mortarboard The square academic cap, graduate cap, cap, mortarboard (because of its similarity in appearance to the mortarboard used by brickmasons to hold mortar) or Oxford cap is an item of academic dress consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upo ...

with a

lightbulb An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the so ...

on top). In short order, the lightbulb lights up as Grampy exclaims, "Hooray, I've got it!" and builds a new gadget to solve the problem. The character was possibly based upon Max's brother, Charles, an inventor, one of whose creations was the clawing device that (in 2021) is still omnipresent in arcades and standalone toys. It is not clear whether Grampy is related to Betty Boop, because everyone calls him "Grampy" and he seems to be equally affectionate to almost everyone he meets. There is also some inconsistency as to living arrangements. In some cartoons like ''

'' and ''

House Cleaning Blues ''House Cleaning Blues'' is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop, and featuring Grampy. Synopsis Betty wakes up in the morning after her birthday party. The house is a shamble, and Betty is not looking forward to clea ...

,'' he and Betty live in separate houses. However, in ''

The Impractical Joker ''The Impractical Joker'' is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop. Jack Mercer (the voice of Popeye) provides the voice for Irving.Full cast and crew at thIMDb Synopsis Betty Boop is baking a cake, when Irving the p ...

,'' he lives in an upper floor. The identity of Grampy's voice actor has been subject to debate. The

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...

credits

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Jack Mercer Winfield B. Mercer (January 31, 1910 – December 7, 1984), professionally known as Jack Mercer, was a prolific American voice actor, animator and TV screenwriter. He is best known as the voice of cartoon characters Popeye the Sailor Man and ...

, while the character's article on

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

indicated that standard reference sources didn't name Grampy's voice actor, aside from some isolated mentions crediting Everett Clark for the role. Grampy appeared in nine of the later ''Betty Boop'' cartoons in the mid-1930s, often having a larger role than Betty. He also made one appearance without Betty, in the aforementioned ''Christmas Comes But Once a Year''.

Filmography

*''Betty Boop and Grampy'' (1935) *'' A Song A Day'' (1936) *''

Grampy's Indoor Outing ''Grampy's Indoor Outing'' is a 1936 Fleischer Studio animated short, starring Betty Boop and Grampy Professor Grampy is an animated cartoon character appearing in the ''Betty Boop'' series of shorts produced by Max Fleischer and released by P ...

'' (1936) *'' Be Human'' (1936) *''Christmas Comes But Once a Year'' (1936) *''

'' (1937) *''The Impractical Joker'' (1937) *''

The Candid Candidate ''The Candid Candidate'' is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop and Grampy Professor Grampy is an animated cartoon character appearing in the ''Betty Boop'' series of shorts produced by Max Fleischer and released ...

'' (1937) *'' Service with a Smile'' (1937) *''

Zula Hula ''Zula Hula'' is a 1937 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop, and featuring Grampy. Due to the use of negative racial stereotypes, this short is seldom screened today. Synopsis Betty and Grampy are on an around-the-world ...

'' (1937)

References

Animated human characters Fleischer Studios series and characters Fictional inventors Male characters in animation Film characters introduced in 1935 {{animation-char-stub