Emily Laverne Harding (October 10, 1905 – September 25, 1984) was an American animator and cartoonist.

Early life

Harding was born on October 10th, 1905 to Christians John B. Harding and Pearle W. Harding in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her family moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1911.Biography: Laverne Harding
/ref> Harding attended the

Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art I ...

from 1930 to 1932. She was a member of the Delta Kappa Sorority and attended at social events.

Career

Harding, who worked for the

Walter Lantz studio 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 ...

for much of her half-century career in animation, is among the earliest woman animators. She is also one of the few women to receive a

Winsor McCay Award The Winsor McCay Award is given to individuals in recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation in producing, directing, animating, design, writing, voice acting, sound and sound effects, technical work, music, profession ...

for lifetime achievement, one of the most prestigious awards in animation (only nine women have been recognized out of 161 awards given). She won this award in 1980. Working for the Lantz studio from 1932 until 1960, Harding was particularly noted for her work on ''

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 ...

'' cartoons; she designed the version of the character that was in use from 1950 to 1998. When

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...

offered her to go with him to Warner Bros. Cartoons, she refused. At first, she was a inker, but in 1934, she was ranked up to animator, and from 1940 to 1960, Harding was credited as such. From 1954 to 1955, Harding reunited with Avery to animate on his cartoons at Lantz. While working for the Lantz studios, Harding also drew a humorous newspaper strip, ''Cynical Susie'', for

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along ...

from 1932 to 1934. ''Cynical Susie'' revolved around the exploits of the titular heroine (a

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

woman) and her pet cow, Lily Whey.

Ron Goulart Ronald Joseph Goulart (; January 13, 1933 – January 14, 2022) was an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy, and science fiction author. He published novelizations and other work under various pseudonyms: Kenneth Robeson, Co ...

, ''The Funnies : 100 years of American comic strips''.Holbrook, Mass. : Adams Pub., 1995. . (p. 141) After leaving Lantz, she animated for Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in '' The Huckleberry Hound Show''. Yogi Bear was the first ...

. She later worked for DePatie-Freleng Enterprises on ''

Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pin ...

'' cartoons, and was briefly employed at

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

and

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...

as well.

Death

Harding died in her home on September 25, 1984 in Los Angeles.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Laverne 1905 births 1984 deaths American animators Artists from Louisiana American women animators 20th-century American women artists Hanna-Barbera people Warner Bros. Cartoons people American comic strip cartoonists American female comics artists