Lil' Eightball is a

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 ...

character voiced by

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

, who made his first appearance in the cartoon "The Stubborn Mule" in 1939. His final appearance was in 1939, in "A Haunting We Will Go". He is a racially offensive

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

of an African-American child. "A Haunting We Will Go" is the first Walter Lantz cartoon made in three-strip Technicolor. From this point onward, all of the Lantz cartoons would be produced in color. List of appearances: *"The Stubborn Mule" (July 3, 1939)The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1939

. ''www.bcdb.com'', April 13, 2012 *"Silly Superstition" (August 28, 1939)
. ''www.bcdb.com'', April 13, 2012 *"A Haunting We Will Go" (September 4, 1939)
. ''www.bcdb.com'', April 13, 2012 Lil' Eightball appeared on the cover of Lantz's monthly anthology comic book ''New Funnies'' (published by

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

), from at least issue #65 (July 1942). Responding in 1947 to a group of eight-year-old schoolchildren who had complained about Eight Ball, Dell's managing editor

Oskar Lebeck Oskar Lebeck (August 30, 1903 – December 20, 1966) was a stage designer and an illustrator, writer and editor (mostly of children's literature) who is best known for his role in establishing Dell Comics during the 1930s and 1940s period known a ...

wrote: The last appearance of the character was in issue #126, the August 1947 issue.

References

External links

*
The Walter Lantz-o-Pedia
Film characters introduced in 1939 Universal Pictures cartoons and characters Walter Lantz Productions shorts Fictional African-American people Articles containing video clips Walter Lantz Productions cartoons and characters {{animation-char-stub

See also

References

External links