Inspector Willoughby

Inspector Willoughby
First appearance	Salmon Yeggs (1958) (as Willoughby) Rough and Tumbleweed (1961) (as Inspector Willoughby)
Last appearance	The Case of the Elephant's Trunk (1965)
Created by	Walter Lantz Paul J. Smith
Voiced by	Daws Butler (1958–1960) Dallas McKennon (1959–1965)
In-universe information
Alias	Inspector Seward Willoughby
Nickname	Secret Agent 6 7/8
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Occupation	Secret Agent

Inspector Seward Willoughby is a cartoon character created by Walter Lantz and Paul J. Smith, named after the Hollywood avenue which runs alongside the building where Lantz's office was housed (at 861 Seward Street). ^[1]

Initially created as a recurring secondary character, Willoughby starred in his own series of shorts with him as a crime fighting secret agent. His cartoons were often shown on The Woody Woodpecker Show alongside Woody Woodpecker, Chilly Willy and Andy Panda. ^[2]

Biography

Inspector Willoughby (AKA Secret Agent 6 7/8) initially made his first appearance in the 1958 Windy & Breezy cartoon Salmon Yeggs as a cannery security guard. He would serve as a recurring character for several more cartoons with Windy & Breezy, as well as with Woody Woodpecker and Fatso the Bear, before receiving his own series in 1961.

The Inspector Willoughby series mainly focuses on Willoughby as a secret agent who solves mysteries and fights crime. ^[2] He is characterized with droopy eyes, a bushy mustache, and laconic voice. He was very similar to Tex Avery's Droopy in voice and stature. When on the job, he always goes after any villains which ends with them behind bars. Despite his diminutive height, he is able to physically restrain and use impressive judo moves on men twice his size. It was established in the cartoon short "Mississippi Slow Boat" that his first name is Seward.

Filmography

Windy and Breezy shorts

• Salmon Yeggs (1958)
• Truant Student (1959)
• Bee Bopped (1959) (as a bee)

Woody Woodpecker shorts

• Tomcat Combat (1959)
• Kiddie League (1959)

Fatso The Bear shorts

• Hunger Strife (1960)
• Eggnapper (1961)

Inspector Willoughby shorts

• Rough and Tumbleweed (1961) ^[3]
• Mississippi Slow Boat (1961)
• The Case of the Red-Eyed Ruby (1961)
• Phoney Express (1962)
• Hyde and Sneak (1962)
• Coming Out Party (1963)
• Case of the Cold Storage Yegg (1963)
• Hi-Seas Hi-Jacker (1963)
• The Case of the Maltese Chicken (1964)
• The Case of the Elephant's Trunk (1965)

References

1. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 95. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
2. Lehman, Christopher P. (9 October 2006). American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era: A Study of Social Commentary in Films and Television Programs, 1961–1973. McFarland. ISBN   9780786451425 . Retrieved 17 August 2017– via Google Books.
3. McCall, Douglas L. (31 October 2005). Film Cartoons: A Guide to 20th Century American Animated Features and Shorts. McFarland. ISBN   9781476609669 . Retrieved 18 August 2017– via Google Books.

External links

• Inspector Willoughby at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015.