Willoughby (Looney Tunes)

Willoughby
Willoughby and Bugs Bunny in The Heckling Hare
First appearanceOf Fox and Hounds (1940)
Last appearanceWho Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Created byTex Avery
Voiced by
In-universe information
Alias
  • Willoughby
  • Rosebud
  • Lenny
  • Sylvester
SpeciesDog
GenderMale

Willoughby is a minor animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series of cartoons. A lackadaisical hound dog, Willoughby is characterized by his below-average intelligence[1] and overall gullibility. Creator Tex Avery based Willoughby on the character Lennie from John Steinbeck's 1937 novella Of Mice and Men. The character's name has occasionally been changed to Rosebud, Lenny, or Sylvester from cartoon to cartoon.

Created during the golden age of American animation by Tex Avery, who would voice Willoughby from 1940's Of Fox and Hounds until 1941's The Heckling Hare, the character was later voiced by Kent Rogers (1941–1942), Mel Blanc (1942–1947), Tedd Pierce (1944), and Stan Freberg (1952). Other than a cameo appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Willoughby has not appeared in any new media since 1952's Foxy by Proxy.

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