Robert Bentley on Woody Woodpecker

Robert Bentley worked on the Woody Woodpecker series on two separate occasions. Once in the 1940s, where he was credited on Ration Bored (1943), and he started working on it again in the 1950s and 1960s. So, anyway, here's what I can find of Bentley's work on the Woody Woodpecker cartoons.

Helter Shelter - 1955

Witch Crafty - 1955

Private Eye Pooch - 1955

Bedtime Bedlam - 1955

Square Shootin' Square - 1955

Bunco Busters - 1955

After the Ball - 1956 (EDIT (11/6/22): Updated screenshot since the original screenshot was Herman Cohen's work)

Get Lost - 1956

Woodpecker from Mars - 1956

Calling All Cuckoos - 1956

Niagara Fools - 1956

Arts and Flowers - 1956

Red Riding Hoodlum - 1957

Box Car Bandit - 1957

The Unbearable Salesman - 1957

International Woodpecker - 1957

Round Trip to Mars - 1957

Dopey Dick the Pink Whale - 1957

Everglade Raid - 1958

Log Jammed - 1959

Next Animator ID: Ed Barge

More George Germanetti!

UPDATE (12/7/23): The screenshots of Kickin' the Conga Round and Lunch with a Punch have been changed to actual screenshots of scenes that Germanetti animated, as the previous screenshots were done by Frank Endres and Al Eugster (presumably) respectively.

Yes, I said Robert Bentley on Woody would be next, but that'll come out tomorrow.

George Germanetti is one of my all-time favorite Popeye animators. So much so in fact I did a reel (or Sakuga MAD if you will) on his work! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goCZv6PIeck) There's some scenes I didn't showcase in that reel that I will instead showcase here! Keep in mind, some shorts on here did have parts in the reel, but this is just going to be stuff I didn't include.

Big Chief Ugh-Amugh-Ugh - 1938

Bulldozing the Bull - 1938

Hello How Am I - 1939

Kickin' the Conga 'Round - 1942

Happy Birthdaze - 1943

I'll Be Skiing Ya - 1947

Popeye Meets Hercules - 1948

Jitterbug Jive - 1950

Lunch with a Punch - 1952

Popeye, the Ace of Space - 1953

A little announcement: I have created a Discord server for my blog! Here's the link: https://discord.gg/pZ82xuPTte

Herman Cohen's Woodpecker Greeting from '63

After this, I'll make a post with something other than Lantz animators and Herman Cohen. I promise!

So, right after I made the Gil Turner post (same day as a matter of fact!) I searched up the Cohen blogpost on Google and I discovered this drawing on WorthPoint:

This is a drawing of Woody by Herman Cohen, as you can see. It's dated 1963 on the bottom right corner, and was sent to his niece, Marcia. The thing is with Woody's design in the '63 drawing, you can somewhat see a few traits of his Woody design from 1954-1955.

And even traits of the stylized Woody design from 1956 can be seen in this drawing too!

The drawing was allegedly obtained from a family member, and it was sold on eBay at some point! Sorry that this isn't a big blogpost, but I wanted to talk about the drawing, since I'm a fan of Herman Cohen's work, especially his work from Lantz.

Gil Turner on Woody Woodpecker

Welcome back to another part in the 1950s Paul J. Smith animation unit trilogy (Bentley, Cohen, and Turner). Also, I've now made two blog posts in one day.

So, Gil Turner. Gil Turner is to Woody, as William Henning is to Popeye, both drew really ugly versions of their respective characters (Here's Bob Jaques' post on Henning's Popeye work if you're curious: https://popeyeanimators.blogspot.com/2007/11/william-henning.html) Turner had worked at Warner Brothers in the Friz Freleng, Ben Hardaway/Cal Dalton, and for a brief time, the Bob Clampett unit. He had also worked for Harman-Ising when they were making shorts for MGM. Then, in 1944, he went back to MGM where he worked for Tex Avery on the short What Price Fleadom (1948). So, without furtherado, here's what I can find of Gil Turner's work on the Woody shorts.

Real Gone Woody - 1954

Bedtime Bedlam - 1955

Witch Crafty - 1955

Private Eye Pooch - 1955

Bedtime Bedlam - 1955

Square Shootin' Square - 1955

Bunco Busters - 1955

Get Lost - 1956

So what did Turner do after Lantz? Well, he went to UPA, then he went to Hanna-Barbera and animated the entirety of the Snagglepuss episode Remember Your Lions (1961). Turner would also direct at Format Films for The Alvin Show, the first ever animated adaptation of Alvin and the Chipmunks. He continued to work at H-B, until Turner would pass away in 1967, at the age of 53.

Next animator (when I do it): Robert Bentley on Woody, cause why not?

Herman Cohen on Woody Woodpecker

Herman R. Cohen worked at many studios in his long career, like WB, Fleischer Studios, MGM, and Filmation to name a few. But one studio where he had arguably his best work, was for Walter Lantz Productions. He worked there from 1953 to 1956, usually in the Paul J. Smith and Don Patterson unit. Here's some of his work on the Woody Woodpecker series, and each screenshot is presented in the style of Bob Jaques' old blog, Popeye Cartoons. (Name of the cartoon is on the top of each picture)

Socko in Morocco - 1954

Alley to Bali - 1954

Hot Rod Huckster - 1954

A Fine Feathered Frenzy - 1954

Convict Concerto - 1954

Helter Shelter - 1955

Witch Crafty - 1955

Private Eye Pooch - 1955

Bedtime Bedlam - 1955

Square Shootin' Square - 1955

Bunco Busters - 1955

After the Ball - 1956

Get Lost - 1956

Chief Charlie Horse - 1956

Woodpecker from Mars - 1956

Arts and Flowers - 1956 (His last Woody short)

Woody Woodpecker model sheet (circa 1955)

Before I end this first post, I'd like to thank my good friend Nex for helping me identify Cohen's Lantz work!

EDIT (11/14/22): The Under the Counter Spy screenshot was the animation of Ken Southworth.