KEY CREW BEHIND THE STAR: Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones (directors), Mel Blanc (voice), Warren Foster, Ben Hardaway, Michael Maltese, Dave Monahan (writers)

CAREER HIGH: DUCK AMUCK (1953) - Daffy suffers the ultimate animated nightmare as the animator takes full control changing costumes, scenery, story and more, while stretching Daffy's flexibility to the limit.

Often described, even by himself, as "the little black duck," Daffy was just that, a black duck. His legs and beak were an orange color (sometimes more red or yellow than orange). On his neck there was frequently a band of white. He had no regular attire, but some of his most famous roles were as costumed characters. He spoke in a lisping, spitting form. (In some of his earlier adventures, his spitting gets quite formidable.)

In fact, Daffy is "half" duck. Porky Pig, Mickey Mouse and Huckleberry Hound are basically humans in animal form. Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo and Yogi Bear are pretty much animals in a human world. Daffy is both. He swims, flies, and dodges hunters like a duck. However, he also has jobs, wears clothes, and needs money like humans.

Daffy was either versatile or schizophrenic (multiple personalities). He definitely started out as a "daffy" darnfool duck and even sang about being "looney tune-y" in an early short. However, he soon settled down to being merely wild and crazy. In fact as Bugs, Porky and other characters began to become more settled in their ways, Daffy remained the looniest of the Looney Tune bunch.

When confronted with the spectre of failure or danger, he would merely re-double his speed, volume and efforts. No amount of physical mutilation could prevent his coming back and trying again. Daffy can endure hate but not indifference. Deep down, he has the fear that he is not good enough. By overcompensating, he hastens his own downfall.

However, as time passed and more directors took their time with him, he began to exhibit different kinds of behavior. Bob Clampett featured a loud, brazen Daffy who could and would do anything for a laugh. Chuck Jones emphasized a Daffy who was a self-centered, greedy and conniving schemer. Friz Freleng had Daffy often become a villainous foil to other characters. Other directors might feature him as anything from a second banana to an everyman type of character.

Unlike other superstars, or cartoon stars in general, Daffy's various styles of behaviour were not phases that came and went as he developed. They seemed forever linked with him appearing throughout his long career. Only one factor remained constant: Daffy was almost always annoying! Whether wild and zany, greedy and corrupt, a villain or a stooge, Daffy's constant chatter and unconcern for other characters made him an annoying figure. Ironically, he was his own worst enemy and his actions were usually the cause of his setbacks.

Daffy was an intruding character. Whereas most characters lived in their own world and encountered strangers venturing into their territory, Daffy was the stranger. His cartoons often begin with him arriving somewhere, or trying to get somewhere. Many of his occupations feature this concept such as THE IMPATIENT PATIENT (1942) where he's a telegram delivery boy or THE UPSTANDING SITTER (1947) where he's a babysitter.

He was the most "sexually active" of the Warners crew. (And for that matter of most superstars in general.) Daffy was often married with children. Sadly, it was not always a happy marriage. More than once he was a hen (or duck) pecked husband. He even had a wife who wanted a divorce due to his clowning around that made their egg disappear (THE HEN PECKED DUCK, 1949). Daffy was also seen as a single duck, frequently on the lookout for women.

Though Daffy was a superstar in his own right, he was also a team player. As often as not, he was one of pair. Throughout his career, Porky was frequently teamed with Daffy. Bugs teamed with Daffy in the Fifties for a series of shorts featuring the two in a battle of wits. The Sixties found him often at odds with the rapid Speedy Gonzales.

It is no doubt that this general versatility of personality is what kept Daffy so busy. Unlike other characters who would become locked into a fairly consistent behavior, the writers and directors could do anything with Daffy... and they did.

THE LITTLE BLACK DUCK BEGINS

Daffy's origins are pretty clean cut as cartoon superstars go. In the Thirties, the key Warners staff was being assembled. This included such writers as Tedd Pierce, Michael Maltese and Warren Foster. Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Frank Tashlin, Bob McKimson, and Friz Freleng were beginning their work as either animators or directors. (All would eventually become directors.) Also on hand was Carl Stalling, the music master who would create some of the greatest scores in animated history. The Looney Tune factory was getting into full swing.

The studio's main star of this new regime was Porky Pig. He had finally grown up to an adult and was now more human than pig in behavior. 1937 saw the release of just another Porky short entitled PORKY'S DUCK HUNT. However, this film shows much more lunacy than found in other Warners cartoons at the time. Not only is it the debut of Daffy, but some historians consider it the beginning of the "classic" Warners style. Directed by Tex Avery, the main plot was just what the title said.

(During the Thirties, in the quest for stars, the studios often put the character's name in the title for more recognition. The title also frequently described the short. It wasn't until the late Thirties and Forties that animated shorts began going heavily after titles that were either puns or jokes.)

In this debut film, Porky is befuddled by a crazy black duck. The duck bounces and dances around the pond, talks back to Porky and even admits to not following the script. In the end he repeats his dance over the end titles! At the time this was unprecedented. It certainly appears as if the little black duck was being groomed for bigger things.

Mel Blanc provided Daffy's lisping voice which was a direct copy of producer Leon Schlesinger's. The animators copied it as a gag. They speeded it up slightly. (Sylvester the Cat is an example of how it would sound without being artificially sped up.) It wasn't until the first screening, with Schlesinger, that they had second thoughts. Upon completing the screening, Schlesinger is reported to have said, "Where did you guyth get that crazthy voithe!"

This character is still pretty much the standard "crazy cartoon character" used in such films. (Bugs Bunny's character is eventually derived from a similarly silly hare in PORKY'S HARE HUNT, 1938). However, this craziness seemed to fit the duck.

Daffy's next appearance was co-starring with another regular Warner's character, Egghead. DAFFY DUCK AND EGGHEAD (1938) was written by Ben ("Bugs") Hardaway and directed by Tex Avery. In it, Daffy is once again the hunted duck. Daffy's back with Porky in PORKY AND DAFFY (1938) as the pair are placed in a boxing ring. This one introduced director Bob Clampett to the little black duck... and Daffy would never be quite the same.

DAFFY GETS A JOB

Clampett gave Daffy his first "job," in the duck's fourth outing, THE DAFFY DOC (1938). Daffy chases Porky through a hospital and accidentally gets caught in an iron lung. This causes Daffy's body parts to begin inflating and deflating as if they were breathing! The final short of 1938 was DAFFY DUCK IN HOLLYWOOD. Directed by Avery and written by Dave Monahan, the story has Daffy trying to break into pictures. When he's snubbed by a famous director, the Duck sneaks into the editing room and compiles a film of his own.

In 1939, Daffy appears in only two films, DAFFY DUCK AND THE DINOSAUR (directed by Chuck Jones, written by Monahan) and WISE QUACKS (directed by Clampett, written by Warren Foster). While DINOSAUR is a standard duck hunt picture, QUACKS features the first view of Daffy's married life. In fact, Daffy's expecting so Porky comes over to congratulate him.

Daffy's connection to Porky Pig would follow him through most of his career. In YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES (1940), Daffy tries to take over Porky's starring position at Warners. (Something he actually did.) PORKY PIG'S FEAT (1943) and DAFFY DUCK SLEPT HERE (1948) have the two share a hotel room with disastrous results. MY LITTLE DUCKAROO (1954) has the pair in a Western spoof. 1961's DAFFY'S INN TROUBLE finds the two operating competing Inns. The only difference was that by the Fifties, Daffy would be the star, and Porky would be second banana.

Daffy continued growing into into the wild and crazy Duck throughout the Forties. THE WISE QUACKING DUCK (1943) had Daffy on the farm and Mr. Meek trying to kill him for a duck dinner. ("Gruesome, isn't it!") In HOLLYWOOD DAFFY (1946) he battled a Hollywood studio guard (patterned after Joe Besser) to try to see movie stars. He fought off a mad scientist (patterned after Peter Lorre) who wanted the wishbone of a duck in THE BIRTH OF A NOTION (1947). Bob Clampett's 1946 THE GREAT PIGGY BANK ROBBERY (written by Warren Foster) had him imagine he was Duck Twacy, the famous "detectative," in a spoof of the popular Dick Tracy comic strip. (This was Daffy's first character satire, something he would come back to in the Fifties.)

Clampett is often credited with giving Daffy his craziest lives. It is the Clampett Daffys that feature the incredibly rubbery duck in his most insane adventures. Whether he is trying to hide from "the little man from the Draft board" in DRAFTEE DAFFY (1945, written by Lou Lilly) or doing a wild scat number in BOOK REVIEW (1946, written by Warren Foster), Clampett's Daffy is totally wacky.

By the late Forties, though, Chuck Jones began to fully develop a new side to Daffy. Jones saw Daffy as a schemer and a coward of gigantic magnitude. Daffy became a close psychological cousin to Wile E. Coyote in that Jones' little black duck was possessed by the idea of winning, at all costs. This character trait was used in two fairly distinct series directed by Jones and written by Michael Maltese.

CHUCK'S DUCK

The first was the classic Bugs/Daffy battles in which Daffy continually tried to get the best of Bugs. Sometimes it was convincing Elmer it was Rabbit Season (RABBIT FIRE, 1951; RABBIT SEASONING, 1952; DUCK, RABBIT, DUCK, 1953). Other times it was simply trying to cheat the rabbit (ALI BABA BUNNY, 1957). These verbal battles are considered some of the greatest cartoons ever made. Such lines as "Pronoun trouble," "Shoot me now! Shoot me now!" and the wonderfully subdued comment by Daffy to Bugs, "You're dethpicable," are favorites.

The other series was a group of satires on popular films and TV shows. Just as Daffy's version of Duck Twacy has remained popular, so have these variations on media... even when the original is long forgotten. The Buck Rogers Comic Strip was lampooned in DUCK DODGERS IN THE 24-1/2 CENTURY (1953). DEDUCE YOU SAY (1956) had Daffy starring as Dorlock Homes. He was Robin Hood in ROBIN HOOD DAFFY (1958). Even the popular trend of quiz shows got a royal ribbing in THE DUCKSTERS (1950) in which Daffy, the host of "Truth or Aaaagh!," puts contestant Porky through the most horrifying grilling for prizes. Daffy was always cast as the hero but was usually upstaged by his aide-de-camp played by Porky Pig.

Jones and Maltese didn't have a monopoly on the satiric Daffy. Robert McKimson and Warren Foster created several. STUPOR DUCK (1956) has Daffy spoof Superman, while CHINA JONES (1959) made light of the (then) popular CHINA SMITH TV series.

However, during this time, Daffy was still doing his old schtick. RIFF RAFFY DAFFY (1948), directed by Art Davis and written by William (Bill) Scott and Lloyd Turner, found a vagrant Daffy being chased through a department store by policepig Porky. HOLIDAY FOR DRUMSTICKS (1949), directed by Davis and written by Turner, has Daffy getting jealous over the attention a turkey is receiving. DESIGN FOR LEAVING (1954), directed by McKimson and written by Tedd Pierce, features Daffy as another annoying door to door salesman. DON'T AXE ME (1957), another McKimson/Pierce entry, has Daffy and a dog befuddling farmer Elmer.

In the Sixties, Warners would go through a number of changes, but Daffy remained fairly consistent. He battled with Bugs in THE ABOMINABLE SNOW RABBIT (1961), co-directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble and written by Tedd Pierce, and played a stowaway in GOOD NOOSE (1962), directed by McKimson and written by Dave Detiege. In 1963 the studio shut its doors.

David DePatie and former Warners' director Friz Freleng were making cartoons, including the Pink Panther shorts, when Warners asked them to produce additional Warners cartoons. Daffy was part of these new shorts, and was often teamed with Speedy Gonzales. These shorts often centered around Speedy trying to steal something from Daffy, or merely annoying him in a "mouselike" way. Titles included ASSAULT AND PEPPERED (1965), DAFFY RENTS (1966), SPEEDY GHOST TO TOWN (1967), etc. Warners re-started their own studio in 1967, but it only lasted for two years. Daffy only starred in a few of these, his last being SEE YOU LATER GLADIATOR (1968), also starring Speedy Gonzales. Needless to emphasize, these shorts did not make strong use of Daffy's unique qualities and are not fondly remembered by many fans.

DAFFY TV

With the Warners animated short business seemingly ended, he joined Bugs and the other Warners crew on TV. The shorts sold to TV in the Fifties were still being run successfully in syndication. He'd played a large part on the prime time THE BUGS BUNNY SHOW (1961-63) where he tried continually but unsuccessfully to upstage Bugs. The Bugs Bunny Saturday morning series, which featured numerous Daffy outings was proving successful. Daffy even got his own series, THE DAFFY DUCK SHOW (1978-81) which primarily featured the Daffy/Speedy shorts that had not previously appeared on TV.

However, perhaps of more importance was the string of prime time specials that began in 1976. The continued success of the shorts in syndication and Saturday morning, plus the successful release of the theatrical BUGS BUNNY SUPERSTAR, convinced Warners to go back into the animation business. Chuck Jones was brought in and he began work on a number of TV special and feature projects. The first, CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS (1976) was all new animation and featured Daffy and Bugs performing on piano the classical music piece. Eventually the specials became a combination of new animation used to bridge old shorts. Daffy was still a frequent player.

When the Warners features began, Daffy cartoons were often included. 1979's BUGS BUNNY/ROAD RUNNER MOVIE featured amongst other Daffys was the classic DUCK DODGERS IN THE 24TH-1/2 CENTURY. The other Bugs' features also contained moments from Daffy's career.

In 1980, Daffy again starred in a totally new animated prime time special, DAFFY DUCK'S EASTER SPECIAL. Though it was structured like a normal compilation special, the difference was that all the shorts were new. Daffy starred in THE YOLKS ON YOU, where he and Sylvester fight over a golden egg, and THE CHOCOLATE CHASE, which has him guarding a chocalate factory from Speedy Gonzales.

However, Daffy was not destined to remain in this world of repeat and new animated compilations. Steven Spielberg had big plans for the little black duck. In the mid-Seventies, Spielberg expressed interest in doing a sequel to the classic DUCK DODGERS. The original plan was to have the short become the start to one of Spielberg's science fantasy features. Sadly, though the short was completed in 1980, it never received the big screen treatment. (The short was eventually completed and shown as part of the DAFFY DUCK'S THANKS-FOR-GIVING special in 1981.) But the Duck never gave up.

FEATURE FILM FOWL

Daffy received his own feature, DAFFY DUCK'S FANTASTIC ISLAND, in 1983. The feature was based on the popular TV series FANTASY ISLAND. Shipwrecked on a desert island, Daffy and Speedy discover a wishing well that actually grants wishes. The greedy Daffy comes to light and sees a profit from this situation. Soon other Warners characters pay him to come and make wishes, which seque into classic Warner shorts. The plot thickens when Yosemite Sam and the Tasmanian Devil come to the island to recover their treasure, the well.

With the release and success of the first GHOSTBUSTERS movie (1985), Warners again considered doing something new with their characters. The first thought was of a new animated feature containing all new animation to be called QUACKBUSTERS. This expensive plan was moderated to become yet another mixture of new and classic animation.

Then it was considered, if new animation was to be made to bridge the old animation, and the old animation were shorts, why not make some of the new bridging animation shorts? Work began on both the full length feature QUACKBUSTERS and two new shorts, both starring Daffy. The shorts were titled THE DUXORCIST and THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUCK.

The first one, THE DUXORCIST actually received some theatrical release in the Fall of 1987. The short was about Daffy exorcising a demon from a pretty lady duck. It featured the original Carl Stalling music of the Forties and Fifties. Critics were delighted with Warner's return to shorts.

The second short received a festival screening prior to being attached to a feature. THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUCK was a musical dream sequence in which Daffy dreams he is entertaining a night club full of monsters. It was debuted at the New York Film Festival on Septebmer 23rd, 1988. A few days later, the feature film DAFFY DUCK'S QUACKBUSTERS debuted. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUCK appeared in front of the feature, almost as a prologue.

DAFFY DUCK'S QUACKBUSTERS begins with Daffy inheriting a great deal of money. However the benefactor keeps coming back from the dead and removing the money, because of Daffy's selfish ways. Daffy decides to come up with a ghost riddance service. He's joined by Bugs and Porky (and his pet Sylvester) who go out on various jobs and encounter psychic phenomena via classic shorts and the two new shorts. In the end, Daffy loses his money and is back on the street hawking his wares. Story and direction on the feature and two new shorts were by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon. They were produced by Steven Greene

When the feature came to home video in 1989, Daffy starred on a commercial at the front of the cassette. He was hawking the Warners catalog of collectible items. Daffy was seen being trailed by numerous fans and finally escaping to the peace and quite of his dressing room... only to find his chair labeled "Donald Duck!"

In 1990, to celebrate the 50th birthday of Bugs Bunny, Warners released another new theatrical short, BOX OFFICE BUNNY. Though it basically starred Bugs and Elmer, Daffy was included. Daffy was now being voiced by Jeff Bergman. (Mel Blanc, Daffy's original voice died in 1989.) This new short was directed by Darrel Van Citters and written by Charles Carney.

Warners is hoping this might lead to a new series of short subjects for theaters. If it does, Daffy will be there.

CO-STARS

Daffy was often teamed with other Warners characters. His most frequent partner was Porky Pig, the generally calm, stuttering "fat boy" (as Daffy would occasionally call him). Another common partner was Bugs Bunny, who was more a rival than partner.

In his later years, his most common partner was Speedy Gonzales. Speedy was "the fastest mouse in all of Mexico." Created by Friz Freleng, this hyper rodent could outrun anything. When working with Daffy, he would frequently be the thorn in Daffy's side.

There were numerous lady ducks who portrayed Mrs. Daffy Duck.

OTHER MEDIA

Daffy was always one of the most popular Warners characters. Toys, books, records, comics, and all the standard forms of merchandising employed the talents of Daffy. He even helped Bugs Bunny sell Tang, the orange flavored breakfast drink.

He first appeared in comic books in Dell's LOONEY TUNES AND MERRIE MELODIES (1941) which lasted over 200 issues. After several one-shot appearances in Dell's Four Color series, Daffy finally got his own comic book in 1956 named DAFFY which ran for 145 issues. He appeared in other comic book titles that featured Warner's characters and he made frequent appearances in the long running Bugs Bunny comic strip.

He also appeared as part of a group of other Warners characters on merchandise like games, clocks and lunch boxes.

SUPERSTAR QUALITY

Daffy is almost impossible to dislike. Due to his variety of roles and personalities, it seems everyone has at least one Daffy cartoon in their list of favorite shorts. This wildly flexible (in both body and personality), little black duck has made a big impression in the world of animation. He may be "dethpicable," he may be "looney tune-y," he may be "a darn fool duck," but he's a classic Cartoon Superstar.

CREATOR QUOTES

"Daffy, on the other hand, was insane: He never settled down. His personality was very self-serving, as if to say, 'I may be be mean, but at least I'm alive.'" - Chuck Jones

"Daffy's a little egotistical jerk." - Mel Blanc

"I was just getting hold of Daffy when the damn studio shut down. I love Daffy. He's a marvelous, marvelous character." - Chuck Jones

"As with all characters, the first Daffy didn't look or talk exactly like the later one, but that certain magic was there." - Bob Clampett

"Daffy eventually became a self-preservationalist. It was his job to save his own life." - Chuck Jones

"Daffy is just like Sylvester, only Daffy is sped up electronically" - Bob McKimson

"It's a good first effort. The people that did it are, I think, serious about bringing back the characters. It's being done respectfully by people who care." - Chuck Jones on THE DUXORCIST (1988)

"Audiences weren't accustomed to seeing a cartoon character do these things... People would leave the theaters talking about Daffy Duck." - Bob Clampett

"The preservation of (Daffy's) dignity depends on the avoidance of humiliation." - Chuck Jones