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Sylvester

From Looney City Citizens

Sylvester
First appearanceLife With Feathers (1945)
Created byFriz Freleng
Voiced byMel Blanc,
Background Information
AliasesThomas
RelativesSylvester Junior (son)
FriendsPorky Pig, Wile E. Coyote
RivalsTweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and Hippety Hopper
Catch phrasesSufferin’ succotash!


Sylvester is a cat who appears in several Looney Tunes cartoons, often chasing Tweety, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper.

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[edit] Voice

Sylvester's trademark was his sloppy, stridulating lisp (which, like Daffy Duck's, was based on producer Leon Schlesinger's). His sloppy voice was provided by voice acting legend Mel Blanc. Blanc reveals in his autobiography that Sylvester's voice and Daffy's were identical, but Daffy's was sped up in post-production.

[edit] Name

Sylvester trying to get Tweety

The name Sylvester is a play on silvestris, the scientific name for the cat species. The character was originally named Thomas in his 1945 debut Life With Feathers.

[edit] Pride

Sylvester is an adorable cat who shows much pride in himself, and he never gives up. Despite (or perhaps because of) his pride and persistence, Sylvester was definitely on the "loser" side of the Looney Tunes winner/loser hierarchy. His character was basically that of Wile E. Coyote while he was chasing mice or birds. He shows a different character when paired with Porky Pig in explorations of spooky places, in which he doesn't speak, as a scaredy cat. (In these cartoons, he basically plays the terrified Costello to Porky's oblivious Abbott.) Sylvester's most developed role is as hapless mouse-catching instructor to his dubious son, Sylvester Junior , in which the "mouse" is a powerful baby kangaroo. His alternately confident and bewildered episodes bring his son to shame, while Sylvester himself is reduced to nervous breakdowns.

Sylvester and Sylvester Jr.

[edit] Atypical Roles

Sylvester also had atypical roles in a few cartoons:

[edit] Sylvester's owner

Meet Daisy, she is Sylvester's previous owner. She is shown as a grownup owner in the past years. Granny replaced Daisy in the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons.

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[edit] See Also

[edit] External Links

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