
Ben Hardaway
- Date of Birth: 1895-05-21
- Date of Death: 1957-02-05
- Place of Birth: Belton, Missouri, USA
Biography
Joseph Benson 'Ben' (a.k.a. 'Bugs') Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation st... Joseph Benson 'Ben' (a.k.a. 'Bugs') Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. While at the Leon Schlesinger / Warner Bros. studio during the late 1930s, Hardaway, in 1938, co-directed Porky's Hare Hunt, the first film to feature a rabbit. When this unnamed, embryonic rabbit was given a new model sheet for a later short, since, according to Chuck Jones, Hardaway "didn't draw it very well", designer Charlie Thorson inadvertently offered a permanent name by titling the model sheet "Bugs' Bunny" since it was meant for Hardaway's unit. By the time the rabbit was redesigned and refined for the film A Wild Hare, the name was already being used in relation to the character in studio publicity materials. In 1940, Hardaway joined the staff of Walter Lantz Productions, where he helped Walter Lantz in creating the studio's most famous character, Woody Woodpecker. Hardaway wrote or co-wrote most of the stories for the 1940–1950 Woody Woodpecker shorts, as well as supplying Woody's voice between 1944 and 1949. [biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]

The Coo Coo Bird
Animation, Comedy, Family • 1947 June

Woody Woodpecker and Friends
Animation, Comedy • 1982 January

Who's Cookin Who?
Animation, Comedy • 1946 June

The Reckless Driver
Animation, Comedy • 1946 August

Fair Weather Fiends
Animation • 1946 November

Smoked Hams
Animation • 1947 April

Wet Blanket Policy
Animation, Comedy • 1948 August

The Beach Nut
Animation • 1944 October

Woody the Giant Killer
Animation • 1947 December

Wild and Woody!
Animation, Comedy, Western • 1948 December