Before Sylvester's appearance in the cartoons,Mel Blanc voiced a character named Sylvester onThe Judy Canova Show using the voice that would eventually become associated with the cat.[3]
LikeDaffy Duck, Sylvester is known for having a sloppylisp. To emphasize the lisp, as with Daffy's catchphrase "You're desthpicable", Sylvester's trademark exclamation is "Sufferin'succotash!", which is said to be aminced oath of "Suffering Savior". (Daffy also says "Sufferin' succotash!" on a few occasions.) A common gag used for both Sylvester and Daffy is a tendency to go on a long rant, complaining about a subject and then ending it by saying "Sakes".
Sylvester shows a lot of pride in himself, and never gives up. Despite (or perhaps because of) his pride and persistence, Sylvester is, with rare exceptions, placed squarely on the "loser" side of theLooney Tunes winner/loser hierarchy. He shows a different personality when paired withPorky Pig in explorations of spooky places, in which he does not speak, behaves as a scaredy-cat, and always seems to see the scary things Porky does not see and gets scolded by him for it every time.
For the most part, Sylvester has always played the antagonist role, but he is sometimes featured playing the protagonist in a couple of cartoons while having to deal with the canine duo ofSpike and Chester after being chased around. In 1952'sTree for Two (directed byFriz Freleng), Sylvester is cornered in the back alley and this would result in Spike getting mauled by ablack panther that had earlier escaped from a zoo without Spike and Chester knowing about it. In the 1954 filmDr. Jerkyl's Hide, Sylvester pummels Spike (here called "Alfie") thanks to a potion that transforms him into a feline monster. Both times after Spike's ordeal, Sylvester would have the courage and confidence to confront Chester, only to be beaten up and tossed away by the little dog.
Perhaps Sylvester's most developed role is in a series ofRobert McKimson-directed shorts, in which the character is a hapless mouse-catching instructor to his dubious son,Sylvester Junior, with the "mouse" being a powerful babykangaroo namedHippety Hopper which he constantly mistakes for a "giant mouse". His alternately confident and bewildered episodes bring his son to shame, while Sylvester himself is reduced to nervous breakdowns.
Sylvester also had atypical roles in a few cartoons:
Kitty Kornered (1946), aBob Clampett cartoon in which a black-nosed, yellow-eyed Sylvester was teamed with three other cats to oust ownerPorky Pig from his house.
Doggone Cats (1947), anArthur Davis cartoon where Sylvester is teamed up with an orange cat (later reused as Sylvester's brother Alan inThe Looney Tunes Show) to torment a dog named Wellington the Dog as he delivers a package to Uncle Louie.
Catch as Cats Can (1947), another Davis cartoon that portrays Sylvester as a simple-minded cat with a dopey voice. While the cartoon essentially follows a cat-vs-canary plot, it takes a different approach as Sylvester is persuaded to eat the canary (caricatured asFrank Sinatra) by a green parrot (caricatured asBing Crosby).
Back Alley Oproar (1948), aFriz Freleng cartoon (actually a remake of the 1941 shortNotes to You) wherein Sylvester pesters the sleep-deprivedElmer Fudd by performing several amazing musical numbers in the alley and even a sweetlullaby ("go to sleep... go to sleep... close your big bloodshot eyes...") to temporarily ease Elmer back tothe dream world, thoughvery temporarily.
Canned Feud (1951), another Freleng cartoon in which Sylvester tries to retrieve a can opener from a mouse out of fears he would starve to death. Unlike most cartoons, the mouse is portrayed as an instigator of the conflict or antagonist rather than Sylvester himself.
Red Riding Hoodwinked (1955), another Freleng cartoon where Sylvester co-stars with an absent-mindedBig Bad Wolf in which each not only tries to get their particular "prey" (Sylvester vs. Tweety and the Wolf vs. Little Red Riding Hood) but they both nearly come to blows with each other playing "Grandma". ("You're musclin' in on my racket!")
Sylvester serves as the titular character inThe Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries (1995–2000), under the ownership ofGranny and again having desires of eating Tweety and being thwarted by Butch. He helps solves mysteries and defeats the culprits in the end. In the finale of the series, he abandons his desire of eating Tweety following a dream and express his love for the bird.
Sylvester is featured inThe Looney Tunes Show (2011–14), voiced byJeff Bergman. He is shown living with Granny alongside Tweety. In "Point, Laser Point", it is revealed that Sylvester was attracted by a glowing red dot that was on his mother's necklace when he was young as experienced through hypnotic therapy done by Witch Lezah. It was also revealed that his mother (voiced byEstelle Harris) has retired toFlorida. When Sylvester visits her, she reveals she's disappointed that Sylvester isn't married, doesn't have kids, never kept wearing hisretainer, never remembered where she lives in Florida, and has not caught Tweety yet. This episode also introduced Sylvester's brother Alan (voiced byJeff Bennett) who became more successful than Sylvester.
Sylvester appeared inKing Tweety (2022). He was voiced byEric Bauza, who also voiced him inLooney Tunes: World of Mayhem.[4]
Sylvester appears inBugs Bunny Builders (2022–present) as one of the citizens/builders helpings Bugs and friends with building. In this series, he is more of being friends with Tweety and even lives with him.
In the movieKitten with a Whip (1964), the Sylvester cartoonCanned Feud is shown playing on a television set that Jody Dvorak watches.[5]
Sylvester (as well asSpeedy Gonzales andPorky Pig) appeared in a skit seen at the end of an episode of the game showPress Your Luck. Earlier in the episode,Daffy Duck was incorrectly listed as the correct answer to the question "Which well-known cartoon character is famous for uttering the immortal words 'Sufferin' Succotash!'?" At the end of the episode,Mel Blanc called the show in his Sylvester voice to correct hostPeter Tomarken on the gaffe. Tomarken assured "Sylvester" that futureLooney Tunes-related questions would be run by Sylvester's office and that the three contestants in the episode would be given a second chance, as any spins that were to be awarded for the correct answer would have affected the course of the episode's gameplay.[6]
Sylvester makes a cameo appearance inWho Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), where he provides the punchline for a double-entendre joke regardingJudge Doom's (Christopher Lloyd) identity. This was Mel Blanc's final time voicing him.
Sylvester appears as part of the Tune Squad team inSpace Jam (1996), voiced byBill Farmer. He bears the number 9 on his jersey where the Tune Squad andMichael Jordan competed against the Monstars.
He also has two cameo appearances inLooney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), but the second time, "Sylvester" is really Mr. Smith in disguise.
Sylvester appears in theRobot Chicken episode "Werewolf vs. Unicorn", voiced byPatrick Pinney. DuringArnold Schwarzenegger's announcement of illegal aliens from Mexico, Sylvester demonstrates a wired fence that will keep the aliens out, only for it to be penetrated by Speedy Gonzales.[7]
Sylvester makes a cameo appearance in theTom and Jerry Tales episode "Kitty Cat Blues", on a poster in Miss Kitty's room.
Sylvester makes a vocal cameo appearance in the 2020Animaniacs revival segment "Suffragette City", withJeff Bergman reprising his role.
Sylvester appears inSpace Jam: A New Legacy (2021), voiced again by Jeff Bergman. He plays for the Tune Squad in their match against the Goon Squad. At one point before the second half, Sylvester thought he found Michael Jordan in the audience which he revealed to the Tune Squad only forLeBron James to find that he actually ran intoMichael B. Jordan. This caused Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd to reprimand him for not noticing the difference as Sylvester thought he aged good.
Sylvester appears in theTeen Titans Go! episode, "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary". He is among the Looney Tunes characters guests for the Warner Bros. centennial celebration.
From 1979 to 1983, Sylvester was the "spokescat" for9Lives' line of dry cat food. His face appeared on the product's boxes, and Sylvester was also featured in a series of television commercials, directed by Duane Crowther atDuck Soup Productions and animated by Bob Carlson,Amby Paliwoda, Jeff Howard and Mark Kausler.[8][9][10][11] These ads usually consisted of Sylvester trying to get to his box of 9 Lives dry cat food while avoidingHector the Bulldog. Sylvester would always succeed in luring the dog away so he could get to his food, but would always find himself a target again by the end of the commercial, which generally ended with Sylvester calling 9 Lives dry cat food "worth riskin' your life for."[12][13]
Tweety and Sylvester No. 9, published in 1955Tweety & Sylvester No. 100, published in 1979
Western Publications produced a comic book about Tweety and Sylvester entitledTweety and Sylvester, first inDell ComicsFour Color series #406, 489, and 524, then in their own title from Dell Comics (#4–37, 1954–62), and later fromGold Key Comics (#1–102, 1963–72). In most of the earlier comic books, Sylvester has white fur surrounding his eyes (similar toPepé Le Pew) and green eyes. They both disappeared in the later comic books. The green eyes could be seen in some merchandise as well.
Sylvester and Tweety appeared in aDC Comics and Looney Tunes crossover comic calledCatwoman/Tweety and Sylvester #1. In the issue, witches from the DC and Looney Tunes universes placed a wager where the existence of all birds and cats (as well as all bird- and cat-themed heroes and villains) depended on if Sylvester could eat Tweety. Sylvester (designed more realistically for the DC Universe) teamed up withCatwoman, while Tweety teamed up with theBlack Canary.[14]
The name "Sylvester" is a play onFelis silvestris, the scientific name for theEuropean wildcat (domestic cats like Sylvester are in the speciesFelis catus). Sylvester was not named untilChuck Jones gave him the name Sylvester, which was first used inScaredy Cat.[15] Although the character was named Sylvester in later cartoon shorts (beginning with 1948'sScaredy Cat), he was called "Thomas" in his first appearance withTweety inTweetie Pie, most likely as a reference to a male cat being called a tom. However, this name would never be used again becauseMGM already had a cat namedThomas fromTom and Jerry.[16] Mel Blanc had also voiced a human character named Sylvester onJudy Canova's radio show earlier in the 1940s.
Sylvester's trademark is his sloppy and yet stridulatinglisp. InMel Blanc's autobiography,That's Not All Folks!, Sylvester's voice is similar toDaffy Duck's, only not sped up in post-production, plus the even more exaggerated slobbery lisp. Conventional wisdom is that Daffy's lisp, and hence also Sylvester's, were based on the lisp of producerLeon Schlesinger. However, Blanc made no such claim. He said that Daffy's lisp was based on him having a long beak and that he borrowed the voice for Sylvester.[17] He also said that Sylvester's voice was the closest to his natural voice, excluding the lisp (his son Noel Blanc has also confirmed this). In addition,directorBob Clampett, in a 1970Funnyworldinterview, agreed with Blanc's account concerningSchlesinger.[18]Greg Ford once asked Blanc what was the difference between Daffy and Sylvester's voices. Blanc said to him that Daffy is aJew and Sylvester is aGentile.[19]
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Media related toSylvester (Looney Tunes) at Wikimedia Commons
