Five Famous Cats We Love

Garfield: Still going strong after more than 30 years, the first Garfield cartoon appeared in 41 United States newspapers on June 19, 1978. Created by Jim Davis, this famous cat was named after Jim Davis' grandfather. The story goes that Garfield was born in an Italian restaurant and there his love of lasagna became. Garfield began an enormous success, with TV cartoons and movies to follow. Perhaps the success of Garfield can be attributed to his characteristics many can relate to: Hating Mondays and diets; loving lasagna, over eating and being lazy. Garfield's everyday life with Jon Arbunkle, his owner, Odi, his arch rival long eared beagle and others, have brought much needed laughter to many fans around the world. Garfield continues to be well loved and is found in 2570 newspapers around the world.

Morris the Cat: The "World's Most Finicky Cat," Morris quickly became a household name with his advertisements for 9-Lives cat food. Morris has been played by several cats. The original Morris was adopted by Bob Martwick, an employee for Leo Burnett Advertising Agency, in 1968. Close to being "put to sleep," Morris was rescued from the Hinsdale Humane Society in an animal shelter near Chicago. Besides commercials, Morris has also been in the movie, Shamus, with Burt Reynolds and Dyan Cannon, in 1973, and has "written" three books, The Morris Approach, The Morris Method and The Morris Prescription. To keep Morris from being kidnapped, 24 hour guards were hired. In honor of Morris, June 13 has been named Morris the Cat Day. The current Morris lives in Los Angeles with his owner, Rose Ordile.

Pink Panther: Named after a jewel in Blake Edwards spy movie, The Pink Panther, this famous big cat, The Pink Panther became a great success in the 1964 cartoon, The Pink Phink. Pink Panther was first directed by Friz Freleng and later Hawley Pratt. Using silent movie humor, the Pink Panther only spoke in two of the original cartoons: In the Sink Pink cartoon in 1965 and in Pink Ice, again in 1965. In the new cartoon series that began in 1993, the Pink Panther spoke.

Tom (from Tom and Jerry cartoons): Tom, the cat from the Tom and Jerry cartoon series, was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Tom was initially called Jasper. The name Tom was picked in a name suggesting contest for studio employees. The first Tom and Jerry cartoon was in 1940 and titled "Puss Gets the Boot." Long lasting and well loved, Tom has been trying to outsmart Jerry throughout the years. Tom and Jerry have won seven Academy Awards, making Tom one of the most famous cat actors.

Sylvester. This famous cat paired with Tweety, the canary, in the long running cartoon, Tweety and Sylvester (1947-1964). Sylvester's goal in each cartoon was finding ways to catch and devour Tweety, whose line "I tawt I taw a puddy tat," quickly became a favorite phrase. The voice of Sylvester was Mel Blanc, who was also the voice of Tweety. Tweety and Sylvester won two Academy Awards and three Oscar nominations. Interestingly, Tweety and Sylvester were not always a team. They each had cartoons by themselves before becoming a team.

These five famous cats have made millions laugh. Thanks to the creators of these fabulous felines for bringing much needed humor into our world.

Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Jeff Lenburg. 1999.
www.wikipedia.org