Sylvester is best known as Friz Freleng’s lisping, Tweety-chasing tuxedo cat. Chuck Jones used him differently. In Jones’s cartoons Sylvester rarely speaks: he is Porky Pig’s loyal, terrified pet, the only one in the house who notices that something is trying to kill them both. The comedy comes from a cat who sees everything and can tell no one.
| Also known as: | Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. |
|---|---|
| Species: | Cat |
| First appearance: | Life with Feathers (1945) |
| Created by: | Friz Freleng |
| Original voice: | Mel Blanc (1945 to 1989) |
| Signature lines: | "Sufferin' succotash!" (Freleng era) |
| Frequent co-stars: | Porky Pig in Jones's films; Tweety and Speedy Gonzales in Freleng's |
Freleng introduced Sylvester in Life with Feathers (1945). His name plays on Felis silvestris, the scientific name for the wildcat. Freleng’s shorts with the character won three Academy Awards: Tweetie Pie (1947), Speedy Gonzales (1955) and Birds Anonymous (1957). TV Guide ranked Sylvester, together with Tweety, No. 33 on its list of the greatest cartoon characters. Jones’s Scaredy Cat (1948) was the first cartoon to use the name Sylvester on screen.
Jones’s Sylvester shares Freleng’s design but not his personality. He is mute, alert and brave only in bursts, forever trying to save an oblivious Porky from mice, ghosts or gangsters.
Jones’s understanding of cats began at home:
Among the lavish supply of kittens that graced our manse were three whom my father immediately recognized as having learning potential. In his quaint way he named the white kitten Othello, the black kitten, Desdemona, and the odd kitten–a tortoise-shell roan–Iago. Iago later had kittens, sired by Desdemona. Othello couldn’t have had less interest in the whole matter, at least at that time, and was content with the ménage à trois just as it was. He became a wonderful kitten-sitter too, whenever the others were out rousting.
Just as Johnson, our intern cat of my early childhood, taught me that only in differences can we determine individual personality (Johnson swam in the ocean and relished grapefruit over all foodstuffs), so Othello, the seemingly content and most domesticated of cats vividly demonstrated once again that you simply cannot trust appearances. Othello was the only cat I ever knew to discover sex, consummate a lifetime of sexual experience, and reject sex all in one memorable night. Just what triggered his sudden and frantic devotion to this new hobby is hard to establish.
But the love bug that mysteriously struck Othello that night changed everything. He came out of his docile nap with an unbelievably evil yell and tore furiously around the perimeter of his hooked rug with the keening roar of Ferrari-like gear changes, until centrifugal force shot him like a comet through a set of French windows, fortunately open to the summer night. Across the porch he flung himself, through an arbor of Cecil Bruner roses, then, wearing a small but stylish bonnet of tiny pink roses, he careened off in a wild and gallant effort to seduce the world.
– Chuck Jones
Every piece in our Sylvester collection is certified by the Chuck Jones family. Browse originals, limited editions and prints below, or contact our art consultants with any questions.
