(Sound films released theatrically since 1927; Released for television in the early 1950s; Syndicated, 1958 - 1960; Syndicated, 1995) [Before Walt Disney drew Mickey Mouse using circles for ears since it would be easier to draw him from all angles, another abstract character made of geometric shapes was designed and animated -- "Felix The Cat" has had a very long history indeed -- almost since the beginning of animated motion pictures. You might say that this cat has used up quite a few (but not all) of his "nine lives" over the past more than nine decades...and his origin is surprisingly controversial, even now...The catty little tale is as follows: Young Australian cartoonist Pat Sullivan wasn't able to establish a career as a cartoonist in Sydney. So he first travelled to London in 1909, where he fared no better. Then he arrived in the United States in 1914, and survived doing a series of odd jobs. Luckily at that time silent film producers were eager to have a complete program, and needed cartoon shorts between the longer live-action stories for variety and amusement of their audiences. By 1915 Sullivan set up a fledgling film animation studio in New York City. He hired a 24-year old named Otto Messmer among his first employees. The Sullivan Studio created a cartoon character called "Thomas Kat", seen in a cartoon short subject called "The Tail of Thomas Kat" which Sullivan filed with the U.S. Copyright office on March 3, 1917, claiming himself as the author. As ClassicThemes contributor Gerald Carr of Australia says about this half-reeler, "The program showed the removable tail and the sight gags as the black cat did his amazing tricks..." Two years later in 1919, Sullivan's studio was contracted by Paramount Pictures (perhaps on the basis of the "Thomas Kat" short) to create a silent film cartoon series called for Paramount called "Feline Follies." Cartoons were (and are) labor-intensive efforts so, there may be many people who bring it too life -- including an animation director and even a producer, just as with a live-action film. Otto Messmer was given directing duties for "Feline Follies." And the star cat character that was to evolve into the famous "Felix The Cat" was named Felix (for "felicity" -- for luck) by Paramount Pictures producer John King. A 1991 book "Felix: The Twisted Tale of The World's Most Famous Cat", author John Casemaker contended that the final familiar version of Felix was actually a design of director Otto Messmer, not his boss Pat Sullivan -- whom he said took credit for "Felix" for many years. This claim was first made by Messmer in 1967 -- 34 years after Sullivan's death and long after anyone else who might have first-hand knowledge of events had passed away. However Messmer's claim that he created the cat is one that makes Australians furious. And because of the earlier "Thomas Kat" film in the U.S. Copyright Office filed under Sullivan's name, it may be a claim that is hard to prove. Besides, even if Messmer did work on "Thomas Kat" which is likely, perhaps he did so on a "work for hire" basis. Of course, diehards on Messmer's side of the debate have pointed out that the first instance of the cat -- "Thomas Kat" wasn't the same cat that "Felix" ended up being through the contributions made over time by Messmer and others at Paramount. Another point in favor of Sullivan: Felix was licensed to King Features Syndicate as a newspaper cartoon drawn under Sullivan's name -- known as "Pat Sullivan's Felix The Cat". At any rate -- at this period in history all that can be said for sure is that both Sullivan and Messmer worked on cat character cartoons together, and Felix continued to have "nine lives" throughout animation history... And the catty debate rages on....Meeeoww... Quite a few "Felix" cartoons were produced during the early decades for use in theatres. Felix was also considered lucky by the 1922 New York Yankees who adopted him as their mascot. In 1923 a popular song called "Felix Kept On Walking" was written with music by Hubert W. David and lyric by Ed E. Bryant and was a novelty in both England and America; (but there is no indication it was used on television or in sound films later.) When sound came to the movies in 1927, Pat Sullivan thought sound was "a fad." But the character was not to be left in the silent era. Lucky Lindbergh kept a Felix doll in his airplane as he crossed the Atlantic in his 1927 solo flight. So eventually sound versions of Felix were produced and released by Paramount, scored by James C. ("Jimmy") Bradford. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, another tune was associated with "Felix" theatrical cartoons -- an English traditional tune that somehow got associated with the character called "The Grand Old Duke of York" known in the U. S. as "A-Hunting We Will Go". During the early 1930s, when RCA Victor began experimenting with early efforts to create television, and they used a toy version of Felix rotating on a turntable as a test subject (the toy wouldn't melt in front of the hot lights like actors.) But interest in creating new Felix cartoons waned during the 1940s and 1950s when other cartoon characters were being created. During the early days of TV, the early series of Paramount "Felix" cartoons created in the 1920s were sometimes seen on various local cartoon shows in packages re-released at periodic intervals. But it wasn't until the late 1950s when the character was revived by Joe Oriolo for a new series of color cartoons created by Famous Studios productions. Veteran cartoon composer Winston Sharples was commisioned to produce a THEME song for this series which became well known as "Felix, The Wonderful Cat". For two years, new Felix cartoons were made (from 1958 - 1960.) And these were the ones most people saw on television over the next 35 years. Fast forward to 1995, when Joe Oriolo's son, Don Oriolo, decided to re-invent the character yet again, for a surrealistic cable TV series. Perhaps taking a cue from the title of the 1991 book which told the twisted evolution of the character, he called his series "The Twisted Adventures of Felix The Cat"; two seasons of episodes were produced...]
[above is title as listed in the ASCAP database; title on sheet music "Felix! Felix! Felix, The Cat!"; Paul Whiteman recorded this, although it is not clear when or if it was used with the cartoon series in sound films] Composers: Alfred Bryan (ASCAP), Max Kortlander (ASCAP) and Pete Wendling (ASCAP) 1978 Publishers: [Carl] Fisher Music Corp. (ASCAP) and Sam Fox Music Pub. Co. (ASCAP) 2001 Publishers: Sony Tunes, Inc. (ASCAP) c/o Sony/ATV Tunes, LLC of New York, NY; and WB Music, Inc. (ASCAP) c/o Warner-Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Composition Date: 1928 Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings:
Composer: James C. ("Jimmy") Bradford (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: [not listed in the 1978 Index of performed compositions] 2001 Publisher: Cypher Music, Inc. (ASCAP) a div. of Ivan Mogull Music Corporation c/o EMI Music Publishing, Inc. of New York, NY Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings:
[this tune was known in the U.S. as the nursery rhyme "A-Hunting We Will Go"] Composers: *Traditional* [English tune], and adaptation by Clive Richardson (British PRS/ASCAP/BMI) 1978 Publishers: Keith Prowse & Co., Ltd. (PRS) and Sam Fox Music Pub. Co. (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) c/o Warner-Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings:
[although Charles Randolph Grean was a TV composer, whose best-kown theme was the gothic Soap Opera "Dark Shadows", the exact nature of how this was used is unknown at this time... since it was written four years before the revival for TV produced by Joe Oriolo] Composers: Cy Coben (ASCAP) and Charles Randolph Grean (ASCAP) 1978 Publishers: [listed in the 1978 ASCAP Index of Performed Compositions] 2001 Publishers: Alley Music Corp. (BMI) c/o Carlin America, Inc. of New York, NY; and Trio Music Co., Inc. (BMI) c/o Leiber & Stoller of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Feb. 11, 1954; Eu 347 394. Renewal Date: May 3, 1982; RE-127-906. Recordings:
[ASCAP title variations... aka: "Felix, The Wonderful Cat (Main & End Title)"; aka: "Felix, The Cat (Theme)"] Composer: Winston Sharples (ASCAP) [professional name of Winston Singleton Sharples, Sr.] 1978 Publisher: Famous Music Corporation (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: Famous Music Corporation (ASCAP) of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Oct. 22, 1958; Eu 547 134. Renewal Date: Jan. 2, 1986; RE-276-631. Recordings:
[BMI title variations... aka: "Felix End Credits"] Composer: Nathan Tsung Hsien Wang (BMI) 2001 Publisher: F R I Music (BMI) c/o Zomba Songs, Inc. of New York, NY Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings: