Walter Benjamin Lantz, the legendary creator of animated movies is best known today as the man who gave us Woody Woodpecker.
But less well known is Walter Lanza. Yes, Walter Lantz was born in New Rochelle, NY to Italian immigrant parents Francesco Paolo Lantz (formerly Lanza) from Castiglione, Cosentino, Italy and Maria Gervasi (changed to Jarvis to avoid prejudice) from Calitri. Walter's father ran a grocery store. His mother, Maria, died while giving birth to Walter's younger brother, Michael Lantz. Walter's father, Francesco, soon became physically incapacitated leaving Walter to run the grocery store at a young age.
According to Joe Adamson's biography The Walter Lantz Story, Lantz's father was given his new surname by an immigration official who anglicized it. Walter Lantz was always interested in art, completing a mail-order drawing class at age 12.
While working as an auto mechanic, Lantz got his first break. Wealthy customer Fred Kafka liked his drawings on the garage's bulletin board and financed Lantz's studies at the Art Students league in New York. Kafka also helped him land a job as a copy boy at The New York American newspaper. Lantz worked at the newspaper and attended art school at night.
As the video below shows, Lantz eventually made his way to Los Angeles, made good contacts, set up an animation studio and created cartoons for Universal. He imaginatively created several memorable characters but it was Woody Woodpecker that gave him the breakthrough that brought him fame, riches, four Academy Awards and a place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Over and over, through numerous cartoon shorts and movies, Woody won the day. And, though Lantz is no longer with us (he died in in 1994 at the age of 94) the iconic woodpecker lives on, thanks in part to licensing.
Through grit and persistence, Walter Lantz surmounted a hardscrabble upbringing to build a successful life and career -- a career that brought joy and laughter to millions around the world. His journey is a testament the the indefatigable spirit and irrepressible imagination of Italian Americans.
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