Ben Hardaway photo

Ben Hardaway

Writing

  • Born
  • May 21, 1895
  • Died
  • February 5, 1957
  • Place of birth
  • Belton, Missouri, USA

Biography

Joseph Benson 'Ben' (a.k.a. 'Bugs') Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation.

While at the Leon Schlesinger / Warner Bros. studio during the late 1930s, Hardaway, in 1938, co-directed Porky's Hare Hunt, the first film to feature a rabbit. When this unnamed, embryonic rabbit was given a new model sheet for a later short, since, according to Chuck Jones, Hardaway "didn't draw it very well", designer Charlie Thorson inadvertently offered a permanent name by titling the model sheet "Bugs' Bunny" since it was meant for Hardaway's unit. By the time the rabbit was redesigned and refined for the film A Wild Hare, the name was already being used in relation to the character in studio publicity materials.

In 1940, Hardaway joined the staff of Walter Lantz Productions, where he helped Walter Lantz in creating the studio's most famous character, Woody Woodpecker. Hardaway wrote or co-wrote most of the stories for the 1940–1950 Woody Woodpecker shorts, as well as supplying Woody's voice between 1944 and 1949.

[biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]

As actor 21

On the crew 95

Bathing Buddies poster
Bathing Buddies
1946
Puppy Love poster
Puppy Love
1932
Confederate Honey poster
Confederate Honey
1940
The Bully poster
The Bully
1932
Sioux Me poster
Sioux Me
1939
Africa Squeaks poster
Africa Squeaks
1931
The Yankee Doodle Mouse poster
The Yankee Doodle Mouse
1943
Busy Bakers poster
Busy Bakers
1940
Fire! Fire! poster
Fire! Fire!
1932
Porky's Hare Hunt poster
Porky's Hare Hunt
1938
School Days poster
School Days
1932
Buddy and Towser poster
Buddy and Towser
1934
Springtime for Thomas poster
Springtime for Thomas
1946
Fagin's Freshman poster
Fagin's Freshman
1939
The Bear's Tale poster
The Bear's Tale
1940
Jack Frost poster
Jack Frost
1934
Wild and Woody! poster
Wild and Woody!
1948
Scrappy Birthday poster
Scrappy Birthday
1949
Buddy's Trolley Troubles poster
Buddy's Trolley Troubles
1934
Knock Knock poster
Knock Knock
1940
Wet Blanket Policy poster
Wet Blanket Policy
1948
Chew-Chew Baby poster
Chew-Chew Baby
1945
Breakdowns of 1939 poster
Breakdowns of 1939
1939
The Penguin Parade poster
The Penguin Parade
1938
The Milkman poster
The Milkman
1932
Daffy Duck & Egghead poster
Daffy Duck & Egghead
1938
Milk and Money poster
Milk and Money
1936
Woody Woodpecker poster
Woody Woodpecker
1941
Jack and the Beanstalk poster
Jack and the Beanstalk
1933
Buddy of the Legion poster
Buddy of the Legion
1935
Buddy of the Apes poster
Buddy of the Apes
1934
Hare-um Scare-um poster
Hare-um Scare-um
1939
Who's Cookin Who? poster
Who's Cookin Who?
1946
Dog Tax Dodgers poster
Dog Tax Dodgers
1948
The Headless Horseman poster
The Headless Horseman
1934
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp poster
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
1934
Count Me Out poster
Count Me Out
1938
Porky and Teabiscuit poster
Porky and Teabiscuit
1939
Playful Pelican
1948
Hobo Gadget Band poster
Hobo Gadget Band
1939
Old Mother Hubbard poster
Old Mother Hubbard
1935
The Dizzy Acrobat poster
The Dizzy Acrobat
1943
The Merry Old Soul poster
The Merry Old Soul
1935
The Loose Nut poster
The Loose Nut
1945
The Woody Woodpecker Polka poster
The Woody Woodpecker Polka
1951
It's an Ill Wind poster
It's an Ill Wind
1939
The Beach Nut poster
The Beach Nut
1944
What a Life poster
What a Life
1932
The Reckless Driver poster
The Reckless Driver
1946
Pantry Panic poster
Pantry Panic
1941
The Wacky Weed poster
The Wacky Weed
1946
Buddy's Adventures poster
Buddy's Adventures
1934
Woody Dines Out poster
Woody Dines Out
1945
The Hollywood Matador poster
The Hollywood Matador
1942
Woody the Giant Killer poster
Woody the Giant Killer
1947
Nutty Pine Cabin poster
Nutty Pine Cabin
1942
Ace in the Hole poster
Ace in the Hole
1942
Rabbit Every Monday poster
Rabbit Every Monday
1951
Boogie Woogie Sioux poster
Boogie Woogie Sioux
1942
The Screwdriver poster
The Screwdriver
1941
A Bone for a Bone poster
A Bone for a Bone
1951
Ski for Two poster
Ski for Two
1944
Smoked Hams poster
Smoked Hams
1947
Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat poster
Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat
1941
The Coo Coo Bird poster
The Coo Coo Bird
1947
Fish Fry poster
Fish Fry
1944
The Barber of Seville poster
The Barber of Seville
1944
The Dippy Diplomat poster
The Dippy Diplomat
1945
Rhythm in the Bow poster
Rhythm in the Bow
1934
Apple Andy poster
Apple Andy
1946
Ration Bored poster
Ration Bored
1943
Porky the Gob poster
Porky the Gob
1938
Porky the Giant Killer poster
Porky the Giant Killer
1939
Porky's Baseball Broadcast poster
Porky's Baseball Broadcast
1940
The Overture to 'William Tell' poster
The Overture to 'William Tell'
1947
Buddy's Theatre poster
Buddy's Theatre
1935
Fair Weather Fiends poster
Fair Weather Fiends
1946
Yankee Doodle Swing Shift poster
Yankee Doodle Swing Shift
1942
The Loan Stranger poster
The Loan Stranger
1942
Buddy the Dentist poster
Buddy the Dentist
1934
Bars and Stripes Forever poster
Bars and Stripes Forever
1939
Gold Rush Daze poster
Gold Rush Daze
1939
The Screwball poster
The Screwball
1943
Hysterical Highspots in American History poster
Hysterical Highspots in American History
1941
Love and Curses poster
Love and Curses
1938
Buddy in Africa poster
Buddy in Africa
1935
Buddy's Pony Express poster
Buddy's Pony Express
1935
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company "B" poster
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company "B"
1941
Reddy Made Magic poster
Reddy Made Magic
1946
The Pied Piper of Basin Street poster
The Pied Piper of Basin Street
1945
The Egg Cracker Suite poster
The Egg Cracker Suite
1943
Mousie Come Home poster
Mousie Come Home
1946
Kiddie Koncert
1948
Juke Box Jamboree poster
Juke Box Jamboree
1942
Under the Spreading Blacksmith Shop
1942