Tweety Bird

He’s the little yellow canary bird that is the eternal target of Sylvester the Cat. Tweety usually benefits from either the intercession of outsiders, such as Granny or one of the generic bulldogs that infest WB cartoons, or just plain cartoon laws of gravity and luck. On occasion, and this was particularly true in his first few cartoons, Tweety would take the offensive in protecting himself.

Tweety was the creation of Bob Clampett, who had a fascination with baby birds he fondly remembered from nature films, as well as a baby picture of himself he remembered rather less fondly. While WB had had similar Birds before, Clampett gave the bird a lisping baby voice, a head proportioned like a baby, and a temperament borrowed perhaps from the Red Skelton character of Junior, the Mean Widdle Kid. In his debut in “A Tale of Two Kitties” and in the follow-ups “Birdy and the Beast” and “A Gruesome Twosome,” Tweety shows that he is no helpless little orphan, as he uses gasoline, hand grenades, dynamite and clubs to protect himself.

Originally pink, Tweety was changed to yellow, after censors complained. Clampett did some of the early preliminary work on “Tweetie Pie” before turning the project over to Friz Freleng, who steered it to an Oscar-winning cartoon. The cartoon has caused some confusion in the name of the character. Sometimes the character is referred to as Tweety, but other times the character is referred to as Tweetie Pie, muddying the situation. In “Tree Cornered Tweety”, Tweety appears in an Automat window labeled Tweety Pie, right next to the Lemon Pie. Tweety makes a cameo in “No Barking,” saying his catch-phrase “I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat.” Putty Tat has also been spelled Puddy Tat, which is now the officially endorsed spelling. Mel Blanc recorded a hit song “I Taut I Taw a Puddy-Tat” (words and music by Alan Livingston, Billy May and Warren Foster) in 1950.

Today, Tweety is voiced by a duet. As previously stated, Joe Alaskey was listed as the sole voice of Tweety. However, this information was incorrect. Tweety would be voiceless today without the assistance of the very talented Bob Bergen. Mr. Alaskey and Mr. Bergen have been sharing Tweety since "The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries" started airing. It is this partnership that brings life (well, a voice) to everyone's favorite yellow canary.

Bergen has been performing Tweety's voice since 1990 on hundreds of projects. Remember a little 'ol movie called "Space Jam"? Is there anyone out there who hasn't seen that blockbuster? The talented Bergen played Tweety through the entire movie. He has also lent his voice to numerous commercials, including Subway, and those "oh so cute" Miracle Whip spots that are impossible to miss on TV. Thank you Mr. Bergen for alerting me of the major error!

Alaskey is also a very talented "on-camera" actor, guest starring on numerous television series, including "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Growing Pains," and "Night Court." He served as the voice of Richard Nixon in the Oscar-winning feature film "Forrest Gump,” as well as the voice of the oh-so-irreverent Daffy Duck, serving as presenter during the 67th Annual Academy Awards ceremony. Alaskey can also he heard as the voice of Stinkie in Steven Spielberg's "Casper."