SEOUL — With a few deft strokes of a pencil and the sounding of that famous raucous call, Woody Woodpecker, the mischievous tassel-headed bird from the cartoon world, came alive for thousands of U.S. troops in the Republic of Korea.

Cartoonist Walter Lantz, creator of the famous feathered character, and his wife Gracie, who is the voice of Woody, have just finished a handshaking tour of U.S. military hospitals and installations in the republic.

The Lantz whirlwind tour set up by the USO and Special Services Department includes Japan, Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii.

"While in Japan we visited seven hospitals and saw all the boys back from Vietnam," recalled the cartoonist. "At first I thought this was going to be hard to take, all the wounded and everything, but after seeing their smiling faces and their friendly greetings, it was a joy to be there.

"I guess the key to them knowing us was Woody Woodpecker, although most of of them didn't know Gracie did the voice. But they all recognized it when she chimed out the famous call. One boy, who had a stomach wound, asked her not to do it anymore because he laughed so hard he was afraid his stitches would come out," said Walter,

"It seems like they all had tape recorders and wanted to tape me doing Woody's call," Gracie recalled happily. "One soldier said he was going to play it at four o'clock in the morning to give everyone a star. I bet the staffs at the hospitals really love us," she laughed.

Gracie then commented on wearing sunglasses: "I wear them so everyone will know I'm from Hollywood."

"I wear them to cover up the bags under my eyes," quipped Walter.

In 1941 Walter married Gracie, a successful Broadway and screen actress whose maiden name was Stafford. During their honeymoon a little bird pecked his way into their lives through the roof of their cottage, causing $200 damage. They named their feathered friend Woody Woodpecker, and Walter drew him into one of his cartoons.

"He needed a distinctive voice first, something everybody would recognize," said Walter, "so I asked my musical director to come up with something. He did. The first five notes of a bugle call that have since become famous."

Almost 19 years ago, Gracie slipped her own recording into a stack of Woody Woodpecker recordings made by well-known actors and unwittingly, Walter selected the voice of his own wife as the bird's own. "I'm afraid that the studio was a little annoyed with me for pulling that trick," commented Gracie.

Embarking on their 31-day volunteer tour of the Pacific countries, they were apprehensive about their presentation. "You see, we're not entertainers or movie stars. We don't put on an act or anything like that. We just came over to tell the boys what we think about them and appreciate what they're doing for us," said Gracie.

The idea for the tour was Gracie's, Walter said. "Really the idea wasn't mine," continued Gracie. "I read an article written by a woman whose son had been wounded in Vietnam and, through efforts of her neighbors, was able to go to Japan and see her son. She said that what the boys wanted most was to show them you care. I was so taken by the article that I called Walter at the studio and asked him if he'd like to go over and see the boys on our vacation. He said yes right away, and here we are having the time of our lives," Gracie said excitedly.

When the energetic twosome leave Korea, they'll have been to the 2nd Div., 7th Div., I Corps, the American schools in Yongsan, and some communication relay sites in and around the Seoul area.

"We see as many of the boys as we can everyday," said Gracie. "On Thanksgiving they tried to give us the day off to rest, but I told them if we wanted a day off we would have stayed in Hollywood."

2025