Butch (formerly known as Spike) is an animated cartoon character created by

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (; February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of America ...

. Portrayed as an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

Irish

bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

, the character was a recurring antagonist in the

Droopy Droopy is an animated character from the golden age of American animation. He is an anthropomorphic white Basset Hound with a droopy face. He was created in 1943 by Tex Avery for theatrical cartoon shorts produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer c ...

shorts, and appeared in his own series of solo shorts as well. His name was changed to Butch in 1955's ''Deputy Droopy'' to avoid confusion with Spike from the ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

'' cartoons (ironically the name Butch is also used in the ''Tom and Jerry'' Cartoons for the name of a rival alley cat). All of the original 1940s and 1950s shorts were directed by Avery and

Michael Lah Michael Richard Lah (September 1, 1912 – October 13, 1995) was an American animator of Slovene origin. He is best remembered for his work at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, primarily as a member of Tex Avery's animation unit. He first w ...

at the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (also commonly referred to as MGM Cartoons) was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsi ...

. Adamson, Joe, ''Tex Avery: King of Cartoons'', 1975, Da Capo Press Butch would not appear in new material again until '' Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring'' in 2002.

Butch solo cartoons

Appearances in Droopy cartoons

*''Wags to Riches'' (1949) – Academy Award shortlist; first time Spike appears as Droopy's rival. *''The Chump Champ'' (1950) *'' Daredevil Droopy'' (1951) *''Droopy's Good Deed'' (1951) *'' Droopy's Double Trouble'' (1951) *''Deputy Droopy'' (1955) *''Millionaire Droopy'' (1956) – a CinemaScope remake of '' Wags to Riches'' directed by

. *''Grin and Share It'' (1957) *''Blackboard Jumble'' (1957) *'' One Droopy Knight'' (1957) – a remake of ''Señor Droopy'', Academy Award nominee. *''Mutts About Racing'' (1958) *''Droopy Leprechaun'' (1958)

Later appearances

Butch reappeared in direct-to-DVD films such as '' Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring'' and '' Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes'', alongside

. His latest appearance was in 2014's '' The Tom and Jerry Show''. He appeared in the episode "Double Dog Trouble", where Spike and Butch are two separate characters who are twins, in order to poke at the character's retitling, while detectives Tom and Jerry mistake each one for the other after Spike buys a room at the town's motel.

Voice actors

(''

Bad Luck Blackie ''Bad Luck Blackie'' is a 1949 American animated comedy short film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The Tex Avery-directed short was voted the 15th-best cartoon of all-time in a 1994 poll of 1,000 animation industry professionals, as referenced ...

'', ''Wags to Riches'', '' The Counterfeit Cat'', '' Ventriloquist Cat'', ''Garden Gopher'', ''Cock-a-Doodle Dog'', '' Daredevil Droopy'', ''Droopy's Good Deed'', ''

Magical Maestro ''Magical Maestro'' is a 1952 American Animation, animated short film, short comedy film directed by Tex Avery and produced by Fred Quimby for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, MGM Cartoons. Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the short was r ...

'', ''Rock-a-Bye Bear'', ''Millionaire Droopy'', ''Cat's Meow'') *

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who is best known for co-creating ''Tom and Jerry'' and providing the vocal effects for the series' title characters. Alongside Joseph B ...

(screaming in ''Wags to Riches'', ''Garden Gopher'', ''Rock-a-Bye Bear'', '' Cellbound'' and ''Millionaire Droopy'') * Sara Berner (laughing in ''Wags to Riches'', ''Garden Gopher'', ''Rock-a-Bye Bear'' and ''Millionaire Droopy'', screaming in ''Wags to Riches'' and ''Millionaire Droopy'') *

Daws Butler Charles Dawson Butler (November 16, 1916May 18, 1988) was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company and the Walter Lantz cartoon studio. He originated the voices of many familiar Hanna-Barbera ...

(''The Chump Champ'', '' Droopy's Double Trouble'', ''Blackboard Jumble'') * Bill Thompson (''Droopy's Double Trouble'', ''Grin and Share It'', '' One Droopy Knight'', ''Mutts About Racing'', ''Droopy Leprechaun'') * Carlos Julio Ramírez (''

'') * Frank Ross (''Magical Maestro'') *

Mary Kaye Mary Kaye (née Malia Ka'aihue; January 9, 1924 – February 17, 2007) was an American guitarist and performer. She was active from the 1940s through 1960s. Biography Malia Ka'aihue was born on January 9, 1924, in Detroit, Michigan, to father J ...

(''Magical Maestro'') *

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986), better known as Paul Frees, was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass and Walt Disney the ...

(''Magical Maestro'', ''Cellbound'') *

Norman Kaye Norman James Kaye (17 January 1927 – 28 May 2007) was an Australian actor. He was best known for his roles in the films of director Paul Cox. Early life and education Kaye was born into a tough childhood in Depression Era Melbourne, as one ...

(''Magical Maestro'') *

Jeff Bergman Jeffrey Bergman (born July 10, 1960) is an American voice actor who has provided the modern-day voices of various classic cartoon characters, most notably with ''Looney Tunes'' and Hanna-Barbera. Bergman was the first to replace Mel Blanc as th ...

(

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

bumper, ''Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes'') *

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...

('' Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring'') *

Joe Alaskey Joseph Francis Alaskey III (April 17, 1952 – February 3, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was one of Mel Blanc's successors at the Warner Bros. Animation studio until his death. He alternated with Jeff Bergman, Greg Burson, Ji ...

('' Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz'', ''Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz'') * Bill Farmer ('' The Tom and Jerry Show'')

References

{{Hanna-Barbera Animated characters introduced in 1949 Film characters introduced in 1949 Film series introduced in 1949 MGM cartoon characters Tom and Jerry characters Anthropomorphic dogs Male characters in animated films Male characters in animated television series Characters created by Tex Avery Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio film series