Read more about Chilly Willy at: Wikipedia

Official Site: Universal Studios

Chilly Willy is a funny animal cartoon character, a diminutive anthropomorphic penguin living in Alaska (although, in reality, the species is native only to the southern hemisphere). He was created by Paul J. Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953. The character soon became the second most popular Lantz/Universal character, behind Woody Woodpecker.

Chilly Willy was inspired, according to Scott MacGillivray's book Castle Films: A Hobbyist's Guide, by mystery writer Stuart Palmer. Palmer used the Lantz studio as a background for his novel Cold Poison, in which the cartoon star was a penguin character, and Lantz adopted the penguin idea for the screen. Chilly's diminutive figure was inspired by an image of Herbert Lee McCormick Jr., a small boy from Fairbanks. It is unknown if the name was borrowed from actor Chill Wills.

Chilly Willy appeared in 50 theatrical short subjects produced by Lantz from 1953 to 1972, most of which involve his attempts to stay warm, and often meeting opposition from a dog named Smedley (voiced by Daws Butler in his "Huckleberry Hound" voice). There were times, however, when Chilly and Smedley got along, as they did in Vicious Viking and Fractured Friendship. Ironically, Chilly never referred to Smedley by name. Most times that Chilly was in opposition with Smedley, it wound up with the two of them being friends at the end. Chilly was more of a nuisance to Smedley than an enemy, often showing up where Smedley is working, usually for some mean employer.

Two of Chilly's friends in the later cartoons were Maxie the Polar Bear (voiced by Daws Butler) and Gooney the "Gooney Bird" Albatross (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Joe E. Brown). Maxie has appeared with Chilly more than Gooney has. There have been only two cartoons in which all three characters have appeared together: Gooney's Goofy Landings (where Chilly and Maxie try to perfect Gooney's landings) and Airlift a la Carte (where Chilly, Maxie, and Gooney go to the store owned by Smedley).

Chilly Willy has not been a contender in any CBUB matches.