Hawley B. Pratt; Retired Animator

Hawley B. Pratt, one of the creators of the original animated version of the Pink Panther character, died Thursday after a brief illness. He was 87.

At the time of his death, Pratt was living at Cottage of the Oaks, a small residential facility in Thousand Oaks. He had been a Thousand Oaks resident for 30 years.

Pratt was born June 9, 1911, in Seattle, Wash. He was raised in New York City and graduated from Pratt Institute, an art school in Brooklyn.

In 1933, he left New York and moved to Los Angeles to work as one of the first animators for Walt Disney.

Pratt designed animated characters for several commercials and short and feature-length cartoon films, said a longtime friend, William Anderson.

Pratt received several awards for his drawings of Pinocchio and Snow White that were included in a Disney Co. children’s book and record series.

In 1941, Pratt left Disney to work for famed animator Friz Freleng at Warner Bros. With Freleng, Pratt animated Sylvester and Tweety cartoons that had been created by Freleng.

In the early 1960s, when Warner Bros. closed its animation department, Pratt, Freleng and Pratt’s best friend and co-worker, Arthur Leonardi, went to work for DePatie-Freleng Studio, which was founded by Freleng and artist David DePatie.

Freleng, Pratt and Leonardi created the animated title for the 1964 “Pink Panther” movie in which Peter Sellers tries to stop David Niven from nabbing the legendary “Pink Panther” gem.

“Hawley was not one to draw attention to his talent. He always let Friz have the credit,” Leonardi said. “He will be missed for his easygoing and charming nature. He was a really talented guy.”

Later in his career, Pratt also worked for the Hannah-Barbera animation studio. He retired in the 1970s.

“This guy had a marvelous way of making people laugh. He was almost a caricature himself,” Anderson said.

Pratt was married to Cecelia “Lee” Pratt for 57 years. She died in 1990.

Pratt enjoyed golfing and listening to all types of music.

He was also an advocate for animals. Memorial contributions can be made in his name to any chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or the National Foundation for Cancer Research.

A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Monday in the chapel at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary in Westlake, with burial to follow at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake.