Ludwig Von Drake
| Professor Ludwig Von Drake | |
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| First appearance | The Wonderful World of Color (September 24, 1961) |
| Created by | |
| Voiced by |
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| Species | Duck |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Scientist |
| Relatives |
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| Nationality | Austrian |
Professor Ludwig Von Drake is one of Walt Disney's cartoon and comic book characters. He was first introduced on September 24, 1961, as the presenter (and singer of "The Spectrum Song") in the cartoon An Adventure in Color, part of the first episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color on NBC. Said to be an uncle of Donald Duck. He is described as a scientist, lecturer, psychologist, and world traveler. The character displayed his "expert" knowledge on a variety of subjects in eighteen episodes of the classic anthology series, as well as on a number of Disneyland Records.
Paul Frees was the original voice of Ludwig Von Drake. After Frees' death in 1986, Walker Edmiston voiced the role. Since 1987, he has been voiced by Corey Burton.
Ludwig Von Drake comes from Vienna, Austria and has a fascination with knowledge. Since his youth he has been trying to obtain as many diplomas, in any science, as possible. When he is consulted by other family members, it is a running gag that he almost invariably turns out to have a university degree relevant for whatever information they are seeking. He is often shown as having little social competence, however, and is often portrayed as being very forgetful, sometimes even somewhat senile. In the comics Ludwig usually visits with Donald Duck and Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. On occasion, Daisy Duck would coax (or even trick) the professor into giving lectures and tours for her ladies' club. Sometimes Ludwig and Gyro Gearloose have competed as to who is the greater inventor. He can play the piano and acoustic guitar, as shown in a few television specials and more.
In the Wonderful World of Color episode Kids is Kids, Ludwig states that he is a bachelor.
In the comic strips by the famous duo of comic artists Bob Karp and Al Taliaferro, Donald and his nephews usually call him 'Uncle Ludwig', but in the comic stories he is generally called 'Ludwig' or 'Professor' by those ones. Daisy Duck refers to Ludwig as sort of an uncle of Donald in the first Sunday strip where his name is mentioned. In the story "Duckburg, U.S.A.", published in Ludwig Von Drake #1 (November 1961), Professor Ludwig Von Drake arrives in Duckburg by train, and it is shown that Donald Duck had never seen this Austrian relative before, not even in a picture. Grandma Duck, Uncle Scrooge McDuck, Daisy Duck, Gladstone Gander, Huey, Dewey and Louie, Gus Goose, and Gyro Gearloose also appear in this same story waiting to know Ludwig at the train station, and Grandma enthusiastically exclaims, "Professor Ludwig Von Drake! Such a nice-sounding name!". According to an explanation created by Don Rosa's personal family tree, he would have to be married to Donald Duck's aunt, Matilda McDuck, making him Scrooge's brother-in-law. Nevertheless, Ludwig exclaims in the Christmas story "The Cuckoo Clock Caper" that he and Scrooge are "joined in good fellowship". Besides, he was shown as a member of the Absentminded Dating Club, being the suitor of another member of this same club in some old comic strips, a duck woman called Alice. Therefore, Ludwig's marital status is officially unmarried.
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