Ludwig Von Drake

**Professor Ludwig Von Drake** is an anthropomorphic duck created by Walt Disney. The paternal uncle of Donald Duck, he is an eccentric lecturer, scientist, psychiatrist, and self-proclaimed genius, who frequently displays his vast array of "expert" knowledge on a variety of subjects. Von Drake speaks with an Austrian accent and is typically depicted wearing an overcoat and specks, in line with his scholar motif.

Ludwig debuted as a presenter in *An Adventure in Color*, part of the first episode of *Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color* on September 24, 1961, making him the first Disney animated character created specifically for television. While conceived as a one-shot character, Von Drake became a breakout star in part for his kinetic animation and voice performance by comedian Paul Frees. The character proved so popular that he would feature as a spokesperson for the Disney company throughout the latter half of the 20th century by hosting specials, commercials, records, and other media.

## Background

Von Drake comes from Vienna, Austria, and has a fascination with knowledge. In Ludwig's second animated appearance, "The Hunting Instinct", Walt Disney explains that Von Drake comes from the paternal side of Donald's family—the Drakes, who are a continental branch and the "eggheads" of the Duck family clan.

Ludwig is described as a scientist, world-traveler and psychiatrist. He has obtained degrees from such universities as Oxford, Cambridge, and Heidelberg, and, in one of his comic strip appearances, Ludwig himself claims that he has obtained "about 98 degrees" in total. In *Fly with Von Drake*, Ludwig claims to have served in the air force in 1917, where he earned himself the dubious nickname of "Ludwig "Eddie Von Richthofen" Drake". During his first flight in combat, he shot down five planes--five planes from his own side, that is, with Ludwig remarking that he's been wearing glasses ever since. In *A Symposium on Popular Songs*, Von Drake credits himself for the creation of various musical fads including ragtime, the blues, and even rock-and-roll, throughout the 20th century. In “In Shape with Von Drake”, Von Drake hosts a fitness program under the alias “Ludwig “Muscles” Von Drake”.

While always portrayed as elderly, Von Drake’s specific age is generally left ambiguous. In “Carnival Time” (aired in 1962), Von Drake claimed that he served as a reporter and announcer for every Carnival in Rio de Janeiro since the event’s inception in 1641, which would make him at least 300 years old by the time of the episode’s premiere.

## Personality

In spite of being a world-renowned scientist, psychiatrist, and lecturer, Ludwig is incredibly wacky, somewhat bumbling and, as he puts it, "Kooky!". He is often shown as having little social competence, however, and is often portrayed as being very forgetful, sometimes even somewhat senile. During many of his classic lectures, Ludwig would often get sidetracked rather quickly, with the end results being comical shenanigans. He would also sometimes say the wrong thing and then quickly realize what he said and say "What am I saying" before correcting himself.

Regardless, he is normally portrayed as extremely intelligent and more than likely to know nearly everything about a certain topic—ranging from science to music. A notable recurring goal for the professor has been to discover the source of his nephew Donald's temper tantrums, mostly for the sake of Donald's health. Outside of lectures and his studies in psychology, most of the professor's time is spent creating an array of magnificent inventions and therapies meant to make life easier for both himself and the rest of the world. More often than not, however, does one of the professor's creations go off the deep end.

Von Drake is rather pompous as a result of his genius. He prides himself in his intellect, and never hesitates to attempt to convince others of his genius, to the point where he can be somewhat of an egotist. He also has a habit of beginning the name of his inventions with "The Von Drake" heading.

His catchphrase is "Hello, there!", which he often shouts when greeting someone, or at the beginning of one of his cartoons.