It was back in 1889 that Cleveland-based artist Terwilliger Ryan created the first animated cartoon character, Elmo Aardvark. Skeptics have wondered how such a thing was possible since animated film hadn't even been invented then…and the answer is that the innovative Ryan drew his cartoons as flipbooks which were then distributed with Sunday editions of the Cleveland Star and The Intelligencer. You wouldn't believe how much an original Elmo flipbook goes for on those rare occasions when one surfaces at the Sotheby's or Christie's auction galleries.
Later, as we all know, Elmo turned up in some of the first silent cartoons ever made and now, incredibly, he's in the forefront of another form — animated cartoons for the Internet. Terwilliger's great-great-grandsomething, Will Ryan, not only supervises the new films but supplies the voice of the ukulele-playing earth pig. You can find a more detailed history of Elmo by clicking here and you can view one of his spiffy on-line cartoons by clicking over here.