Pink Panther (character)

Pink Panther
The Pink Panther character
First appearance	The Pink Panther (1963)
Created by	Blake Edwards Hawley Pratt Friz Freleng
Designed by	Hawley Pratt
Voiced by	Rich Little (1965) Mel Blanc (1966–67) Matt Frewer (1993–95) Michael Sinterniklaas (1996–97)
In-universe information
Alias	Pink Pinky
Species	Panther (Leopard)
Gender	Male

The Pink Panther is a fictional animated character who appears in the opening or closing credit sequences of every film in The Pink Panther series except for A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau.^[1] In the storyline of the original film, the "Pink Panther" is the name of a valuable pink diamond named for a flaw that shows a "figure of a springing panther" when held up to the light in a certain way; in the credits this was translated to an animated pink panther. Only the first Pink Panther film and its third sequel, The Return of the Pink Panther, featured the diamond.

The character's popularity spawned a spin-off franchise of theatrical shorts, television cartoons and merchandise. He starred in 124 short films, four TV series and four TV specials. The character is closely associated with "The Pink Panther Theme", composed by Henry Mancini.