Felix the Cat first hit the screen on November 9, 1919, in Feline Follies. The mischievous feline—created by Otto Messmer for the Pat Sullivan studio—rocketed to fame, holding a spot as the world's most popular cartoon character until the advent of Mickey Mouse. The wild, witty cartoons made during this period included such classics as Felix in Hollywood (1923), Felix Switches Witches (1927), and Comicalamities (1928). They were released by Paramount Pictures (1919-21), M. J. Winkler (1922-25), Educational Pictures (1925-28), First National (1928-29), and Copley Pictures (1929-31).

When Felix's screen career faded in the 1930s, the cat spent a few decades in a memorable series of comic books and strips. This was the era when Messmer's assistant Joe Oriolo rose to the forefront, later to produce the 1958 TV series about Felix's Magic Bag of Tricks. Another TV series, Film Roman's Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, came about in the mid-1990s. Since that time, Oriolo's son Don has produced Baby Felix for the Japanese market and Felix the Cat Saves Christmas, a direct-to-video special.

Electronic TV Broadcasts Began in 1928 with Felix!
During the early days of television development it was necessary to monitor and adjust the quality of the transmitted picture in order to get the best definition. To do this, engineers required an 'actor' to constantly be under the burning studio lights as they tweaked and sharpened the image, and Felix fit the bill perfectly. He was the right colour (black and white), impervious to the heat from the lights and worked cheaply (in fact a one-off payment was all that was required). RCA's first experimental television transmissions began in 1928 by station W2XBS (New York-Channel #1) in Van Cortlandt Park and then moved to the New Amsterdam Theater Building, transmitting 60 line pictures. The 13" Felix the Cat figure made of paper mache was placed on a record player turntable and was broadcast using a mechanical scanning disk to an electronic kinescope receiver. The image received was only 2 inches tall, and the broadcasts lasted about 2 hours per day. By 1931 the station became part of NBC and began to transmit from 42nd St. These early broadcasts consisted of objects like Felix the Cat or early test patterns and photographs. Felix remained on his turntable for almost a decade as the early experimenters strove towards the goal of a high definition picture.