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A Ham in a Role is a 1949 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short starring the Goofy Gophers along with an unnamed dog who is based on stage/film actor John Barrymore. The cartoon was planned by Arthur Davis, but was finished and directed by Robert McKimson. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 31, 1949, but some sources list the release date as January 1, 1950. The cartoon draws heavily from the works of William Shakespeare, with its gags relying on literal interpretations of lines from Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Richard III, and Romeo and Juliet.