The character originally appeared in the opening and closing credit sequences of the 1963 live-action feature film The Pink Panther. The popularity of the character spawned a series of animated short films, and the character would appear in the opening sequence of every film in The Pink Panther series (except A Shot in the Dark). One-hundred twenty-four Pink Panther shorts (either theatrical or made-for-television) were produced, along with three prime-time television specials.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Panther_%28character%29