Donald's Cousin Gus is a Walt Disney cartoon released on May 19, 1939. Gus Goose debuted as a recurring character in Al Taliaferro's Donald Duck newspaper comic since 9 May 1938.This cartoon was also the first-ever pre-recorded program (in this case, film) to be televised in the United States, airing as part of NBC's "first night" of sponsored programming on May 3, 1939, exactly one week after the film was released in theaters.The short was directed by Jack King, and animated by Lee Morehouse, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Don Towsley. The story was created by Jack Hannah and Carl Barks.