The character displayed his "expert" knowledge on a variety of subjects in eighteen episodes of the classic anthology series,[6] as well as on a number of Disneyland Records.

When he is consulted by other family members, it is a running gag that he almost invariably turns out to have a university degree relevant for whatever information they are seeking.

On occasion, Daisy Duck will coax (or even trick) the professor into giving lectures and tours for her ladies' club.

In the Wonderful World of Color episode The Hunting Instinct, Walt Disney states Ludwig is Donald Duck's father's brother.

Grandma Duck, Uncle Scrooge McDuck, Daisy Duck, Gladstone Gander, Huey, Dewey and Louie, Gus Goose, and Gyro Gearloose also appear in this same story waiting to know Ludwig at the train station, and Grandma enthusiastically exclaims, "Professor Ludwig Von Drake!

In the last panel of the story "Barn Dance Doctor",[22] Grandma refers to Ludwig as her "cityfied cousin".

Ludwig is really excited about it because he has not eaten that dish since he left Austria and came to Duckburg to know his relatives of Donald's paternal family.

[34] In the Christmas story "The Cuckoo Clock Caper",[35] Ludwig exclaims that he and Scrooge are "joined in good fellowship".

[37] Those twelve stories mentioned above were drawn by Tony Strobl, who was the cartoonist responsible for introducing Professor Ludwig into American Disney comic books.

Actually, Ludwig's first comic book appearance was in a not previously mentioned story by Strobl, "The Scene Stealer",[38] first published in October 1961.

Also, in "House of Genius", Ludwig creates robot duplicates of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto.

[40] In the Disney's Sing-Along Songs series of videos, he has hosted/co-hosted these five volumes: In 1961 Disneyland Records released the LP Professor Ludwig Von Drake.

[41] The Disney studio encouraged the writers of Duck comics to introduce this new character in print, and already in September 1961, Von Drake started appearing in Al Taliaferro and Bob Karp's featured daily strips.

However, aside from a solitary cameo appearance in a one-page story in Uncle Scrooge #54 (December 1964), the character was not used by leading Disney duck artist Carl Barks.

In "Sleeping Beauty's Christmas Story", the professor helps Princess Aurora break Maleficent's spell.

Professor Ludwig has often been used by Italian cartoonists, including in some of the long sagas inspired by famous books that they usually produce with the Duck Family, such as "La storia di Marco Polo detta Il Milione"[43] (free translation "The Million – A Story of Marco Polo") and "Paperino in: Il mondo perduto"[44] (free translation "Donald in: The Lost World").