Bugs Bunny


I am one of the first of the Baby Boomer generation.  I can remember going to the movie theater as a child and getting to see two feature motion pictures, plus two or more cartoons - and all for fifty cents at the new theater, and twenty-five cents at the older one.  The movie theater is where Bugs Bunny got his start.

Bugs Bunny was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1940.  A prototype of Bugs had been drawn by Ben “Bugs” Hardaway in the 1939 cartoon for Warner Brothers called “Porky‘s Hare Hunt“ in which the rabbit was white and called Happy Rabbit.  In 1940 Bugs Bunny was drawn gray and given his Brooklyn-Bronx accent by Mel Blanc (who did Bugs voice up until he died in 1989).  It was in this cartoon, “Elmer’s Pet Rabbit”, that Bugs Bunny uses his famous phrase “What’s up, Doc?” when he meets his foremost rival Elmer Fudd for the very first time.  With this cartoon the career of Bugs Bunny was launched.

The name Bugs Bunny was chosen because “bugs” was the vernacular of the day for “crazy”, and the name was also a tribute to Ben Hardaway.  By 1942, Bugs had matured and become the top cartoon star for Warner Brothers, like Mickey Mouse was for Disney.

Bugs Bunny went on to star in 175 theatrical cartoons, the last being made in 1964.  He also starred in several prime-time Television specials, did cameos for movies like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, “Space Jam” and “Gremlins 2”.  His cartoons were nominated three times from 1940-1946, and in 1958 Bugs Bunny won the Oscar for “Knighty Knight Bugs”.

In the Fall of 1960, Warner Brothers took their Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons to television in “The Bugs Bunny Show”.  It aired prime-time at 7:30 PM and was geared toward adults.  Bugs & Daffy emceed the show via bridgework and wraparounds so the cartoons shown would have continuity. The show ran for two years, then went to Saturday mornings to make Saturday mornings synonymous with cartoons. These Warner Brothers’ cartoons stayed on network television for 40 years.

In 2002, “TV Guide” ran a contest in which they listed 50 top cartoon characters, and their readers chose Bugs Bunny as their number one favorite.  Bugs Bunny is also loved internationally, and is the most recognizable cartoon character of all time.  He even has his own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, and his own United States postage stamp (the first cartoon character to have one) which to this day is ranked the seventh most popular.   Bugs Bunny continued