Stage Door Cartoon is a 1944 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng . The short was released on December 30, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd .
104-413: Elmer Fudd attempts to catch Bugs Bunny with a carrot on a fish hook, but Bugs attaches the hook to Elmer's pants and reels Elmer in. Then Elmer chases Bugs into a theater; Bugs disguises himself as a can-can dancer, but Elmer recognizes Bugs, and prevents him from exiting the stage. Bugs dances, then plays the piano where Elmer hides and gets bounced around. Bugs then tricks Elmer into high-diving into
208-503: A Moe Howard haircut. and always has a huge egg-shaped head. Egghead returned decades later in the compilation film Daffy Duck's Quackbusters , while going back to being bald again and redesigned into looking like Elmer Fudd and wearing Elmer Fudd's Clothes and Derby Hat. More recently, he also made a cameo appearance at the end of Looney Tunes: Back in Action and was also given in his own story, which starred him alongside Pete Puma , in
312-461: A sanitarium — into which Bugs would, of course, somehow find his way. In Dog Gone People , he had an ordinary office job working for demanding boss "Mister Cwabtwee". In another cartoon ( A Mutt in a Rut ) he appeared to work in an office and had a dog he called "Wover Boy", whom he took hunting, though Bugs did not appear. (Elmer also has a hunting dog in To Duck or Not to Duck ; in that film,
416-455: A Who! (1970), but his main focus during this time was producing the feature film The Phantom Tollbooth , which did lukewarm business when MGM released it in 1970. Jones co-directed 1969's The Pogo Special Birthday Special , based on the Walt Kelly comic strip, and voiced the characters of Porky Pine and Bun Rab. It was at this point that he decided to start ST Incorporated. MGM closed
520-488: A blindfolded Elmer into riding a unicycle from a wire high above a stage into the jaws of a man-eating lion, with the result having an ending reminiscent to the ending of A Day at the Zoo (1939), which featured Elmer's prototype Egghead being swallowed up by a lion. The high-diving gag from this cartoon is later used as the entire plot device for High Diving Hare (1949), where Yosemite Sam tries to force Bugs Bunny to perform
624-409: A brief headshot cameo appearance in the final scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) with other famous characters. Elmer would also appear frequently on the animated series Tiny Toon Adventures as a teacher at Acme Looniversity, where he was the idol and favorite teacher of Elmyra Duff , the slightly deranged animal lover who resembles Elmer in basic head design, name and lack of intellect. On
728-599: A clause in his contract that required him to receive a screen credit and, perhaps inadvertently, denied the same to other voice performers. Blanc would take on the role regularly in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, supplying Elmer's voice for new footage in The Bugs Bunny Show (while Smith voiced the character in the commercials until 1965 when Blanc took up the role full time), The Porky Pig Show , compilation feature films and similar TV specials, as well as some all-new specials. He admitted in his autobiography that he found
832-494: A comment. In "A Christmas Carol," Elmer Fudd reports on Foghorn Leghorn's plans to end the heat wave on Christmas. Elmer Fudd later joins the other characters in the Christmas song called "Christmas Rules" at the end of the episode. In "Dear John," Elmer Fudd reports on Daffy Duck winning a spot on the city council. Elmer Fudd later reports on Daffy Duck's apparent death where he supposedly lost control of his parade float and drove into
936-447: A director (or "supervisor", the original title for an animation director in the studio) himself in 1938 when Frank Tashlin left the studio. The following year Jones created his first major character, Sniffles , a cute Disney-style mouse, who went on to star in twelve Warner Bros. cartoons. Jones initially struggled in terms of his directorial style. Unlike the other directors in the studio, Jones wanted to make cartoons that would rival
1040-422: A few minutes, then turned over the meeting to his attorney. His insulting manner had a unifying effect on the staff. Jones gave a pep talk at the union headquarters. As negotiations broke down, the staff decided to go on strike. Schlesinger locked them out of the studio for a few days, before agreeing to sign the contract. A Labor-Management Committee was formed and Jones served as a moderator. Because of his role as
1144-400: A glass of water. Elmer is then tricked into wearing a Shakesperean costume, then, prompted by Bugs, acts, then does poses and silly faces; Bugs prompts the booing audience to throw a tomato at Elmer. Elmer is then tricked into performing a striptease down to his shorts. Bugs disguises himself as a southern sheriff while the real sheriff arrests Elmer for "indecent southern exposure". But
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#17328485418561248-620: A green long sleeve shirt, green pants, and a bald circle-like human head. At the end of the cartoon, the character tells the villain, the big bad wolf, that he is "the hero in this picture" after he hits the wolf in the head with a mallet. He then continued to make more appearances in the Warner cartoons in 1938, such as in The Isle of Pingo Pongo (made and copyrighted in 1937, released in 1938) (also Prototype-Elmer's second appearance), Cinderella Meets Fella (1938), A Feud There Was (the first time he
1352-500: A heavy-set, beer-bellied character, patterned after Arthur Q. Bryan's real-life appearance, and still chasing Bugs (or vice versa). However, audiences did not accept a fat Fudd, so the slimmer version returned for good. This period also saw a temporary change in Elmer's relationship with Bugs Bunny. Instead of being the hunter, Elmer was the victim of unprovoked pestering by Bugs. In Wabbit Twouble , Bugs plays several gags on Elmer, advising
1456-440: A huge round of applause from the audience. Bugs tells Elmer they may be on to something, and Elmer, with the vaudevillian's instinct of sticking with a gag that catches on, nods that they should re-use it. According to this account, the common Elmer-as-hunter episodes are entirely staged. One episode where Bugs "lost" in the hunting was Hare Brush (1956). Here, Elmer has been committed to an insane asylum because he believes he
1560-509: A janitor. After graduating from Chouinard Art Institute , Jones got a phone call from a friend named Fred Kopietz, who had been hired by the Ub Iwerks studio and offered him a job. He worked his way up in the animation industry, starting as a cel washer; "then I moved up to become a painter in black and white, some color. Then I went on to take animator's drawings and traced them onto the celluloid. Then I became what they call an in-betweener, which
1664-412: A letter to Tex Avery , accusing Clampett of taking credit for ideas that were not his, and for characters created by other directors (notably Jones's Sniffles and Friz Freleng 's Yosemite Sam ). Their correspondence was never published in the media. It was forwarded to Michael Barrier , who conducted the interview with Clampett and was distributed by Jones to multiple people concerned with animation over
1768-573: A more villainous role in Looney Tunes: Back in Action . He first appears as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck's co-star in a new movie, where he shoots Daffy repeatedly, and is later seen shooting Bugs per the film's script after Daffy's firing. He later appears in the Louvre museum, where he reveals himself to be a secret agent for the Acme Corporation . Elmer chases Bugs and Daffy through the paintings in
1872-624: A new Schlesinger director, Tex Avery . There was no room for the new Avery unit in Schlesinger's small studio, so Avery, Jones, and fellow animators Bob Clampett , Virgil Ross , and Sid Sutherland were moved into a small adjacent building they dubbed "Termite Terrace". When Clampett was promoted to director in 1937, Jones was assigned to his unit; the Clampett unit was briefly assigned to work with Jones's old employer, Ub Iwerks , when Iwerks subcontracted four cartoons to Schlesinger in 1937. Jones became
1976-409: A new character in his cartoon short Egghead Rides Again , released July 17, 1937. Egghead initially was depicted as having a bulbous nose, a voice like Joe Penner (provided by radio mimic Danny Webb) and an egg-shaped head. Many cartoon historians believe that Egghead evolved into Elmer over a period of a couple of years. However, animation historian Michael Barrier asserts, that "Elmer Fudd
2080-478: A new series of Tom and Jerry shorts (1963–1967) as well as the television adaptations of Dr. Seuss 's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) and Horton Hears a Who! (1970). He later started his own studio, Chuck Jones Enterprises, where he directed and produced the film adaptation of Norton Juster 's The Phantom Tollbooth (1970). Jones's work along with the other animators was showcased in
2184-404: A one-joke act cross-country, with Bugs dressed like a pinhead, and when he does not know the answer to a joke, Elmer gives it and hits him with a pie in the face. Bugs begins to tire of this gag and pulls a surprise on Fudd, answering the joke correctly and bopping Elmer with a mallet , which prompts the man to point his rifle at Bugs. The bunny asks nervously: "Eh, what's up doc?", which results in
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#17328485418562288-450: A party for vengeance. Batman confronts Elmer in his apartment and defeats the gunman in a fight, where Elmer tells Batman about Silver's death and Bugs. Elmer and Batman return to Porky's and take out most of the crowd before confronting Bugs. The three are shocked to find Silver in the bar herself, where she revealed that she left Bruce and Elmer because of their dangerous lifestyles and had Bugs fake her death. The story ends with all three of
2392-454: A rabbit hole. Elmer's role in these two films, that of would-be hunter, dupe and foil for Bugs, would remain his main role forever after, and although Bugs Bunny was called upon to outwit many more worthy opponents, Elmer somehow remained Bugs' classic nemesis, despite (or because of) his legendary gullibility, small size, short temper, and shorter attention span. In Rabbit Fire , he declares himself vegetarian, hunting for sport only. Elmer
2496-521: A red nose) and his familiar hunting clothes. He is much more recognizable as the Elmer Fudd of later cartoons than Bugs is here. In his new appearances, Elmer actually "wikes wabbits", either attempting to take photos of Bugs, or adopting Bugs as his pet. The rascally rabbit has the poor Fudd so perplexed that there is little wonder as to why Elmer would become a hunter and in some cases actually proclaim, "I hate wittle gway wabbits!" after pumping buckshot down
2600-467: A scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz " as he hops away as if he had planned the whole thing. Elmer Fudd has occasionally appeared in other costumes, notably as Cupid, opposite Daffy Duck in The Stupid Cupid (1944). The Bugs–Elmer partnership was so familiar to audiences that in a late 1950s cartoon, Bugs' Bonnets , a character study is made of what happens to the relationship between
2704-472: A sketch where he portrayed Gutzon Borglum . This sketch depicts Elmer/Gutzon's construction of Mount Rushmore , accompanied by Borglum's son Lincoln, portrayed by Loud Kiddington . Elmer made another appearance on Histeria! , this time in his traditional role, during a sketch where the bald eagle trades places with the turkey during Thanksgiving weekend, featured in the episode "Americana". Fudd also appeared on The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries in
2808-611: A spy working for the Mexican general Foghorn Leghorn. In the 2017 DC Comics/Looney Tunes crossover books, an alternate version of Elmer Fudd was created for a story in which the character was designed more for the DC Universe and was pitted against Batman in the Batman/Elmer Fudd Special . In the story, Elmer is a bounty hunter that originated from the country side before he moved to Gotham to make ends meet. He considered putting
2912-570: A supervisor in the studio, he could not himself join the union. Jones created many of his lesser-known characters during this period, including Charlie Dog , Hubie and Bertie , and The Three Bears . During World War II , Jones worked closely with Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss , to create the Private Snafu series of Army educational cartoons (the character was created by director Frank Capra ). Jones later collaborated with Seuss on animated adaptations of Seuss' books, including How
3016-586: A television adaptation of all Tom and Jerry theatricals produced to that date. This included major editing, including writing out the African-American maid, Mammy Two-Shoes , and replacing her with one of Irish descent voiced by June Foray . In 1964, Sib Tower 12 was absorbed by MGM and was renamed MGM Animation/Visual Arts . His animated short film, The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics , won
3120-401: Is Elmer Fudd, after which Bugs starts wearing hunting clothes and acting like Elmer, hunting the rabbit-costumed Fudd, who is in turn acting like Bugs. Their hunt is cut short when Bugs is arrested by a government agent as Elmer Fudd is wanted for tax evasion . After Bugs is hauled away trying to explain that the rabbit is Elmer Fudd, Fudd breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience "I may be
3224-453: Is a rabbit (though it is also revealed that he is a millionaire and owns a mansion and a yacht ). Bugs Bunny enters Fudd's room and Elmer bribes him with carrots , then leaves the way the real rabbit entered. Bugs acts surprisingly (for him) naïve, assuming Elmer just wanted to go outside for a while. Elmer's psychiatrist arrives, and thinking Fudd's delusion has affected his appearance, drugs Bugs and conditions him into believing that he
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3328-422: Is fully called "Elmer Fudd") (1938), Johnny Smith and Poker-Huntas (1938), Hamateur Night (made and copyrighted in 1938, released in 1939), A Day at the Zoo (made and copyrighted in 1938, released in 1939) and Believe It or Else (1939), mostly as a "running gag" character. In A Feud There Was (1938), Elmer made his entrance riding a motor scooter with the words "Elmer Fudd, Peacemaker" displayed on
3432-553: Is labeled as Bugs Bunny but is also identical to his prototype in Camera . In the interim, the two starred in A Wild Hare . Bugs appears with a carrot, New York City accent , and "What's Up, Doc?" catchphrase all in place for the first time, although the voice and physique are as yet somewhat off. Elmer has a better voice, a trimmer figure (designed by Bob Givens , which would be reused soon later in Jones' Good Night Elmer , this time without
3536-462: Is shot in the face by his toy battleship; in Wideo Wabbit , Blanc did Elmer's cry of pain; and in What's Opera, Doc? , Elmer's furious scream "SMOG!" was dubbed by Blanc, although Bryan had voiced the rest of the part. In The Stupid Cupid (1944), since Elmer has no dialogue in the cartoon, Frank Graham provided his laugh. Later, during the musician's union strike of 1958, Dave Barry did
3640-411: Is the guy that does the drawing between the drawings the animator makes". While at Iwerks, he met a cel painter named Dorothy Webster, who later became his first wife. Jones joined Leon Schlesinger Productions , the independent studio that produced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Warner Bros. , in 1933 as an assistant animator. In 1935 he was promoted to animator and assigned to work with
3744-504: Is wubbing me the wong way!" He was again voiced by Billy West . Elmer Fudd appears in The Looney Tunes Show , voiced by Billy West . Portrayed as a wealthy businessman coming home after a hard day's work in the "Merrie Melodies" part of the episode "Best Friends," he sings about his love of " gwiwwed cheese " sandwiches. He later had a brief cameo appearance in "Fish and Visitors" as a weather forecaster briefly exclaiming about
3848-577: The Looney Tunes comic book. One animation history suggests that the Egghead character was based on Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoonist and entertainer Robert Ripley . Egghead has the distinction of being the first recurring character created for Leon Schlesinger 's Merrie Melodies series (to be followed by such characters as Sniffles , Inki , Elmer Fudd, and even Bugs Bunny), which had previously contained only one-shot characters, although during
3952-606: The Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 DVD set. Jones received an Honorary Academy Award in 1996 by the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , for "the creation of classic cartoons and cartoon characters whose animated lives have brought joy to our real ones for more than half a century." At that year's awards show, Robin Williams , a self-confessed "Jones-aholic", presented
4056-811: The Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Special Project. In 1997, Jones was awarded the Edward MacDowell Medal . In 1999, he founded the non-profit Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, in Costa Mesa, California, an art education "gymnasium for the brain" dedicated to teaching creative skills, primarily to children and seniors, which is still in operation. In his later years, he recovered from skin cancer and received hip and ankle replacements. Jones died of congestive heart failure on February 22, 2002, at his home in Corona del Mar, Newport Beach at
4160-543: The Harman-Ising era, Foxy , Goopy Geer , and Piggy each appeared in a few Merrie Melodies. One of Egghead's final appearances is Count Me Out . In 1937, Tex Avery created a very early version of Elmer Fudd and introduced him in Little Red Walking Hood , as mysterious hero whistling everywhere he goes. In this cartoon, he had a derby hat, small squinty eyes, big reddish nose, a high collar around his neck,
4264-720: The Leon Schlesinger Production's Termite Terrace studio, the studio that made Warner Brothers cartoons, where they created and developed the Looney Tunes characters. During the Second World War , Jones directed many of the Private Snafu (1943–1946) shorts which were shown to members of the United States military . After his career at Warner Bros. ended in 1962, Jones started Sib Tower 12 Productions and began producing cartoons for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , including
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4368-629: The Looney Tunes characters. Jones resumed working with Warner Bros. in 1976 with the animated TV adaptation of The Carnival of the Animals with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Jones also produced The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979), which was a compilation of Jones's best theatrical shorts, new Road Runner shorts for The Electric Company series and Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979). New shorts were made for Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over (1980). From 1977 to 1978, Jones wrote and drew
4472-640: The Louvre museum, taking on the different art styles as they do so. At the end, Elmer forgets to change back to his normal style after jumping out of the pointillist painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat , allowing Bugs to easily disintegrate Elmer by blowing a fan at him. A four-year-old version of Elmer was featured in the Baby Looney Tunes episode "A Bully for Bugs", where he kept taking all of Bugs' candy, and also bullied
4576-513: The archenemy of Bugs Bunny . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antagonizing characters. He speaks in an unusual way, replacing his Rs and Ls with Ws , so he often refers to Bugs Bunny as a "scwewy" (screwy) or "wascawwy (rascally) wabbit". Elmer's signature catchphrase is, "Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits", as well as his trademark laughter. The best known Elmer Fudd cartoons include Chuck Jones ' work What's Opera, Doc? (one of
4680-464: The 1942 short The Draft Horse . The cartoon that was generally considered his turning point was The Dover Boys . Released the same year, it noticeably featured quickly-timed gags and extensive use of limited animation . Despite this, Schlesinger and the studios heads were still dissatisfied and begun the process to fire him, but they were unable to find a replacement due to a labor shortage stemming from World War II , so Jones kept his position. He
4784-434: The 1950s, except for a brief period in 1953 when Warner closed the animation studio. During this interim, Jones found employment at Walt Disney Productions , where he teamed with Ward Kimball for a four-month period of uncredited work on Sleeping Beauty (1959). Upon the reopening of the Warner animation department, Jones was rehired and reunited with most of his unit. In the early 1960s, Jones and his wife Dorothy wrote
4888-522: The 1965 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film . Jones directed the classic animated short The Bear That Wasn't . As the Tom and Jerry series wound down (it was discontinued in 1967), Jones produced more for television. In 1966, he produced and directed the TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! , featuring narration by Boris Karloff . Jones continued to work on other TV specials such as Horton Hears
4992-662: The Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck animated sequences that bookend its sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). Jones directed animated sequences for various features such as a lengthy sequence in the film Stay Tuned (1992) and a shorter one seen at the start of the Robin Williams vehicle Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). Also during the 1980s and 1990s, Jones served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute . Jones's final Looney Tunes cartoon
5096-536: The Egghead-like Elmer's appearance was refined, giving him a chin and a less bulbous nose (although still wearing his old clothing that he was wearing in Tex Avery's earlier cartoons) and Arthur Q. Bryan's " Dan McFoo " voice in what most people consider Elmer Fudd's first true appearance: a Chuck Jones short entitled Elmer's Candid Camera , actually Elmer's Ninth appearance, in which a rabbit drives Elmer insane;
5200-578: The Grinch Stole Christmas! in 1966. Jones directed such shorts as The Weakly Reporter , a 1944 short that related to shortages and rationing on the home front. During the same year, he directed Hell-Bent for Election , a campaign film for Franklin D. Roosevelt . Jones created characters through the late 1930s, late 1940s, and the 1950s, which include his collaborative help in co-creating Bugs Bunny and also included creating Claude Cat , Marc Antony and Pussyfoot , Charlie Dog , Michigan J. Frog , Gossamer , and his four most popular creations, Marvin
5304-656: The Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb in 1988. Jones was a historical authority as well as a major contributor to the development of animation throughout the 20th century. In 1990, Jones received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . He received an honorary degree from Oglethorpe University in 1993. For his contribution to
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#17328485418565408-540: The Line , won the Best Animated Short . Robin Williams presented Jones with an Honorary Academy Award in 1996 for his work in the animation industry. Film historian Leonard Maltin has praised Jones's work at Warner Bros., MGM and Chuck Jones Enterprises. In Jerry Beck 's The 50 Greatest Cartoons , a group of animation professionals ranked What's Opera, Doc? (1957) as the greatest cartoon of all time, with ten of
5512-572: The Martian , Pepé Le Pew , Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner . Jones and writer Michael Maltese collaborated on the Road Runner cartoons, Duck Amuck , One Froggy Evening , and What's Opera, Doc? . Other staff at Unit A whom Jones collaborated with include layout artist, background designer, and co-director Maurice Noble ; animator and co-director Abe Levitow ; and animators Ken Harris and Ben Washam . Jones remained at Warner Bros. throughout
5616-644: The St. Bastian River. In "The Black Widow," Elmer Fudd reports on the theft of the Hillhurst Diamond from the museum caused by someone called "The Black Widow." On June 8, 2011, Elmer starred in the 3-D short "Daffy's Rhapsody" with Daffy Duck . That short was going to precede the film Happy Feet Two , but was instead shown with Journey 2: The Mysterious Island . Elmer Fudd appears in Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run , voiced again by Billy West. He appears as
5720-516: The Valkyries as "Kiww the wabbit, kiww the wabbit, kiww the wabbit...!" or "The Beautifuw Bwue Danube, by Johann Stwauss", Stage Door Cartoon ' s line "Oh, you dubbuh-cwossing wabbit! You tweachewous miscweant! " or the name of actress " Owivia deHaviwwand ". Part of the joke is that Elmer is presumably incapable of pronouncing his own first name correctly. Occasionally, Elmer would properly pronounce an "r" or "l" sound, depending on whether or not it
5824-533: The abundance of high-quality paper and pencils. Later, in one art school class, the professor gravely informed the students that they each had 100,000 bad drawings in them that they must first get past before they could possibly draw anything worthwhile. Jones recounted years later that this pronouncement came as a great relief to him, as he was well past the 200,000 mark, having used up all that stationery. Jones and several of his siblings went on to artistic careers. During his artistic education, he worked part-time as
5928-427: The age of 89. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea. After his death, Cartoon Network aired a 20-second segment tracing Jones's portrait with the words "We'll miss you". Also, the Looney Tunes cartoon Daffy Duck for President , based on the book that Jones had written and using Jones's style for the characters, originally scheduled to be released in 2000, was released in 2004 as part of disc three of
6032-933: The animation division in 1970, and Jones once again started his own studio, Chuck Jones Enterprises. He produced a Saturday morning children's TV series for the American Broadcasting Company called The Curiosity Shop in 1971. In 1973, he produced an animated version of the George Selden book The Cricket in Times Square and subsequently produced two sequels. Three of his works during this period were animated TV adaptations of short stories from Rudyard Kipling 's The Jungle Book : Mowgli's Brothers , The White Seal and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi . During this period, Jones began to experiment with more realistically designed characters, most of which had larger eyes, leaner bodies, and altered proportions, such as those of
6136-503: The audience, "I do dis kind o' stuff to him all t'wough da picture!" (A line which would later be said, somewhat ironically, by Cecil Turtle as he and his friends cheat Bugs out of winning a race). Another short, The Wacky Wabbit , finds Elmer focused on prospecting for gold which would be used to fund the World War II effort. Elmer sings a variation of the old prospector's tune " Oh! Susanna " made just for this cartoon (complete with
6240-738: The documentary, Bugs Bunny: Superstar (1975). Jones directed the first feature-length animated Looney Tunes compilation film, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979). In 1990 he wrote his memoir, Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist , which was made into a documentary film, Chuck Amuck (1991). He was also profiled in the American Masters documentary Chuck Jones: Extremes & Inbetweens – A Life in Animation (2000) which aired on PBS . Jones won three Academy Awards . The cartoons which he directed, For Scent-imental Reasons , So Much for So Little , and The Dot and
6344-496: The dog is named Laramore.) Several episodes featured Elmer differently. One ( What's Up, Doc? , 1950) has Bugs Bunny relating his life story to a biographer, and recalling a time which was a downturn for the movie business. Elmer Fudd is a well-known entertainer who, looking for a new partner for his act, sees Bugs Bunny (after passing caricatures of many other famous 1940s actors (Al Jolson, Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Bing Crosby) who, like Bugs, are also out of work). Elmer and Bugs do
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#17328485418566448-637: The entries being directed by Jones including Duck Amuck (1953), Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953), One Froggy Evening (1955), Rabbit of Seville (1950), and Rabbit Seasoning (1952). Charles Martin Jones was born on September 21, 1912, in Spokane, Washington , to Mabel McQuiddy (née Martin) (1882–1971) and Charles Adams Jones (1883–?). When he was six months old, he moved with his parents and three siblings to Los Angeles, California . In his autobiography, Chuck Amuck , Jones credits his artistic bent to circumstances surrounding his father, who
6552-507: The few times Fudd bested Bugs, though he felt bad about it), the Rossini parody Rabbit of Seville , and the "Hunting Trilogy" of "Rabbit Season/Duck Season" shorts ( Rabbit Fire , Rabbit Seasoning , and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! ) with Fudd, Bugs Bunny , and Daffy Duck . An earlier prototype of character named Elmer set some of the recognizable Elmer's aspects before the character's more conspicuous features were set. Tex Avery introduced
6656-426: The film Fletch Lives (1989), the eponymous character (while in disguise) gives his name as " Elmer Fudd Gantry ". In amateur radio , new amateurs' mentors are called "Elmers", putatively for superficial resemblance to the cartoon character, and perhaps Fudd's use of "broadcastable" euphemisms while (frequently) swearing. Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002)
6760-622: The first-season episode A Ticket to Crime as detective Sam Fudd; at the end he took off his clothes and turned into Elmer. Elmer appears as part of the TuneSquad team in Space Jam . In one part of the game he and Yosemite Sam shoot out the teeth of one of the Monstars dressed in black suits while Misirlou is heard in the background, a reference TNG be early films of Quentin Tarantino . Elmer took on
6864-519: The foreground (character) animation layer from the scene of Bugs dancing to this music cue would later be re-used in Bugs Bunny Rides Again and Hot Cross Bunny (both 1948). The basic plotline was re-used in the 1949 Bugs-and-Elmer cartoon, Hare Do and again in the 1950 Bugs-and-Elmer cartoon, Rabbit of Seville . A modified version of the high dive is used in Hare Do , where Bugs tricks
6968-498: The high-diving act when Fearless Freep is unavailable. The line Elmer is prompted by Bugs Bunny to recite is based upon Romeo and Juliet II.ii.2 (which is actually "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?") Elmer, due to his speech impediment, cannot properly pronounce the line. Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies series and
7072-451: The honorary award to Jones, calling him "The Orson Welles of cartoons", and the audience gave Jones a standing ovation as he walked onto the stage. For himself, a flattered Jones wryly remarked in his acceptance speech, "Well, what can I say in the face of such humiliating evidence? I stand guilty before the world of directing over three hundred cartoons in the last fifty or sixty years. Hopefully, this means you've forgiven me." He received
7176-584: The men requesting a glass of carrot juice from Porky. In the issue's backup story, Bugs, Elmer, and Batman re-enact the famous "Rabbit Season, Duck Season" sketch with Batman replacing Daffy as Bugs tells Elmer it is "Bat Season". After getting shot by Elmer too many times, Batman takes Bugs' advice and makes it Robin season, causing Elmer to pursue the Dark Knight's sidekicks instead. Elmer Fudd appears in New Looney Tunes , voiced by Jeff Bergman. Elmer Fudd
7280-798: The motion picture industry, Jones has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7011 Hollywood Blvd . He was awarded the Inkpot Award in 1974. In 1996, Jones received an Honorary Oscar at the 68th Academy Awards. Three short films directed by Jones have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the United States Film Preservation Board : What's Opera, Doc? , inducted in 1992; Duck Amuck, inducted in 1999; and One Froggy Evening , inducted in 2003. Jones's life and legacy were celebrated on January 12, 2012, with
7384-410: The new actor, with Blanc doing Fudd's crying and gurgling in two scenes in the former cartoon, and another ( Crow's Feat (1962)) was made in which Fudd has no lines and therefore no voice, the character was soon retired. Although in more recent years other voice actors have alternated as Elmer's voice, Bryan's characterization remains the definitive one. He was never credited onscreen, because Blanc had
7488-551: The newspaper comic strip Crawford (also known as Crawford & Morgan ) for the Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate . In 2011 IDW Publishing collected Jones's strip as part of their Library of American Comic Strips. In 1978, Jones's wife Dorothy died. He married Marian Dern, the writer of the comic strip Rick O'Shay in 1981. On December 11, 1975, shortly after the release of Bugs Bunny: Superstar , which prominently featured Bob Clampett , Jones wrote
7592-554: The other hand, a younger version of him makes a single appearance in the episode Plucky's Dastardly Deed , and is named "Egghead Jr", the "smartest kid in class". Elmer also made cameos on Animaniacs , one in Turkey Jerky , another in the Pinky and the Brain short, Don't Tread on Us. Elmer also had a guest starring appearance on Histeria! in the episode "The Teddy Roosevelt Show", in
7696-615: The people involved, whether they were making the films or publicizing them, not only had trouble telling the characters apart but had no idea why they should bother trying." Egghead made his second appearance in 1938's Daffy Duck & Egghead and was teamed with Warner Bros. ' newest cartoon star Daffy Duck . Egghead continued to make appearances in the Warner cartoons in 1938, such as in A-Lad-In Bagdad (1938), and in Count Me Out (1938). Egghead shifts from being bald, to having
7800-577: The phrase "V for Victory"), with Bugs joining in just before starting to hassle Elmer. He made a later appearance in The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries episode "Moskow Side Story" as a Russian version with a simple name "Boris" who owns another comedy club in Russia. He nearly always mispronounced consonants [r] and [l], pronouncing them as [w] instead (a trait that also characterized Tweety Bird ) when he would talk in his slightly raspy voice. This trait
7904-463: The previous CEO Foghorn Leghorn who retired) where he went with the "Proceed as Planned" choice instead of the "Delay the Merger" choice when he mistook Pete Puma as the new muffin man. As a result of this, Elmer mentioned that 10,000 of its workers are now out of a job and states that experts fear that the world economy could collapse. Elmer also states that disgraced CEO Daffy Duck could not be reached for
8008-507: The quality and design to that of ones made by Walt Disney Production . As a result, his cartoons suffered from sluggish pacing and a lack of clever gags, with Jones himself later admitting that his early conception of timing and dialog was "formed by watching the action in the La Brea Tar Pits ". Schlesinger and the studio heads were unsatisfied with his work and demanded that he make cartoons that were more funny. He responded by creating
8112-490: The rabbit was an early appearance of what would become Bugs Bunny , beginning their long-standing rivalry. Later that year, he appeared in Friz Freleng 's Confederate Honey (where he was called Ned Cutler) and The Hardship of Miles Standish where his voice and Little Red Walking Hood-like appearance were still the same. Jones would use this Elmer one more time, in 1941's Elmer's Pet Rabbit ; its other title character
8216-465: The rainy weather and doing his famous chuckle at the end. In "Working Duck," Elmer Fudd appeared as a newsman where he reports that Daffy Duck was fired from his position as a security guard after falling asleep during a nighttime bank robbery in which $ 10 million was stolen. Later on, Elmer Fudd reports that EnormoCorp went out of business due to the worst business decision in the history of business decisions caused by its CEO Daffy Duck (who succeeded
8320-691: The rest of his friends. He was also shown with short blond hair. He appeared in most of the songs. An even more villainous Elmer appeared in two episodes of Duck Dodgers as The Mother Fudd , an alien who would spread a disease that caused all affected by it to stand around laughing like Elmer and resemble a grey-skinned version of him (a parody of the Flood in Halo and the Borg in Star Trek ). In Loonatics Unleashed , his descendant, Electro J. Fudd , tried to prove himself
8424-489: The screenplay for the animated feature Gay Purr-ee . The finished film featured the voices of Judy Garland , Robert Goulet and Red Buttons as cats in Paris, France. The feature was produced by UPA and directed by his former Warner Bros. collaborator, Abe Levitow. Jones moonlighted to work on the film since he had an exclusive contract with Warner Bros. UPA completed the film and made it available for distribution in 1962; it
8528-531: The sheriff stays for the Bugs Bunny cartoon on the movie screen. Elmer notices the scene with Bugs' disguise, thinks the sheriff is an impostor, and pulls off his pants — disrobing a real sheriff, who furiously escorts Elmer out of the theater with his rifle as Bugs conducts the orchestra in a finale. The cartoon's title is a parody of the 1943 musical film Stage Door Canteen . This is the first cartoon to feature Bugs' signature song "What's Up Doc?" playing during
8632-430: The shotgun away for good when he fell in love with Silver St. Cloud , but she was killed by hitman Bugs "The Bunny". He goes to a bar called Porky's (which has attendants that are humanoid versions of other famous Looney Tunes stars) to kill Bugs. Bugs confesses to killing Silver, but avoids death by telling Elmer that Bruce Wayne hired him to do it. Elmer believes Bugs as Bruce was Silver's former lover, and shoots Bruce at
8736-409: The side, the first onscreen use of that name. Elmer then appeared on early merchandise and of early Looney Tunes books in 1938 and 1939, and even on the lobby cards for "The Isle of Pingo Pongo" and for "Cinderella Meets Fella" with his name attached on them. In the 1939 cartoon Dangerous Dan McFoo , a new voice actor, Arthur Q. Bryan , was hired to provide the voice of the hero dog character. It
8840-481: The title card. Bugs' goofy yell to Elmer, "Here I ya-um!" was a catchphrase used by radio star Red Skelton 's country bumpkin character "Clem Kadiddlehopper". The Southern sheriff in this cartoon is a prototype of Yosemite Sam , which was later confirmed in the ToonHeads episode "Before They Were Stars". This prototype version of Sam appears to be a little taller in height (almost as tall as Bugs), older in age (hence
8944-488: The two when they each accidentally don a different selection of hats (Native American wig, pilgrim hat, military helmets, bridal veil and top hat, to name a few). The result is comic mayhem; a steady game of one-upmanship that ultimately leads to matrimony. For a short time in the 1941–1942 season, Elmer's appearance was modified again, for five cartoons: Wabbit Twouble , The Wacky Wabbit , The Wabbit Who Came to Supper , Any Bonds Today? and Fresh Hare . He became
9048-413: The universe's greatest hunter by capturing Ace Bunny , but settled for Danger Duck instead. Elmer himself also makes an appearance in the form of a photo which shows he presumably died at the hands of a giant squirrel . In December 2009, Elmer made an appearance in a GEICO commercial where the director tells him to say rabbits instead of "wabbits". Pushed to the edge, Elmer exclaims, "This diwector
9152-480: The voice difficult to get "right", never quite making it his own, which is why his Elmer voice sounded deep and gravelly in the 60s and 70s; however, it began sounding closer to Bryan's Elmer voice, beginning with Bugs Bunny's Valentine (1979). In Speechless (1989), the famous lithograph issued following Blanc's death, Elmer is not shown among the characters bowing their heads in tribute to Blanc. Beside Bryan, numerous other actors have voiced Elmer, including: In
9256-604: The voice for Elmer's co-starring appearance in Pre-Hysterical Hare , as during production of the cartoon, Bryan was unavailable due to either feeling ill or appearing on a lot of television shows in New York at the time. Elmer was originally going to be voiced in that cartoon by Daws Butler . In 1959, Bryan died at age 60, and Hal Smith was selected to replace him as Elmer, but after just two cartoons ( Dog Gone People (1960) and What's My Lion? (1961)) were recorded by
9360-657: The voice was provided by Blanc: in Good Night Elmer (1940), Blanc did Elmer's crying; in The Wacky Wabbit (1942), Blanc did Fudd's screams of fear; in The Big Snooze (1946), Blanc spoke as Fudd crying, "Oh, agony, agony!"; in The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950), only a single line was needed, and bringing in Bryan was not cost effective; in Quack Shot (1954), Blanc did Elmer's Peter Lorre -esque laugh after he
9464-469: The white hair), and is a good guy who is a fan of Bugs and his cartoons, in contrast to the "official" Sam who is evil, hates rabbits (including Bugs), shorter in height and younger in age with red hair. Bugs' final line, "I got a million of 'em!" was a Jimmy Durante catchphrase; Bugs also mimics Durante's standard body language while saying it. This cartoon marks the debut of "Untitled Soft Shoe Number", an original music score by Carl Stalling. Portions of
9568-501: The years. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Jones was painting cartoon and parody art, sold through animation galleries by his daughter's company, Linda Jones Enterprises. Jones was the creative consultant and character designer for two Raggedy Ann animated specials and the first Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas special A Chipmunk Christmas . He made a cameo appearance in the film Gremlins (1984) and he wrote and directed
9672-506: Was From Hare to Eternity (1997), which starred Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam , with Greg Burson voicing Bugs. The cartoon was dedicated to Friz Freleng , who had died in 1995. Jones's final animation project was a series of 13 shorts starring a timber wolf character he had designed in the 1960s named Thomas Timber Wolf. The series was released online by Warner Bros. in 2000. From 2001 until 2004, Cartoon Network aired The Chuck Jones Show which features shorts directed by him. The show won
9776-433: Was actively involved in efforts to unionize the staff of Leon Schlesinger Studios . He was responsible for recruiting animators, layout men, and background people. Almost all animators joined, in reaction to salary cuts imposed by Leon Schlesinger . The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio had already signed a union contract, encouraging their counterparts under Schlesinger. In a meeting with his staff, Schlesinger talked for
9880-515: Was an American animator , painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of shorts. He wrote, produced, and/or directed many classic animated cartoon shorts starring Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner , Pepé Le Pew , Marvin the Martian , and Porky Pig , among others. Jones started his career in 1933 alongside Tex Avery , Friz Freleng , Bob Clampett , and Robert McKimson at
9984-486: Was an unsuccessful businessman in California in the 1920s. He recounted that his father would start every new business venture by purchasing new stationery and new pencils with the company name on them. When the business failed, his father would quietly turn the huge stacks of useless stationery and pencils over to his children, requiring them to use up all the material as fast as possible. The children drew frequently, owing to
10088-417: Was depicted without his trademark double-barreled shotgun in the first season of Looney Tunes Cartoons on the streaming service, HBO Max . The series executive producer and showrunner , Peter Browngardt, said the character could continue to use cartoon violence , such as dynamite and Acme related paraphernalia. The absence of the shotgun has garnered both acclaim and controversy. By 2021, his shotgun
10192-411: Was in this cartoon that the popular "milk-sop" wabbit voice of Elmer Fudd was created. Elmer Fudd has since been the chief antagonistic force in most of the Bugs Bunny cartoons, initiating one of the most famous rivalries in the history of American cinema. Sometime later on in this year, some new drawings and redesigns of Elmer Fudd were being created by a character designer, Charlie Thorson . In 1940,
10296-475: Was not a modified version of his fellow Warner Bros. character Egghead" and that "the two characters were always distinct. That was evidenced by Elmer's early prototype being identified in a Warner publicity sheet for Cinderella Meets Fella (filed with the Library of Congress as a copyright description) as 'Egghead's brother.'" and that "The Egghead-Elmer story is actually a little messy, my sense being that most of
10400-731: Was picked up by Warner Bros. When Warner Bros. discovered that Jones had violated his exclusive contract with them, they terminated him. Jones's former animation unit was laid off after completing the final cartoon in their pipeline, The Iceman Ducketh , and the rest of the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio was closed in early 1963. With business partner Les Goldman, Jones started an independent animation studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions, and brought on most of his unit from Warner Bros., including Maurice Noble and Michael Maltese. In 1963, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contracted with Sib Tower 12 to have Jones and his staff produce new Tom and Jerry cartoons as well as
10504-461: Was prevalent in the Elmer's Candid Camera and Elmer's Pet Rabbit cartoons, where the writers would give him exaggerated lines such as, "My, that weawwy was a dewicious weg of wamb." To further exaggerate his qualities as a harmless nebbish. The writers often gave him lines filled with those letters, such as doing Shakespeare 's Romeo as "What wight thwough yonduh window bweaks!" or Wagner 's Ride of
10608-524: Was reinstated in the show's second season. He is once again voiced by Jeff Bergman in the series. Fudd was originally voiced by Mel Blanc between 1937 and 1938, Danny Webb between 1938 and 1939 (only in Cinderella Meets Fella (1938) and Believe It or Else (1939)), Roy Rogers in 1938, only doing a singing voice in A Feud There Was , and radio actor Arthur Q. Bryan between 1939 and 1959, but on seven occasions during Bryan's lifetime,
10712-401: Was usually cast as a hapless big-game hunter , armed with a double-barreled shotgun (albeit one which could be fired much more than twice without being reloaded) and creeping through the woods "hunting wabbits". In a few cartoons, though, he assumed a completely different persona—a wealthy industrialist type, occupying a luxurious penthouse , or, in one episode involving a role reversal ,
10816-421: Was vital for the audience to understand what the word was. (For example, in 1944's The Old Grey Hare , he clearly pronounces the "r" in the word "picture".) Arthur Q. Bryan died in 1959, but the character was not completely retired at that time. Elmer made appearances in several television specials in the 1970s and 1980s, and some cameo roles in two of the Looney Tunes feature-film compilations. Elmer made
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