Who Is Yosemite Sam?
[The Good, The Bad, and The Ornery]

Looney Tunes & Warner Bros. Yosemite Sam

Yosemite Sam is a cartoon character from Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies’ short animations.

Yosemite Sam is commonly depicted as a violent gunslinging prospector, rogue, pirate, or cowboy with something like a hair-trigger temper and an intense hatred for rabbits, particularly the famous fictional character of Warner Bros., Bugs Bunny.

In case, you’re wondering…

Yosemite Sam first made his screen debut and appeared in “Hare Trigger.”

Yosemite Sam resembles a cowboy character from “Buckaroo Bugs,” which might be considered a prototype. Director Friz Freleng created Yosemite Sam, according to Michael Maltese.

That’s when…

… Friz realized he wanted a better fighter after Elmer Fudd, Bugs Bunny’s first foe, appeared to be far too gentle for his target, so Sam was born.

Not only that…

Yosemite also goes by different aliases in various cartoon animations featuring a non-western theme, such as “Chilkoot Sam” and “Square-deal Sam” in 14 Carrot Rabbit, in Sahara Hare as “Riff Raff Sam,” in Big House Bunny as “Sam Schultz,”  in Buccaneer Bunny as “Seagoin‘ Sam” and many more. 

A bonus trivia for you…

Yosemite Sam starred in 33 short films throughout 1945 and 1964, during the golden period of American animation and cartoons.

Bugs Bunny: The Greatest Nemesis Of Yosemite Sam

Yes, you read that right…

Number 1 rival indeed. Yosemite Sam is considerably stronger and more offensive than Elmer Fudd when confronting Bugs Bunny.

He also learns from his failures faster and never falls for the same trick twice. Given his arrogance, Yosemite Sam is no better than Elmer when it comes to dealing with Bugs.

Sam’s arrogance always gets the better of him, and Bugs can tell he can’t say no to a match. When Bugs Bunny challenges Yosemite Sam to “get through the line,” he can’t help himself from doing so, even if it means stepping into space or down a mine shaft.

Here’s an interesting part…

You probably don’t realize it, but despite being unscrupulous and obnoxious, Yosemite Sam has curious regard for religious traditions. “Now say your prayers!” he tells Bugs whenever he’s about to shoot him, giving the “varmint” ample time to thwart his plans.

American Voice Actor Mel Blanc & Jeff Bergman

Mel Blanc is a voice actor, comedian, and radio personality from the United States.

Moreover…

Mel Blanc is best known for working on classic cartoons and in animation as the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and most of the other fictional characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons – mostly during the boom period of American animation following his over-60-year career working in radio.

Did you know…

Joe Alaskey, who eventually has become one of Blanc’s frequent replacements after his death in 2016, was given the cartoon character, Yosemite Sam.

Jeff Bergman

When Mel Blanc died in 1989, Jeff Bergman succeeded over the voice of Bugs Bunny as well as several other Warner Bros. cartoon characters.

Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester the Cat, George Jetson, Foghorn Leghorn, Yogi Bear, Fred Flintstone, Quick Draw McGraw, and Huckleberry Hound are among the many classic cartoon characters that Bergman has voiced.

New Looney Tunes

As we all know, we’re not the only young adults who grew up watching Looney-Tunes cartoons.

Today, children love watching Yosemite Sam compete with Bugs Bunny.  But, most Warner Bros. animated cartoons are still rated with viewing discretion as they present gun shooting, violence, and may negatively affect a child watching it. 

In my opinion…

I guess everybody loved Yosemite Sam and the other characters, we don’t want to promote hate – but only enjoy a good joke and laugh with friends. 

That said…

 … News from a popular media outlet recently came out declaring that Warner Bros. will release a new Looney Tunes cartoon version for kids excluding all violence-related scenes. Maybe a good thing for our youngest kids.