Yosemite Sam ( ) is a cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of short films produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park in California. His real name is Aloysius Bartholamew Sam.Looney Tunes - Best of Yosemite Sam - WB Kids He is an adversary of Bugs Bunny and his archenemy alongside Elmer Fudd. He is commonly depicted as a mean-spirited and extremely aggressive, gunslinging outlaw or cowboy with a hair-trigger temper and an intense hatred of rabbits, Bugs in particular. In cartoons with non-Western themes, he uses various aliases, including "Chilkoot Sam" (named for the Chilkoot Trail; Sam pronounces it "Chilli-koot") and "Square-deal Sam" in 14 Carrot Rabbit, "Riff Raff Sam" in Sahara Hare, "Sam Schultz" in Big House Bunny, "Seagoin' Sam" in Buccaneer Bunny, "Shanghai Sam" in Mutiny on the Bunny, "Von Schamm the Hessian" in Bunker Hill Bunny, "Baron Sam von Shpamm" in Dumb Patrol, "Pancho Vanilla" in Pancho's Hideaway and many others. During the golden age of American animation, Yosemite Sam appeared as an antagonist in 33 animated shorts made between 1945 and 1964.
History
Animator Friz Freleng introduced the villain character in the 1945 cartoon Hare Trigger. With his grumpy demeanor, fiery temper, strident voice, and short stature (in two early gags in Hare Trigger, a train he is attempting to rob passes right over top of him and he has to use a set of portable stairs to get on his horse; in Bugs Bunny Rides Again, he rides a miniature horse), along with his fiery red hair, Sam was in some ways a caricature of Freleng. While he often denied any intentional resemblance, in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, surviving members of his production crew assert, and the director's daughter acknowledges, that Sam definitely was inspired by Freleng. Freleng himself even said in an interview with the Associated Press that "I have the same temperament, I'm small, and I used to have a red mustache." Other influences were the Red Skelton character Sheriff Deadeye and the Tex Avery cartoon Dangerous Dan McFoo. When he does a "slow burn" and cries "Oooooh!" he borrows a bit from such comedic character actors as Jimmy Finlayson (a frequent foil to Laurel and Hardy) and Frank Nelson (one of Mel Blanc's costars on The Jack Benny Program). Freleng also cited the Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang, a character in the Toonerville Trolley comic strip, as an influence. In his memoir Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist, Chuck Jones says that a great-uncle who occasionally visited his family was a retired Texas Ranger who was short, had red hair, a large mustache, and a hair-trigger temper (but no beard, unlike Sam). Michael Maltese originally considered calling the character Texas Tiny, Wyoming Willie, or Denver Dan, but then settled on the final name.
Other characters with Sam-like features appear in several Looney Tunes shorts. The Bugs Bunny entry Super-Rabbit (1943) features the cowboy character "Cottontail Smith", whose voice is similar to Sam's. Stage Door Cartoon (1944), however, features a southern sheriff character that looks and sounds similar to Sam, except for a more defined Southern stereotype to his voice. In a Daffy Duck cartoon called Along Came Daffy (1947), Daffy has to contend with two starving hermits resembling Yosemite Sam, one with red hair and one with black hair. Finally, Pancho's Hideaway (1964) features a Mexican villain who is designed much like Sam but has a different accent. In addition, in the 1949 Chuck Jones-directed cartoon Mississippi Hare, Bugs Bunny battles with an old, pistol-toting gambler called Colonel Shuffle, one whose role could have easily been portrayed by Sam.
Freleng created Yosemite Sam to be a more formidable adversary for Bugs Bunny. Until then, Bugs' major foe had been Elmer Fudd, a man so mild-mannered and good-natured that Freleng thought Bugs actually came off as a bully by duping him. Sam, on the other hand, was extremely violent and belligerent, not at all a pushover like Fudd. Freleng compacted into a tiny body and 11-gallon hat the largest voice and the largest ego "north, south, east, aaaaand west of the Pecos".
For over 19 years, except for one cartoon (Hare-Abian Nights in 1959) Freleng's unit had exclusive usage of Sam at the Warner studio. Though officially a cowboy, Freleng put Sam in a different costume in almost every film: a knight, a Roman legionary, a pirate, a royal cook, a prison guard, a duke (Duke of Yosemite, no less), a Hessian mercenary, a Confederate soldier, a mountain climber (climbing the 'Shmadderhorn' mountain in Switzerland), a hen-pecked house husband and even a space alien. The humor of the cartoons inevitably springs from the odd miscasting of the hot-tempered cowboy. However, some countries seem to prefer his pirate incarnation, as "Sam the Pirate" is his official name in France and a frequent alternative name in Italy.
While Sam's basic character is that of a cowboy, he usually wears a black Domino mask (or just a wide black outline on the outer sides of his eyes) to show that he is an outlaw. This is so associated with his persona that he wears the mask even when dressed as a duke, a riff, a pirate, or a Viking.
Sam is significantly tougher and more aggressive than Elmer Fudd when challenging Bugs Bunny. He is also quicker to learn from his mistakes and rarely falls for the same ploy twice. But despite Sam's bluster, he does not prove much brighter than Elmer in his encounters with Bugs. His noise contrasts to the calmly cocky rabbit. Sam's own cockiness always gets the best of him; Bugs can see he is incapable of turning down a challenge. Every time Bugs dares Sam to "step across that line", he cannot help but do so, even if he steps off into empty space or down a mine shaft.
Yosemite Sam was depicted without six-gun pistols in Looney Tunes Cartoons on the streaming service, HBO Max. The series' executive producer and showrunner, Peter Browngardt, said the character could still continue to use cartoon violence, such as dynamite and Acme-related paraphernalia. However, this change appears to have been reversed, as he is once again depicted using his pistols in Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021).
Personality Sam is one of Bugs' toughest antagonists, proudly calling himself the meanest, toughest hombre in the West. Sam is a character more aggressive than Bugs' other regular antagonist, Elmer Fudd, given that Sam has a tougher accent; a higher, fiercer voice; and a more violent spirit, although he is portrayed as a bumbling fool in most of his appearances. Sam has had several occupations in his life that Bugs has gotten in the way of. Among his occupations are:
Confederate Army soldier: In Southern Fried Rabbit, Sam is a Confederate soldier who attempts to prevent Bugs from crossing the Mason–Dixon line, although the cartoon takes place long after the American Civil War. Bugs tells Sam the war ended almost 90 years ago, but Sam insists, "I'm no clock-watcher!" and refuses to leave his post unless he receives orders from Robert E. Lee. This gag may have been inspired by the actual discovery of Japanese soldiers still manning their posts, long after World War II had ended. Prison guard: In Big House Bunny, Sam (known here as Sam Schulz) arrests and imprisons Bugs for a false accusation (escaping prison) and gives him 99 years in jail. However, he gets infuriated and lets Bugs out of prison after Bugs annoys him including briefly getting Sam beaten up and locked up in jail himself. However, when letting Bugs out, he is jailed by the Warden (who gets infuriated with the antics that cause Bugs to get Sam in trouble with him) for Bugs' doings and for letting a prisoner (Bugs) escape. Sam then vows to get even with the stool pigeon who squealed on him. It then cuts to Bugs on a stool making the sounds of a pigeon. Pirate: In Buccaneer Bunny, Sam is known as "Sea-Goin' Sam", who is trying to bury his treasure, only for Bugs to foil his attempt. In Captain Hareblower, Sam is a pirate captain who is able to intimidate and scare sailors and other pirates. Sam encounters a trading ship led by Bugs and decides to take it for himself. With all of Bugs' fellow sailors too cowardly to face Sam or to be drowned in the ocean, Bugs challenges Sam to a fight. Sam and Bugs battle each other's ships with Bugs on the verge of winning. The battle ends up with Sam being forced to abandon ship to escape an inevitable explosion on his own pirate ship. Sam then unknowingly triumphs over Bugs by lighting Bugs' "powder room" (filled with make-up, not gunpowder) into exploding and escaping by himself, but not before giving a warning for Bugs to get the match (an order Bugs does not follow, believing that "Talcum powder doesn't explode."). And in From Hare to Eternity, Sam, a.k.a. "Buccaneer Sam", tries to find treasure, only to find Bugs protecting it. Riff-Raffer/Cowboy: In Sahara Hare, Sam is a proud intimidating North African version of a cowboy: a Riff-Raffer who owns the Sahara Desert. When Bugs ends up in the desert when trying to find Miami Beach, he sees the rabbit trespassing and chases him into a deserted castle. Sam sees Bugs using the castle for protection and tries several unsuccessful attempts at breaking into the castle, eventually ending with Bugs escaping after causing a booby trap that Sam falls for: an armed bomb-coated door that will explode if Sam opens the door to the castle. Guard Captain: In Roman Legion-Hare, Sam is the captain of the Roman Imperial Guard, and he is ordered by Grand Emperor Nero to find a victim for the lions at once, or else he will be their prey. He then heads out to look for a victim with a small band of imperial guards when Bugs shows up. When asked if it was a convention of the legion, Sam replies he's looking for victims to feed the lions and is shocked to learn that no other victimssave Bugsare present. He then chases the crafty cottontail into the Colosseum, where the lions await. Try as he might to keep the big cats quiet, they always tear his golden armor to shreds or ruffle the fuzz on his helmet. And when he does present Bugs to Nero, the lions surge directly toward them, leaving Bugs unscathed. Viking: In Prince Violent, Sam is a Viking grunt who attempts to raid the archduchy castle, which happens to be under Bugs's protection. Bugs teasingly tells him that it's too early for Halloween and then kicks Sam out of the castle. He even hires an Asian elephant to first ram what Sam thinks to be a door, but it is really a painting imitating a door, so the elephant is reduced to the shape of an accordion - before smashing his master into the same shape. Next, the elephant tries to demolish the castle walls with large boulders, but Bugs still remains persistent in defending the castle by sprinkling pepper over the elephant's trunk, which causes the pachyderm to sneeze and launch a bolder into Sam. Next, Bugs signals for the bridge to lower, at which point, the elephant charges onto it with Sam riding, but the elephant's weight proves to be too much for the bridge. Next, he suggests attacking the castle from the rear, but Bugs (defensive as always) cleverly places a champagne cork in the elephant's trunk, causing him to swim back to land in his struggle to breathe, leaving Sam in the water. This drives Sam to permanently evict the elephant, chasing him away: "AND DON'T COME BACK!!!!! I'll handle that Prince Varmint myself!". His attempts to raid the castle are cut short when the same elephant joins Bugs in kicking him out of the kingdom for good.