Yosemite Sam
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Yosemite Sam
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| Yosemite Sam in the short 14 Carrot Rabbit | |
| First appearance | Hare Trigger (1945) |
| Created by | Friz Freleng |
| Voiced by | Mel Blanc |
| Background Information | |
| Aliases | K'chutha Sa'am, Seagoin' Sam, Seaweed Sam, Sam Schultz, Chilico Sam, Riff Raff Sam, Sam Von Schaam |
| Relatives | Prince Abbadabba (son), Wentworth (adopted son) |
| Friends | Montana Max (student) |
| Rivals | Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck |
| Catchphrases | Varmint, I'm a-gonna blow you to smithereens! |
Yosemite Sam is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes series of cartoons. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park. (When playing a pirate instead of a western bandit, he sometimes calls himself "Sea-goin' Sam").
Animator Friz Freleng introduced Yosemite Sam in the 1945 cartoon Hare Trigger. With his irascible temper, 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), and fiery hair, Sam was in some ways an alter-ego of Freleng. The animator often denied any intentional resemblance. However, in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, surviving members of his production crew assert, and the late director's daughter acknowledges, that Sam definitely was inspired by Freleng.
Other influences were the Red Skelton character Sheriff Deadeye, the Tom Varn character Bubba,and the Tex Avery cartoon "Dangerous Dan McFoo". When he does a "slow burn" and cries "Oooooh!" he borrows a bit from Frank Nelson, one of Mel Blanc's co-workers on the Jack Benny radio and TV shows.
There are at least three Warner cartoons with a Yosemite Sam-like character (or two). One is the Bugs Bunny entry, Stage Door Cartoon (1944), in which a southern sheriff sounds very much like 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 characters who look very much like Sam, one with Sam's red hair and one with black hair. Also Super Rabbit features the cowboy character "Cottontail Smith," who sounds a lot like Sam.
Freleng created Yosemite Sam to be a more worthy adversary for Bugs Bunny. Until then, Bugs' major foe had been Elmer Fudd, a man so mild-mannered and dim-witted 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, Freleng had almost 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 legionnaire, a pirate, a duke (Duke of Yosemite, no less), and a Confederate soldier. The humor of the cartoons inevitably springs from the odd miscasting of the hot-tempered cowboy.
Despite Freleng's intentions, Sam doesn't prove much brighter than Elmer in his encounters with Bugs. With all his bluff and bluster, Sam stands in contrast to Freleng's calmly cocky rabbit. Sam is significantly tougher and more aggressive than Elmer Fudd when challenging Bugs. He is also quicker to learn from his mistakes, and never falls for the same ploy twice. However it is Sam's own cockiness that always gets the best of him; Bugs learns to deal with Sam upon learning that he is incapable of turning down a challenge. Every time Bugs dares Sam to "step across that line," Sam can't help but do so, even if he steps off into empty space or down a mine shaft.
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[edit] Other appearances
Yosemite Sam was one of the classic Looney Tunes characters who appeared as faculty members of Acme Looniversity in the 1990s animated series Tiny Toon Adventures. Sam was shown teaching classes in Firearms and Anvilology (the study of falling anvils, a staple joke in the Looney Tunes genre), and was sometimes portrayed as the school principal (though at least one episode identified Bugs Bunny as the principal, and Wile E. Coyote was Dean of Acme Loo). As with all the main Looney Tunes chatacters, Sam had a student counterpart at Acme Loo, Montana Max.
In the 2003 movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Yosemite Sam is a bounty hunter employed by the Acme Corporation who was hired to finish off DJ Drake, Kate Houghton, Bugs, and Daffy Duck. In this film, he owns a casino in Las Vegas, which he calls Yosemite Sam's Wooden Nickel, and is accompanied by Nasty Canasta (from Drip-Along Daffy) and Cottontail Smith (from Superbunny).
Sam also plays the role of alien occasional guest villain K'chutha Sa'am (a parody of a typical Klingon from the Star Trek mythos, and right in line with Sam's abrasive personality) on the Duck Dodgers animated series. Sam appears in the movie Space Jam. He also makes a cameo appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He also appears in the video games LOONS: The Fight for Fame, Taz: Wanted, Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle, Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage, Bugs Bunny Lost in Time Bugs Bunny and Taz Time Busters Sheep, Dog, 'n' Wolf Looney Tunes B-Ball, Daffy Duck in Hollywood and Loony Tunes: Back In Action.
[edit] Voice
The role of Yosemite Sam was originated by the Warners' principal voiceman, Mel Blanc. In his autobiography, Blanc said he had a difficult time coming up with the voice until he decided to simply yell at the top of his lungs. It fit perfectly with the blustery character, but also took a toll on Mel. He always made it a point to record Sam's lines at the end of a recording session so he wouldn't have to play other characters with a hoarse voice. In his final years, it was simply too much, and he passed along the role to others (most notably Joe Alaskey in Who Framed Roger Rabbit). This makes Sam one of the few voices created by Blanc to be voiced by someone else during his lifetime.
[edit] Unusual appearances
Apart from cartoons, Yosemite Sam (in his pirate, "Sea-goin' Sam", alter ego) has a second career as a popular truck mudflap icon. He is shown brandishing old-fashioned flintlock pistols accompanied by the slogan "Back Off!" A 2006 Super Bowl ad showed a newly-animated version of mudflap Sam on a date with the silver silhouette mudflap girl.
- See also: Yosemite Sam (shortwave)
[edit] In Music
Yosemite Sam is mentioned by name in the following songs:
- "Lady Cab Driver"[1], performed by Prince in his 1982 album, 1999.
- "When the Shit Goes Down"[2] by Cypress Hill.
[edit] Trivia
- Yosemite Sam appears on the logo of the KIJHL hockey team, the Castlegar Rebels
