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June 25: That’s All, Folks
Bugs Bunny’s U.S. premiere in “Long-Haired Hare” took place on this date in 1948. His voice was provided by Mel Blanc (Melvin Jerome Blank, 1908-1989), who in the course of his career also provided voices for Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote, Woody Woodpecker, Barney Rubble and hundreds of other characters. Blanc’s natural voice, some say, was that of Sylvester (“Ssssufferin’ ssssuccotash!”) the Cat, Tweety’s nemesis, only without the spittle. Blanc was a regular on the Jack Benny Show in the 1930s and had his own radio show in 1946 and ‘47. The gravestone of this “Man of a Thousand Voices” declares, “That’s All, Folks.” To view “Long-Haired Hare,” look below.
“In high school, I used to laugh down the hall and hear the echo coming... That’s the Woody Woodpecker laugh.” —Mel Blanc
I’m Peter Beinart, editor-at-large of Jewish Currents. Before you go, I need to ask something of you.
In recent years, I’ve watched as mainstream Jewish institutions and media have chosen ethnonationalism over liberal democracy and mass slaughter over the pursuit of a just peace. Jewish Currents offers something different. It’s a magazine built on intellectual curiosity and respect for the dignity of all people.
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Lawrence Bush edited Jewish Currents from 2003 until 2018. He is the author of Bessie: A Novel of Love and Revolution and Waiting for God: The Spiritual Explorations of a Reluctant Atheist, among other books. His new volume of illustrated Torah commentaries, American Torah Toons 2, is scheduled for publication this year.
