Foghorn Leghorn

**Foghorn Leghorn** is an anthropomorphic rooster appearing in Warner Bros. cartoons.

## Origin

Foghorn Leghorn was directly inspired by the popular character Senator Claghorn, a blustery Southern politician played by Kenny Delmar who was a regular character in *The Fred Allen Show*, a popular radio show of the 1940s. The rooster adopted many of Claghorn's catchphrases, such as "That's a joke, I say, that's a joke, son." Delmar had based the character of Claghorn upon a Texas rancher who was fond of saying this.

A “Leghorn” is a breed of chicken (since it was an Italian breed that makes him Italian-American), and “Foghorn” describes the character's loud, overbearing voice. At its most raucous, it sounds similar to that of another Blanc voice: Yosemite Sam (an almost exclusive Friz Freleng character). Both parts of the name suggest the association with "Senator Claghorn." According to Leonard Maltin, the character's voice was also patterned after a hard-of-hearing West Coast-only radio character from the 1930s, known simply as The Sheriff, in a radio program called *Blue Monday Jamboree*.

Foghorn debuted on August 31, 1946 in the Henery Hawk short *Walky Talky Hawky*.

## History

Foghorn is a large, anthropomorphic adult rooster with a red head, long red tailfeathers, and yellow talons with short yellow claws. He has a Virginian accent, a "good ol' boy" speaking style, and a penchant for mischief. He has a knack of saying, "I say" as a form of interjection in his speech. All of the motion picture Foghorn Leghorn cartoons were directed by Robert McKimson, and the rooster vies with the Tasmanian Devil as the most popular character associated with the director. Many of the gimmicks involve Foghorn and Barnyard Dawg engaging in one-upmanship through a series of pranks. Unlike other *Looney Tunes* rivalries (with the notable exception of the *Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner* series), Foghorn is often the initial aggressor out of self-amusement and subsequently on the "losing" end of gimmicks. However, in his and Dawg's debut, it's revealed that the Dawg is the one who started their unstoppable fight.

Most commonly, Leghorn's taking up a plank of wood, while ambling along humming "Camptown Races", coming to the sleeping Barnyard with his front half inside his doghouse, picking up his tail and rapidly whacking (almost always with eight strokes) his exposed rear end. Occasionally, Foghorn sings the song, but replaces "Camptown ladies sing this song..." with "Lump-teen-dozen and a-doo-dah day...". He does not sing any other part of the song, reverting to humming after the DOO-Dah's. Barnyard would give chase, usually with his leash still attached to his collar, until the leash stretched tautly and his barking was replaced by an anguished shriek.

At times, when the dog would continue to bark, he would also yell, "AAAAAAAHHH, shaddap!" In rare cases, Barnyard starts the series of pranks; as such it is somewhat difficult to tell who started the feud. This gag was passed down to Leghorn's grandson in "Feather Bluster", where Foghorn was puzzled as to why the youngster was behaving that way and Barnyard was all too happy to remind him: "Ain't nothin' wrong with 'im, Foggy, 'ceptin' that he takes after you." He was joined in a few episodes by a weasel called "Bill" who initially attempted to eat him but ended up joining forces to outsmart Barnyard.

Other recurring themes throughout the cartoons included the attempts of the diminutive Henery Hawk to catch and eat Foghorn, and the rooster's efforts to woo the widowed hen Miss Prissy (often by babysitting her bookish son, Egghead, Jr.). Foghorn's voice was created by Mel Blanc and was later performed by Joe Alaskey, Frank Gorshin, Bill Farmer, and Jeff Bennett. Later, some of Foghorn's characteristic catch-phrases were drawn from the character of Senator Claghorn, a blustering Southern politician who was a regular character on the Fred Allen radio show. The rooster adopted many of Claghorn's catchphrases, such as "That's a joke, I say, that's a joke, son." The references to Claghorn were obvious to much of the audience when the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons first premiered, but like many of the references in WB cartoons of the era, they have since become dated.

A toddler version of Foghorn made appearances in short music videos of *Baby Looney Tunes*. He starred in only one episode of the show, in which he was trying to fit in with a gang of cool roosters and employed the help of Tweety and his friends before Lola Bunny suggested to just be himself, which came in handy when Barnyard Dawg chased the cool roosters.

Foghorn Leghorn made numerous appearances in *Tiny Toon Adventures* in numerous roles as Acme Looniversity's Professor of Hound Teasing, Baseball Coach and an obnoxiously loud Librarian. Foghorn appeared in an episode of *The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries* entitled "Family Circles" and was voiced by Billy West. The rooster appeared in two Chuck Jones shorts of the 1990s, "Superior Duck" (1996) and "Pullet Surprise" (1997), voiced on both occasions by Frank Gorshin. He was part of the Toon Squad team in *Space Jam*, and was a croupier at Sam's casino in *Looney Tunes Back in Action*. In addition, Foghorn appeared in commercials for KFC, McDonald's, and GEICO. A character named Mr. Leghorn, based on Foghorn himself, made a pair of appearances in *Loonatics Unleashed*.

In *The Looney Tunes Show*, Foghorn is the CEO of Enormocorp. In *Bugs Bunny Builders,* he is the Mayor of Looneyburg.

## Work

Foghorn Leghorn is considered a significant *Looney Tunes* character, appearing in 28 cartoons, plus one cameo, in the Golden Age of American Animation. All 29 cartoons Foghorn Leghorn appeared in the Golden Age were directed by Robert McKimson, the animator who created him.

## Quotes

* "That, I say, that woman has a mouth like an outboard motor. Put-Put-Put-Put-Put-Put-Put."
* "Go, I say, go away, boy, ya bother me!"
* "That, I say, that boy's about as sharp as a bowling ball."
* "Boy, I say, boy has got a mouth like a cannon. Always shooting it off."
* "Don't, I say, don't bother me, Dog. Can't you see I'm thinkin'?"
* "Hey, whatcha making there boy? Looks like sodi-pop. Hyuk yuk! Watch it fizz!!" *KA-BLAM*
* "Keep your shirt on, Prissy. He's just, I say just stirring the wagering pot."
* "Looks like our fine feathered friend is heading into Venetian territory...of Venice, Italy, that is."
* "That dog's as subtle as a hand grenade in a barrel of oatmeal."
* "Nice kid but doesn't listen to a word you say."
* "Nice kid but a little dumb."
* "That boy's as strong as an ox. And just about as smart."
* "That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot."
* "Smart boy. Got a mind like a steel trap - full of mice."
* "Now cut that out boy, or I'll spank you where your feathers are thinnest."
* "Pay attention to me boy. I'm not just talking to hear my head roar."
* "This boy's more mixed up than a feather in a whirlwind."
* "That woman's as cold as a nudist on an iceberg."
* "Some days, it don't pay to get outta bed!"
* (sniffs air, imitates Tarzan calls, but coughs, then sings) *"This is the way we bounce the ball, bounce the ball, bounce the ball, this is way we bounce the ball early in the mornin'"*
* "That dog, I say that dog, is strictly G.I. - Gibbering Idiot, that is."
* "Secure last section of Pipe G, stretch Elastic X laterally."
* "Boy's so dumb, you put his brain on the sharp edge of a razor blade, it would look like a marble rolling down a four-lane highway."
* "Speakin' of figures, I put two n' two together and come up with a four-legged smart-aleck mutt!"
* "The screwball in the back pocket!"

## Filmography

*Main article: List of Foghorn Leghorn cartoons*
## Voice Actors

* Mel Blanc: 1946 - 1989
* Jeff Bergman: *Tiny Toon Adventures*, *The Plucky Duck Show*, *The 1st 13th Annual Fancy Anvil Awards Show Special*, *The Looney Tunes Show*, *Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run*, *Wabbit/New Looney Tunes*, *Looney Tunes Cartoons*, *Bugs Bunny Builders*, *Tiny Toons Looniversity*, *The VeggieTales Show*
* Greg Burson: *Tiny Toon Adventures*, *Taz-Mania*, "Carrotblanca"
* Joe Alaskey: The Toonite Show Starring Bugs Bunny, *Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas*
* Frank Gorshin: "Superior Duck", "Pullet Surprise"
* Bill Farmer: *Space Jam*, *Looney Tunes Racing*, *Looney Tunes: Space Race*, *Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor*
* Billy West: *The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries*, *Histeria!*
* Jeff Bennett: *Tweety's High-Flying Adventure*, *Looney Tunes Back in Action, Ani-Mayhem*
* Damon Jones: *The Looney Tunes Show* (singing voice only)
* Eric Bauza: *Space Jam A New Legacy*