Beaky Buzzard
Beaky Buzzard | |
---|---|
Looney Tunes character | |
First appearance | Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942)[1] |
Created by | Bob Clampett |
Voiced by | Kent Rogers (1942–1944) Mel Blanc (1949–1950)[2] Rob Paulsen (1991) Jeff Bennett (1997) Joe Alaskey (2003–2005) Jim Cummings (2013) Jeff Bergman (2014–2018)[3] Michael Ruocco (2020–2023) Eric Bauza (2023) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Turkey vulture |
Gender | Male |
Family | Mother Buzzard Unnamed siblings |
Beaky Buzzard (initially known as "Killer") is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.[4]
He is a young turkey vulture (sometimes called a "buzzard" in the United States) with black body feathers and a white tuft around his throat. His neck is long and thin, bending 90 degrees at an enormous Adam's apple. His neck and head are featherless, and his beak and feet are large and yellow or orange, depending on the cartoon. The character is depicted as simpleminded with drawled speech, a perpetual silly grin, and partially-closed eyes.
Beaky was partly based on Edgar Bergen's puppet Mortimer Snerd.[1][5]
Popularity
The films were popular in theaters, and Beaky was familiar enough to be given roles in more recent productions. In the 1940s, the character was also disproportionally popular in comics (see below).
Short subjects
The character first appeared in the 1942 cartoon
Clampett brought the character back in the 1945 film The Bashful Buzzard,[10] a cartoon that closely mirrors its predecessor, only this time featuring Beaky's hapless hunting (contrasting with the war-like formation flying and dive bombing of his brothers)[11] without Bugs as an antagonist. Rogers reprised his role as the character's voice for the film,[10] but he was killed[1] in a Naval aviation training accident at Pensacola, Florida before finishing all his dialogue.
Clampett left the studio in 1946, ending Beaky's career for a time. The character was eventually brought back in the 1950 Friz Freleng film The Lion's Busy, now voiced by Mel Blanc.[12] Freleng made the buzzard smarter, pitting him against a dim-witted lion named Leo. Robert McKimson also featured the character in another film that same year, Strife with Father. McKimson's Beaky is returned to his idiotic self, this time under the tutelage of his adoptive father, a sparrow who is trying to teach Beaky how to survive in the wild.[citation needed] After that, Beaky did not appear in any more cartoons during the classic era; his appearances were deliberately limited out of respect for Kent Rogers.[13]
Later and minor appearances
Beaky has had minor roles in various Warner Bros. projects, such as
Beaky Buzzard appeared in
Beaky made a cameo in Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas as one of Daffy's employees.
Beaky appeared in The Looney Tunes Show in the second season episode "Ridiculous Journey", voiced by Jim Cummings.
Bizzy Buzzard, a female equivalent to (or relative of) Beaky, appears in the preschool series Bugs Bunny Builders; Mama Buzzard has appeared as well.
As of this writing, Beaky's own most recent appearances have been in the Looney Tunes Cartoons series, voiced by Michael Ruocco, in the episodes "Buzzard School" (2020, with Bugs), "Desert Menu" (2023, with Bugs), and "A Prickly Pair" (2023, solo), as well as several short interstitial gags. Once again, Mama Buzzard occasionally appears as well.
Comics and merchandising
Beaky is featured in numerous issues of Dell Comics' Looney Tunes comic book series. From early 1943 to late 1945 he often starred in stories of his own, occasionally paired with another minor player, Henery Hawk.[1] In the years afterward, he continued to feature in other characters' stories, often as a dimwitted friend of Bugs and Porky; occasionally his equally dimwitted nephew, Bernard, appeared as well.[16] In more recent decades, Beaky appeared in a print spinoff of Space Jam in 1997, as well as in occasional issues of DC's modern-day Looney Tunes comic book.[17] The character was licensed for Looney Tunes merchandise such as a metal coin bank,[18] and, in 1973, a collectible Pepsi bottle.[19]
Filmography
Warner Films theatrical short subjects
- Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942)
- The Bashful Buzzard (1945)
- The Lion's Busy (1950)
- Strife with Father (1950)
Other appearances
- Film
- Carrotblanca (1995) (cameo)
- Space Jam (1996)
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) voiced by Joe Alaskey.[14]
- Television
- Tiny Toon Adventures (in "High Toon") voiced by Rob Paulsen.
- The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries (in "3 Days & 2 Nights of the Condor") voiced by Jeff Bennett.[15]
- The Looney Tunes Show (in "Ridiculous Journey") voiced by Jim Cummings.[14]
- Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020) voiced by Michael Ruocco.[14]
- Audio recordings
- Bugs Bunny in Storyland (1949)[20] (as Simple Simon)[21]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Beaky Buzzard at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018.
- ^ ""Bugs Bunny in Storyland": The Good, the Bad & the Bugs |".
- ^ " Looney Tunes Dash! Behind the voice actors Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ a b Korkis, Jim (November 1, 2013). "Animation Anecdotes #134". Cartoon Research. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-0786405848. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.
- ^ Shull and Wilt, 2004 [1987]. p114
- ^ a b Funnyworld #12 (1970), republished at Michael Barrier and Milton Gray (December 14, 2003). "An Interview with Bob Clampett". Michael Barrier.com. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ a b McCall, 1998. p94
- ISBN 978-0786415557. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Beaky Buzzard was retired to honor original voice actor".
- ^ a b c d "Beaky Buzzard – Voices of Beaky Buzzard". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ Big Comic Book Database. Retrieved November 10, 2015.[dead link]
- ^ "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics index: issue 101".
- ^ "Beaky Buzzard". Comic Book Database. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ISBN 0813525381.
- ISBN 978-0873496858. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1628461992. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ Bugs Bunny in Storyland (Video) (Vinyl record with printed picture book). KiddieRecordsWeekly. January 30, 2011. Event occurs at 6:56. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved November 9, 2015.