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Samuel Michelangelo Rosenbaum, also known as Yosemite Sam, is a loud western figure of Looney Tunes. He is the one of the primary antagonists of Bugs Bunny. He was created because Elmer Fudd was considered very soft and Friz Freleng needed a tougher figure to face Bugs.
Yosemite Sam is one of Bugs' toughest antagonists. Yosemite Sam is a more violent character than Bugs' most famous antagonist Elmer Fudd, given that Sam has a tougher accent, a higher and fierce voice, and a more violent spirit. He is also quicker to learn from his mistakes, and never falls for the same ploy twice. Despite his aggressive and hot-tempered nature, he doesn't prove much brighter than Elmer in his encounters with Bugs. His noise contrasts to the calmly cocky rabbit. Sam's own cockiness gets the best of him; hence portraying him as a bumbling idiot and Bugs can see he is incapable of turning down a challenge.
A running gag in the show is that sometimes Yosemite Sam tells Bugs "Open up this door open it up now!" and Bugs opens it when Yosemite Sam is in its way of opening and then closes it leaving a raging Yosemite Sam flattened. Another gag involved Sam yelling 'Whoa!' at whatever mode of transportation he was using, only to whack it when it refuses to stop.
Outfits
Yosemite Sam has had several occupations in a lot of his appearances. Among them include:
Prison Guard/Police Officer: In Big House Bunny, Yosemite Sam is a prison guard working at a fierce prison. When Bugs Bunny enters the prison to escape hunters, Sam claiming to be named Sam Schultz, arrests Bugs, believing that the wabbit is a prisoner trying to escape. Sam sentences the subdued chained Bugs to 50 years in prison. However Sam gets infuriated and changes his mind after Bugs annoys him. He eventually orders Bugs to leave and never return; and celebrates ridding Bugs until he is arrested for helping a prisoner (Bugs) escape.
Foreign Legion Warrior: In Sahara Hare, Yosemite Sam is an Arabian warrior named Riff-Raff Sam. One day, Sam sees footprints on his desert and follows them on the way abusing his camel. Sam eventually sees Bugs trespassing and chases the wabbit into an abandoned base. Sam tries several unsuccessful attempts to enter the base in the episode which all fail.
Pirate: First, in Buccaneer Bunny, Bugs tries to outwit Sea-Goin' Sam. Then in Captain Hareblower, Yosemite Sam is a pirate and fights Bugs Bunny to try to capture the rabbit's ship. And then in From Hare to Eternity, Buccaneer Sam tried to get Bugs away from his treasure chest.
Captain of a Ship: In Mutiny on the Bunny, Shanghai Sam was in charge of a slave-driving sail-ship.
Indian Chief: In Horse Hare, Sam is an Indian chief that leads an army of Indians to capture USA Cavalry Sergeant Bugs' base.
Cowboy: In Wild and Woolly Hare, Yosemite Sam is a legendary cowboy bandit who takes over towns, through intimidation. One day Bugs Bunny challenges him to a gunfight. After Bugs wins the gunfight, Yosemite Sam decides to rob a train. Bugs however boards and hijacks the train to save it; Yosemite Sam as a running gag, orders Bugs to get off by the time he counts to a specific number but just when he reaches his final number he always runs into something like a tunnel wall, telephone pole and falls off a bridge. He was also a cowboy in Hare Trigger, Bugs Bunny Rides Again, High Diving Hare, The Fair-Haired Hare and Hare Lift.
Captain of the Roman Guard: In Roman Legion-Hare, Sam was the captain of the guard.
Bachelor: In Hare Trimmed and Honey's Money, Sam tries becoming a bachelor to try and gain a fortune from a widower. First Granny and then some other woman.
Claim Jumper: In 14 Carrot Rabbit, Yosemite Sam was known as Chilicoot Sam.
Yosemite Sam of Out Space: In Lighter Than Hare, Yosemite Sam is a space man from another world.
Duke of Yosemite: In From Hare to Heir, Sam is the Duke of Yosemite.
Cook: Sam tried to cook Bugs in Rabbit Every Monday for himself and in Shishkabugs, when he tried to cook Bugs for the King.
Mayor Candidate: Sam tried to run for Mayor in Ballot Box Bunny.
Mountain Climber: In Piker's Peak, Sam tried to climb to the top of the Schmatterhorn in order to win a prize of 50,000 Kronkites.
Robinson Crusoe: Sam portrays as Robinson Crusoe in Rabbitson Crusoe.
WWI Pilot Baron: Sam was a soldier in Dumb Patrol, going by the name of Sam Von Schmann.
Mexican Bandit: In Pancho's Hideaway, Sam was a Mexican Bandit named Pancho Vanilla. This was also the only short where he faced off against Speedy Gonzales,
Development
Design
Yosemite Sam is a small fellow with a big mouth. He has a temper as short as he is, often drawing his guns on anyone who dares to defy him. He is much like a character from a Western movie, wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. His small size is lampooned in the short Hare Trigger, where a train he tries to hold up passes right over him without him being harmed. He is reckless, very stubborn, and hates it when he's wrong and hates it so much, in fact, that he shoots bullets at random targets, but never hits anyone. He possesses a mean and somewhat vindictive streak. However, he has taken the roles of several other positions, such as a knight and mayor, but the miniature bandit is best known for his Western cartoons, even though his non-Western Knighty Knight Bugs cartoon won an Academy Award.
Biography
Yosemite Sam made his debut in Hare Trigger. However, Sam bears a resemblance to a cowboy character inBuckaroo Bugs, which would be seen as a prototype. Michael Maltese claims that he made Yosemite in the likeness of director Friz Freleng. When Elmer Fudd, who was Bugs Bunny's first enemy, proved to be too much of a softy for his target, Friz decided he needed a tougher opponent. And so Sam was created to fit that need.
Rivalry
Sam has, on several accounts, attempted to rid himself of his arch nemesis, Bugs Bunny, but he has never succeeded, due to the brilliant cleverness and cunning of Bugs. No matter how many times he tries, Sam always seems to experience some form of pain or humiliation when he challenges Bugs. Bugs likes to call him Sam.
Sam has appeared in forms of a pirate, a riff-raffer, a knight, a prospector and many others in cartoons with Bugs. No matter which form Sam takes, Bugs always beats him in the end.
In Devil's Feud Cake, it is revealed that the reason Sam hunts Bugs in a majority of his episodes is because after dying from falling out of a plane, the Devil agreed that if Sam bring him Bugs he will allow him to live again. Each time he fails and should have been fatally injured, his return is because the Devil revives him to give him a "second chance".
Voice
The role of Yosemite Sam was originated by Warners Bros' principal voiceman, Mel Blanc. In his autobiography, Blanc said he had a difficult time coming up with the voice, when he played a similar character called Tex on Judy Canova's radio show. He tried giving Sam a small voice, but did not feel that it worked. One day, he decided to simply yell at the top of his voice, which was inspired by a fit of road rage he had that day. It fit perfectly with the blustery character, but was also a strain on Blanc's throat, thus he always did Yosemite Sam's lines at the end of a recording session so he could rest himself overnight. As he got into his 70s, the voice became too rough on his throat; he did not reprise the role of Sam in Who Framed Roger Rabbit while playing all his other Looney Tunes roles in the movie. This makes Sam one of the few voices created by Blanc to be voiced by someone else during his lifetime. Blanc voiced the character one last time in the 1989 TV special Bugs Bunny's Wild World of Sports. Blanc used a voice similar to Yosemite Sam's for Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons.
Over the years, Sam has come to be voiced by all of the following people:
"YOU GOT US STUCK ON THIS STUPID ROCK, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING FELINE! YOU NO GOOD RASON-FRASON KITTY CAT! GET BACK HERE AND TAKE THE FUR! COME HERE, BOY!" ~Tweety's High Flying Adventure
Yosemite Sam calls his show called "Yosemite Sam's Kiddie Corral" in the book The Looney Tunes Treasury, which is a parody of locally hosted children's shows.
External Links
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