Foghorn J. Leghorn is an American character that appears in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons for Warner Bros. Pictures. He was created by Robert McKimson, and starred in 28 cartoons from 1946 in the Golden Age of American Animation. All 28 of these cartoons were directed by McKimson.

Biography

Foghorn Leghorn is depicted as a large, white adult Leghorn rooster with a stereotypically Southern accent, a "good ol' boy" speaking style, and a penchant for mischief. The first half of his name is a joke about him being loud and obnoxious, while the second half refers to a breed of chicken (a white leghorn). He first appeared in 1946 in a Henery Hawk film titled Walky Talky Hawky. 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 gags involved Foghorn and a canine nemesis (formally known as The Barnyard Dawg within Warner today, though on early model sheets his name is given as George P. Dog) engaging in one-upmanship through a series of pranks. Unlike other Looney Tunes rivalries—with the notable exception of the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner series—Foghorn is often the initial aggressor out of self-amusement and subsequently on the 'losing' end of gags (although the dog sometimes initiates). However it ends, the formula for how it begins is usually the same. Foghorn, humming "Camptown Races" to himself, sneaks up on Dawg carrying a wooden fencepost while he is sleeping. Foghorn then pulls the sleeping Dawg up by his hindquarters and uses the fencepost to give him a thorough spanking. Dawg, now angry, chases after Foghorn barking angrily but can only go as far as the rope he is tied to can stretch. Thus, when the rope becomes taut and he cannot move, he is either yanked back or stopped. In the latter case, he keeps barking at Foghorn who tells him, "Ah, shaddap!" and does something to Dawg to force him to stop. This gag was passed down to the Leghorns' grandson in Feather Bluster, where Foghorn was puzzled as to why the kid was behaving that way and the Dog was all too happy to remind him: "Ain't nothin' wrong with 'im, Foggy, 'cept 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 outwit the aforementioned canine.

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 Jeff Bergman, Joe Alaskey, Bill Farmer, Greg Burson, Jeff Glen Bennett and Frank Gorshin.

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