Foghorn Leghorn
| Foghorn Leghorn | |
|---|---|
| Looney Tunes character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | Walky Talky Hawky (August 31, 1946) |
| Created by |
Robert McKimson Warren Foster |
| Voiced by |
Mel Blanc (1946–1983, 1989) Joe Alaskey (1986–2006) Jeff Bergman (1990–1993, 2002, 2011–present) Greg Burson (1991–2003) Bill Farmer (1996–2008) Frank Gorshin (1996–1997) Billy West (1998) Scott Innes (2009) (see below) |
| Information | |
| Species | Leghorn rooster |
| Gender | Male |
| Significant other(s) | Miss Prissy |
| Nationality | American |
Foghorn J. Leghorn is a character that appears in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons for Warner Bros. Pictures. He was created by Robert McKimson and writer Warren Foster, and starred in 28 cartoons from 1946 to 1963 in the Golden Age of American Animation. All 28 of these cartoons were directed by McKimson.
The character of Foghorn Leghorn was directly inspired by the popular character of Senator Claghorn, a blustery Southern politician played by Kenny Delmar who was a regular character on The Fred Allen Show, a popular radio show of the 1940s. The rooster adopted many of Claghorn's catch phrases, such as "That's a joke, ah 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, and foghorn describes the character's loud, overbearing voice.
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, on a radio program called Blue Monday Jamboree. The voice has similarities to that of another Mel Blanc voice: Yosemite Sam (a strictly Friz Freleng character); and even more similar to a proto-Sam character in Stage Door Cartoon.
Foghorn Leghorn is depicted as a large, anthropomorphic white adult Leghorn rooster with a stereotypically Southern accent, a "good ol' boy" speaking style, and a penchant for mischief. In addition to being a reference to the Senator Claghorn character, 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 ties with the Tasmanian Devil as the most popular character associated with the director.
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