Yogi Bear | |
---|---|
The Yogi Bear Show Daws Butler character | |
First appearance | Yogi Bear's Big Break (1958) |
Created by |
William Hanna Joseph Barbera Ed Benedict |
Voiced by |
Daws Butler (1958–1988). Chuck McCann Wake Up, America! LP (1965) Greg Burson (1988–2003) Jeff Bergman (1990s commercials, Lullabye-Bye Bear, When Bears Attack) Billy West (1990s commercials) Stephen Worth (Boo Boo Runs Wild, Boo Boo and the Man) Maurice LaMarche (Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law) Dave Fouquette (The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy) Scott Innes (At Picnic-Honey Lesson) Dan Aykroyd (film, Yogi Bear: The Video Game) |
Information | |
Species | Brown bear |
Gender | Male |
Relatives |
Boo-Boo Bear (best friend) Ranger Smith (rival/friend) Cindy Bear (girlfriend) Rachel Johnson (friend) |
Yogi Bear is a cartoon character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show.
Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera and was eventually more popular than Huckleberry Hound. In January 1961, he was given his own show, The Yogi Bear Show, sponsored by Kellogg's, which included the segments Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle.Hokey Wolf replaced his segment on The Huckleberry Hound Show. A musical animated feature film, Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!, was produced in 1964.
Yogi was one of several Hanna-Barbera characters to have a collar. This allowed animators to keep his body static, redrawing only his head in each frame when he spoke — a method that reduced the number of drawings needed for a seven-minute cartoon from around 14,000 to around 2,000.
Like many Hanna-Barbera characters, Yogi's personality and mannerisms were based on a popular celebrity of the time. Art Carney's Ed Norton character on The Honeymooners was said to be Yogi's inspiration; his voice mannerisms broadly mimic Carney as Norton. Norton, in turn, received influence from the Borscht Belt and comedians of vaudeville.
Yogi's name was similar to that of contemporary baseball star Yogi Berra, who was known for his amusing quotes, such as "half the lies they tell about me aren't true." Berra sued Hanna-Barbera for defamation, but their management claimed that the similarity of the names was just a coincidence. Berra withdrew his suit, but the defense was considered implausible. At the time Yogi Bear first hit TV screens, Yogi Berra was a household name.