This Was Television On July 27
1940: Bugs Bunny is born
The wascally wabbit and his eternal tormentor, Elmer Fudd, “officially” debuted in the Oscar-nominated short “A Wild Hare.” Like much of the material that would come to comprise the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies, this was a theatrical feature. But the iconic characters and their wacky exploits have been passed on to three subsequent generations—and counting—through television, whether on ABC in prime time, on Nickelodeon weekday afternoons, or in countless Saturday morning line-ups across America.
Though a cinema man at heart, Bugs went on to train a generation of TV stars during his memorable tenure at Acme Looniversity. -A.D.
Today’s Birthdays: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, always pays his debts (42); Bill Engvall, Jennifer Lawrence’s TV dad (55); Bryan Fuller, after all created Wonderfalls (43); Norman Lear, prolific producer (90); Carol Leifer, Seinfeld scribe (56); Julian McMahon, nipper-tucker (44); Jonathan Rhys Meyers, he’s Henry VIII he is he is (35); Maya Rudolph, Oprah analogue (40); Betty Thomas, Hill Street blue (64); Jerry Van Dyke, assistant Coach (81).
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