Yosemite Sam

Yosemite Sam, often shortened to just "Sam," is a loud western figure of Looney Tunes.

Origin
Yosemite Sam made his debut in the 1945 cartoon, Hare Trigger. However, Sam bears a resemblance to a character in Buckaroo Bugs, released in 1944, which would be seen as a prototype. Michael Maltese claims that he made Yosemite in the likeness of director Friz Freleng. When Elmer J. Fudd, who was Bugs Bunny's first enemy, proved to be too much of a softy for his target, Freleng decided he needed a tougher opponent and that's how Sam came along.

Design
Yosemite Sam is a small fellow with a big mouth. He is bad-tempered, 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. He is reckling, 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.

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.

In one of the more recent episodes, 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 fataly wounded, his return is because the Devil revives him to give him a "second chance".

Voice-Actors
Over the years, Sam has come to be voiced by all of the following people:


 * Mel Blanc: 1945 - 1987


 * Joe Alaskey: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?


 * Jeff Bergman: 1990 - 1992


 * Charlie Adler: Tiny Toon Adventures (1 episode only)


 * Maurice LaMarche: 1990 - present (current voice-actor)


 * Greg Burson: Carrotblanca


 * Jim Cummings: 1996 - 200


 * Bill Farmer: Space Jam


 * Frank Gorshin: From Hare To Eternity


 * Jeff Bennett: Looney Tunes: Back In Action


 * John Kassir: Family Guy

Quotes

 * "Dadburn slapstick cliche`!" ~Looney Tunes: Back In Action


 * "Great corny! I must've dug all the way t' Chinee!" ~14 Carrot Rabbit


 * "I'm Yosemite Sam, the roughest, toughest, rip-roarin'-est [sic], Edward Everett Horton-est [sic] hombre whatever [sic] packed a six-shooter!" ~Hare Trigger


 * "Come back here, ya darn idiot galoots!" ~Looney Tunes: Back In Action