Happy Rabbit was a character from the Looney Tunes and
Merrie Melodies series who later evolved into the cartoon character Bugs Bunny. Happy Rabbit made his debut in the 1938 animated short "Porky's Hare Hunt." He had apricot-colored gloves, a furrier tail, and black-tipped ears. Two years later, in the short "A Wild Hare," Happy Rabbit was redesigned and given the name Bugs Bunny.
According to Mel Blanc, who provided the voice for Bugs, the character was named after animator Ben "Bugs" Hardaway. Mel Blanc would later use the original Happy Rabbit voice as the voice of Woody Woodpecker.
And 'Doobie Bunny' just wouldn't fly in those days.
In the early Yosemite Sam and Bugs cartoon where Sam challenges Bugs to "Draw Poker" and Bugs draws a fireplace poker on a piece of paper the rules of the salon were posted on the wall. No cussin, no spittin, no opium smoking, and no bad behavior. There were a few things that slipped by the sensors of the day.
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