Animation cel of Bugs Bunny saying "What's Up Doc?” Tex Avery created Bugs Bunny in an award-winning cartoon he produced for Warner Brothers in 1940 called <i>The Wild Hare </i>. Initially known as Jack E. Rabbit, "Bugs" later received his better-known name from another Warner Brothers director of the same name. Though the rabbit received his name from Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, he received his ornery personality from Tex Avery. Bugs received his distinct voice from Mel Blanc during the years 1938-1989. During the Second World War, Bugs Bunny became more popular than Disney or MGM short subjects. But Bugs received his widest audience through the medium of television, both through syndication and distribution of earlier cartoons and through <i>The Bugs Bunny Show</i>, appearing from 1960 to the late 1990s.
