(ABC Primetime, 1960 - 1962 as "The Bugs Bunny Show"; ABC Sat. Mornings, 1962 - 1968 as "The Bugs Bunny Show"; CBS Sat. Mornings, 1968 - 1971 as "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour"; CBS Sat. Mornings, 1971 - 1973 as "The Bugs Bunny Show"; ABC Sat. Mornings, 1973 - 1975 as "The Bugs Bunny Show"; CBS Sat. Mornings, 1975 - 1978 as "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour"; CBS Primetime, 1976 - 1978 as "The Bugs Bunny Show"; CBS Sat. Mornings, 1978 - as "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show") [An unusual debut for a cartoon show -- a two-year PrimeTime series which became a fixture of Saturday mornings from the 1960s forward; it even had a second two-year PrimeTime revival during the 1970s on CBS -- not bad for a cartoon empire that began in the 1930s from the Leon Schlesinger animation studio (which was later absorbed into Warner Brothers); Some students of animation have traced the origin of the Bugs Bunny character to the tales of African legend which had a couple of characters known as "Zomo" and "Bro Rabbit", which may in turn have evolved into the 1930s Uncle Remus' stories of a bunny who outwitted farmers, known as "Br'er Rabbit"; Visually, Bugs was a character first drawn by animator named Ben ("Bugs") Hardaway who worked at Warner Brothers' studio; The first theatrical cartoon featuring Bugs's "Bunny" appeared in 1938; But in the earliest cartoons, Bugs was a variation of Daffy Duck -- he hadn't found a consistent character -- he had not yet acquired the sassy Brooklyn-esque Mel Blanc voice which so captured the fascination of the public during World War II; His attitude crystalized in the immortal phrase first heard in the cartoon "A Wild Hare" (1940) when Bugs was confronted with Elmer Fudd's shotgun, and casually continued to chew on a carrot pausing to drawl, "Eh...What's Up, Doc?" The sassy yank attitude in the face of a wartime threat was one with which soldiers and their families identified; they embraced this rascally wiseguy, and his popularity skyrocketed during the wartime 1940's. Bugs Bunny was already a star by the time television arrived; In the 1950's, packages of Warner Brothers theatrical cartoons were sold to TV; By 1960, the audience had developed renewed interest in animated characters, due to several PrimeTime contemporary cartoon series from Hanna-Barbera -- including "The Flintstones"; To meet this demand the networks wanted to find other animated product in a hurry; And they already could tap into a backlog of classic cartoons from which to choose; Nearly 900 cartoons had come from the Warner Brothers studios by this time, including the Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons; So there was a good library of cartoons from which to draw when Warners put together a show for ABC in 1960; The series not only included the Bugs Bunny character around which the series hung its hat, but many other classic Warner Brothers' favorites: Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Tweety and Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, The Road Runner, Henery Hawk, Foghorn Leghorn, Ollie Owl and Hippity Hopper; the amazing Mel Blanc voiced most of these cartoon characters; Many of the orchestrations of various Signature THEMES and interior cues were created by Warner Bros. venerable arrangers Carl W. Stalling and Milt J. Franklyn, plus the ubiquitous Hollywood handyman -- composer/arranger William ("Bill") Lava; For the title THEME of this Warner Brothers' showcase, a fast-paced overture song was commissioned from the songwriting duo of Jerry Livingston and Mack David who had written several youthful-flavored THEME songs for other Warner Brothers films and TV series during the 1950s -- including "77 Sunset Strip", "Hawaiian Eye", "Surfside 6" and "Bourbon Street Beat."]
[ASCAP title variations... aka: "This Is It (Main & End)"; aka: "Bugs Bunny Theme"; aka: "Bugs Bunny Overture"] Composers: Jerry Livingston (ASCAP) and Mack David (ASCAP) Original Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publishers: Hallmark Music Company, Inc. (ASCAP) of Brookline, MA; and Universal/Polygram International Publishing, Inc. (ASCAP) c/o Universal Music Publishing Group of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: July 6, 1961; Eu 677 583. Renewal Date: Jan. 9, 1989; RE-416-773. Recordings:
[ASCAP title variations aka: "Bugs Bunny Cues" aka: "Bugs Bunny FM" (format music)] Composer: Milton J. ("Milt") Franklyn (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings:
[ASCAP title variations include... aka: "Merrie Melodies (Open/Closing Theme)" aka: "That's All Folks"] Composers: Charles Tobias (ASCAP), Murray Mencher (ASCAP) and Eddie Cantor (ASCAP), with Arranger: Carl W. Stalling (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: T. B. Harms, Inc. (ASCAP) 2001 Publishers: Ched Music Corp. (ASCAP) of Naples, FL; Eddie Cantor Music (ASCAP) of New York, NY; and Harms, Inc. (ASCAP) c/o Warner Bros., Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Feb. 14, 1935; EP 46 607. Revised Version: Nov. 19, 1956; Eu 457 377. Recordings:
[ASCAP title variations include... aka: "Looney Tunes Open"; and aka: "Looney Tunes Close"] Composers: Cliff Friend (ASCAP) [professional name of John Clifford Friend], and Dave Franklin (ASCAP), with Arranger: Carl W. Stalling (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: T. B. Harms, Inc. (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: Harms, Inc. (ASCAP) c/o Warner Bros., Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: 1937; E pub. [Ep] 62 263. Renewal Date: Recordings:
[ASCAP title variations aka: "Porky Pig"] Composer: M. K. Jerome (ASCAP) [professional name of Maurice K. Jerome] 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings:
Composers: Warren Foster (ASCAP) and Tedd Pierce (Not Affil.) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings:
Composers: Warren Foster (ASCAP) and Tedd Pierce (Not Affil.) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Jan. 19, 1955; Eu 383 361. Renewal Date: Jan. 3, 1983; RE-146-218. Recordings:
Composers: Warren Foster (ASCAP) and Tedd Pierce (Not Affil.) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Unpublished Copyright Date: Jan. 19, 1955; EU 383 356. Unpublished Renewal Date: Jan. 3, 1983; RE-151-698. Published Copyright Date: Mar. 15, 1955; EP 88 140. Published Renewal Date: Jan. 3, 1983; RE-151-674. Recordings:
Composers: Warren Foster (ASCAP) and Tedd Pierce (Not Affil.) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Jan. 19, 1955; EU 383 358. Renewal Date: Jan. 3, 1983; RE-151-699. Recordings:
[aka: "Henry Hawk" ] Composers: Warren Foster (ASCAP) and Tedd Pierce (Not Affil.) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Jan. 19, 1955; EU 383 359. Renewal Date: Jan. 3, 1983; RE-151-700. Recordings:
Composers: Warren Foster (ASCAP) and Tedd Pierce (Not Affil.) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Jan. 19, 1955; EU 383 363. Renewal Date: Jan. 3, 1983; RE-151-702. Recordings:
Composers: Warren Foster (ASCAP) and Tedd Pierce (Not Affil.) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Dec. 3, 1956; Eu 459 810. Renewal Date: Aug. 28, 1984; RE-249-007. Recordings:
Composers: Warren Foster (ASCAP) and Tedd Pierce (Not Affil.) 1978 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: M. Witmark & Sons (ASCAP) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: Dec. 3, 1956; Eu 459 809. Renewal Date: Aug. 28, 1984; RE-249-008. Recordings:
[above is title as filed for copyright; ASCAP title variations aka: "Road Runner (Main and End)"] Composer: Barbara Cameron (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: Warner Bros., Inc. (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: Warner Bros., Inc. (ASCAP) (Warner Bros. Music Div.) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA Unpublished Copyright Date: Aug. 7, 1972; Eu 349 069. Unpublished Renewal Date: Jan. 5, 2000; RE-820-433. Published Copyright Date: Aug. 4, 1972; EP 304 190. Published Renewal Date: Jan. 5, 2000; RE-820-292. Recordings: