Foghorn Leghorn

For the month of April, I am sharing with pencil illustrations of some memorable Looney Tunes cartoon characters, as I join a community of insane inspiring people who take part in the annual A to Z Challenge to connect with others in Blogosphere .  I’m certain while I’m figuring out which beloved animated figure I put on paper I will learn the identify of some I had long forgotten and perhaps meet some new ones that didn’t cross my path.  

Today I’m sharing with you my illustration of that mischievous, southern blabbermouth, Foghorn Leghorn.

Foghorn Leghorn clobbers George P. Dog often referred to as the Barnyard Dawg

Foghorn Leghorn came onto the Looney Tunes scene in the mid 1940s.  Robert McKimson, the creator, inspiration came from Fred Allen’s radio show character, Senator Claghorn, a Southern politician.  Foghorn adopted the well known phrases, “I say…” and “That’s a joke, son.”  I always wondered why Foghorn talked to everyone as if they were deaf.  It turns out, his character’s voice was patterned after a hard-of-hearing West Coast radio character known as The Sheriff from the program Blue Monday Jamboree.  I thought “Leghorn” had something to do with Texas but I learned that it’s a particular Italian breed of chicken.  Foghorn is mentor to the smaller, younger barnyard critters often giving instructions as seen in The Best of Egghead Jr vs Foghorn Leghorn clip below.

 

For more education and laughs take a look at this clip from 2016 celebrating 70 Years of Foghorn Leghorn.

 

Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your day.  I ask that leave a direct link for today’s post in comments to ensure others can find an easy way back to you.  Also,  over the last few months I’ve noticed many bloggers with use Gravatar do not have their active blog address linked to their profile.  You may want to double check yours to make sure it’s listed.  I’m heading over to the A2Z headquarters to see who’s joined the party now.  I hope to see you again tomorrow for the next letter in the alphabet in my Looney Tunes Art Sketch series! X💋X💋 Cathy

Original sketch Pixelmator Pro Photographic #07 effect

Alphabetical Looney Tunes Art Sketch series quick links:

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21 comments

  7. Hahahaha!!! I haven’t thought about Foghorn Leghorn in years! What a character. I’m so glad you are sharing these and nudging my memory.

  8. I say, I say, Foghorn is one of my favorite Looney Tunes characters (although no one can top Bugs Bunny). I’n trying to log in different ways to WordPress blogs and tried a WordPress account on another one of your Wednesday posts – I’m not sure it took, though.

    1. Alana,

      Your log-in looks good on the admin side and on the viewer side, if someone clicks on your name it’ll take you to your home page. Nicely done! 🙂 At least people can get to your blog using this method. 😉 I’m playing catch up but am still behind. I will get over to your place asap for a visit. xx

  14. Great sketch of another wonderful cartoon. Such fond memories you’re stirring up with your A2Z challenge. Thank you.

    Have a fabulous day. Big hug. ♥

  15. Foghorn is one of my favourites. His sayings made me laugh so much and the egghead kid made me laugh as well. I also loved the dog and welcomed when the dog got back at Foghorn. I was thinking that I hope I see Claude the Cat which I know you are past C. The Frog that drives the man insane is another treasure and reminded me of my old boss. He would just croak hello or say yup slowly.

  17. Hello my new found friend. I am loving this tour through cartoon characters…it brings joy to me everyday! Foghorn Leghorn reminds me of a rooster we had many years ago. He was big and cocky and sometimes needed to be put in his place with a broom. More recently he reminds me of my neighbor, sure wish I could take a broom to his loud mouth southern drawl! Ha ha. Anyways, thank you and I’m so looking forward to seeing what is coming up next.
    Cheers,
    Crackerberries

  18. Hi, Cathy!

    Happy F-day, dear friend! You picked a great Looney Tunes character to represent the letter “F” in the Challenge. My aunt and uncle had a farm where they raised rabbits and fowl. I’m pretty sure they had leghorns. I well remember the swaggering, blustery, filibustery windbag Foghorn Leghorn inspired by a popular southern politician character on Fred Allen’s radio show and by The Sheriff on Blue Monday Jamboree. Foghorn became so well known that the kids at my school often imitated his voice and repeated his catchphrases, “I say…” and “That’s a joke, son.” It’s important for us to remember that most of these cartoon characters had their origins in the 1930s and 40s. As a child in the 50s, I mistakenly assumed they were being introduced on television just for me, and all these years I never realized how far back you can trace their roots. As it was in the Three Stooges shorts, fantasy violence was commonplace in L.T. cartoons and still is in the present if you follow animated series like Family Guy. (Peter Griffin often has bloody battles with a large chicken that looks a lot like Foghorn Leghorn.) In these old L.T. shorts, it was a familiar sight to see one character beaning another with a giant mallet. In the second cartoon you posted, Foghorn sneaks up on his sleeping nemesis, George P. Dog the Barnyard Dawg, and beats him with a fencepost. Like The Stooges, no cartoon character ever suffers permanent damage from these brutal attacks. Another staple of cartoons is the construction of elaborate traps like the one presented in cartoon #1. The traps usually backfire on the builder as always happens in the Road Runner series. In cartoon #1, Foghorn Leghorn makes fun of the trap created by Egghead Jr and soon regrets having underestimating the clever lad. I admire your drawing of sly Foghorn with a look of satisfaction on his beak after asserting his dominance over George the Barnyard Dawg. I hope you bring this one back someday In LIving Color.

    Thanks for the smiles, dear friend Cathy. I’ll see you tamale on G-day!

    1. Tom,

      I remember as a kid, I thought the same thing that the L.T. were new just for me with the exception of an apparent older short because the characters looked different. Never would I’ve thought that ole Bugs is a hare older than my daddy. Bugs premiered in “Porky’s Hare Hunt” April 1938 and Daddy was born July of the same year. You’re definitely right, despite the repeated abuse the L.T. characters took none were ever hurt and usually retaliated or tried to within a matter of seconds. The Three Stooges is another hilarious series. Thanks for joining for the letter “F”, my friend. I hope you’re enjoying the series ever bit as much as I did while sketching each humble picture. 🙂 Have a fantastic day!

      1. Foghorn Leghorn was my grandmother’s favorite Looney Toons character. She had a “shouty” voice (think: coach of women’s athletics for 30 years) and sometimes got a little rooster-ish when her team was strutting their stuff. 🙂

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