Question: What was Bugs Bunny supposed to be called before his 1940 debut?
Answer: Jack E. Rabbit. Director Tex Avery pushed for the name because he had hunted jack rabbits as a kid, and he argued that “Bugs Bunny” sounded too much like a Disney character. His rabbit, he insisted, was tall, lanky, and mean, not a fuzzy little bunny. But a studio publicist liked the name scribbled on Charles Thorson’s model sheet, a nod to fellow director Ben “Bugs” Hardaway, and producer Leon Schlesinger settled the argument. Bugs Bunny it was.
