Bugs Bunny that another proposed name for the character was "Happy Rabbit." In the actual cartoons and publicity, however, the name "Happy" only seems to have been used in reference to Bugs Hardaway. In "Hare-um Scare-um", a newspaper headline reads, "Happy Hardaway." Animation historian David Gerstein disputes that "Happy Rabbit" was ever used as an official name, believing that the only usage of the term was from Mel Blanc himself in humorous and fanciful tales he told about the character's development in the 1970s and 1980s; the name "Bugs Bunny" was used as early as August 1939, in the Motion Picture Herald,
Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears looking pleased with her make-out session. She is shown wearing red lipstick. Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears is a 1944 "Merrie Melodies" cartoon short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Tedd Pierce. This short marks the first appearance of Jones' dysfunctional version of The Three Bears, and is a parody of the old fairy tale, "Goldilocks and The Three Bears". Mel Blanc provides the voices of Bugs and Papa Bear (for the latter using a raucous voice similar to Yosemite Sam only a little higher-pitched). Mama Bear is voiced by Bea Benaderet,