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,
The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special Elmer, who is searching for him after his escape. After some chases and a side story involving Sylvester and Tweety, Bugs ends up dangling from the beak of a Mount Rushmore-sized sculpture of Foghorn Leghorn; he’s rescued by the Tall, Dark Stranger, who turns out to be Porky Pig (he was trying to keep the story going). Porky concludes the special from inside his jail cell. Directed by Gerry Chiniquy, Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones. This special has been released on VHS videocassette, but not on DVD. The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special is an animated