A: The middle initial E. of this character introduced in 1949 stands for Ethelbert.
Q: Who is Wile E. Coyote?
Ever wonder where the heck this "fact" came from? It wasn't from a cartoon or anything revealed by Chuck Jones later in life. No, it came from a single 1973 Looney Tunes comic book story. Below you can see the infamous artwork for yourself.
I really doubt this was ever intended to be the character's "official" middle name but thanks to Jeopardy, I am sure this "fact" will be popping up for years to come.
UPDATE: Mark Evanier, author of the "Ethelbert" story, has written more about the subject on his blog.
i was watching that episode and was embarrased i didn't know. I said Alfred E. Newman. Thanks for providing this. I KNEW they never said it in a cartoon!
ReplyDeleteAh, Dell comics...you'll throw ANY unrelated characters together!
ReplyDeleteI remember a comic in which Sylvester explained that he says "Sufferin' Succotash" in rememberance of his Uncle Succotash, the great wild game hunter. Will Jeopardy add that to the canon as well?
ReplyDeleteI always liked the answer I heard from Chuck Jones in the late '80's. The E in Wile E. Coyote stands for the same thing that Ulysses S. Grant claimed the S stood for. To quote Grant: "In mine you know it does not stand for anything."
can you show the whole story of Ethelberth, please?
ReplyDelete