This is like a LOONEY TUNE gag with Bugs preparing to fight a bad guy -- "Let's fight clean and not do THIS!" (as he whacks the bad guy in some underhanded manner). Maybe Kelly got the notion from there.
Chris, I'm gonna guess that that was an old vaudeville standby gag, and prolly where both Kelly and the Looney Tunes guys got their notions. I can just see Bert Lahr being part of that, or the young Abbott and Costello, or any of a hundred comics we never heard of.
Sorry that this strip suffered a wee bit of damage in trimming, years ago—almost lost George the Bug.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteThis is like a LOONEY TUNE gag with Bugs preparing to fight a bad guy -- "Let's fight clean and not do THIS!" (as he whacks the bad guy in some underhanded manner). Maybe Kelly got the notion from there.
Chris
Chris, I'm gonna guess that that was an old vaudeville standby gag, and prolly where both Kelly and the Looney Tunes guys got their notions. I can just see Bert Lahr being part of that, or the young Abbott and Costello, or any of a hundred comics we never heard of.
ReplyDeleteTom,
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt you're right that the bit predated LT. But it was LT that made it REALLY famous!
Chris