Andrew Gelman sorts things into categories. One of his categories is called "Foghorn Leghorn," defined as
a parody that is more famous than the original.
Many of the old Warners Brothers cartoons fall into this category, as
they parodied stars, slang, and news of the day which are passé, while
the cartoons live on. But why Foghorn Leghorn? The Warner Brothers
rooster was a parody of
Senator Beauregard Claghorn, a radio character on
The Fred Allen Show played by Kenny Delmar.
Claghorn
had an unshakable obsession with the South, and would proudly voice his
disdain for the North in humorous ways. For instance, the Senator
refused to ever wear a "Union suit" or drive through the Lincoln Tunnel
when he visited New York City, and he claimed to drink only out of Dixie
cups. The Senator even rebuked Allen for saying the word "no" in his
presence, saying "N-O.. That's North abbreviated!!"
Delmar, as Claghorn, starred in the 1947 movie
It's a Joke, Son! which featured the above clip. The entire movie is
available at YouTube.
Later in his career, Delmar found that Warner Brothers had copyrighted
Foghorn Leghorn, and he had to get their permission to perform as his
Claghorn character.
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