Seventy-five years ago Monday, a wisecracking rabbit got the best of a hapless hunter with a speech impediment in the animated short "A Wild Hare."

Although the critter's name didn't appear on screen, that July 27, 1940 cartoon directed by Tex Avery goes down as the first official appearance of Bugs Bunny.

It also marks the first time Mel Blanc slathered on a Brooklyn accent and had the rabbit say, "What's up, doc?" It would become the catchphrase for Bugs in decades of Warner Bros. cartoons.

Happy birthday, Bugs!