Did Yogi Berra Really Sue the Creators of Yogi Bear?
What To Know
- Yogi Berra, the famed baseball player, noticed the striking similarity between his name and the cartoon character Yogi Bear, who starred in 1961’s The Yogi Bear Show.
- Despite Hanna-Barbera’s claims that the name was a coincidence, many in the industry believed Yogi Bear was clearly inspired by Berra’s celebrity status.
- Berra reportedly considered suing the creators for using his name but ultimately dropped the idea, later joking that “television is big enough for both me and Yogi Bear.”
Yogi Berra was one of the most beloved figures in American sports—an all-time great baseball player, a larger-than-life personality, and an accidental philosopher all rolled into one.
By the 1960s, Berra had it all: fame, fortune, and a place in pop culture. But one thing he didn’t have? A sense of humor when it came to his name or Yogi Bear, the animated character seemingly named in his honor. And when that bear got his own series, The Yogi Bear Show, on January 30, 1961, things came to a head, with the champion player considering legal action to stop the cartoon bear.
Who was Yogi Berra?
Berra made his Major League Baseball debut for the New York Yankees on September 22, 1946, at age 21. By 1961, Berra was an 18-time All-Star and a key player for the Yankees. At this time, he was recognized as one of the most accomplished players in MLB and was a national celebrity, known both for his game and his quips, as he delivered homespun observations with charm and candor.
Courtesy: Everett Collection
Around this time, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera began rolling out their lineup of toon characters on The Huckleberry Hound Show, many of which were inspired by famous folks. For example, Hokey Wolf seemed suspiciously similar to Phil Silvers, while Ding-A-Ling Wolf’s personality heavily resembled Buddy Hackett.
Also on the show was infamous picnic basket nabber Yogi Bear, who at the time was just a supporting character. But he quickly became so popular that he received his own show in 1961. And with that, caught the attention of one irate baseball player.
Though Yogi Bear’s personality was closer to Art Carney on The Honeymooners than the actual Yankee, the name stood out as a clear nod to Berra.
Was Yogi Bear actually named after Yogi Berra?
While Hanna-Barbera officially claimed the similarity was a coincidence, few bought it, given that Berra was a household name at the time. But Barbera himself insisted it was just a fluke.
Hanna-Barbera / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I’ve often been asked if Yogi Bear was a deliberate reference to the irrepressible Yogi Berra,” he said. “My answer is that no deliberate reference was intended – Yogi Bear doesn’t play baseball, and Yogi Berra was not passionate about pic-a-nic baskets – but, undoubtedly, the sound of the name was awash in our collective unconscious at a time when Yogi Berra was a very popular figure.”
Author Walter Brasch wrote in his book Cartoon Monikers: An Insight Into the Animation Industry: “Whether coincidence or not, it is difficult to find anyone else in the Industry who believes it.” He also wrote that as “one top producer said, ‘If there was no Yogi Berra, I seriously doubt that there would have been a Yogi Bear. It’s just too much of a coincidence for me.”
Hanna-Barbera / Courtesy Everett Collection
According to legend (and Slate), the original Yogi got his nickname while playing American Legion Baseball, when a friend noticed how similar a yogi’s cross-legged pose was to Berra’s when he sat on the ground. It is doubtful that Yogi Bear got his name in the same fashion.
Did Yogi Berra sue the creators of Yogi Bear?
Berra reportedly threatened a defamation lawsuit against Hanna-Barbera, though no formal filing has ever been documented. According to later accounts, the matter was quietly dropped after it became clear that the legal argument would be difficult to sustain. Berra himself later downplayed the controversy, telling the Long Beach Press-Telegram in 1963, “Television is big enough for both me and Yogi Bear. I was going to sue the Yogi Bear program for using my name, until somebody reminded me Yogi isn’t my real name — it’s Lawrence.”
Berra did once file a legal action related to use of his name—but that was against TBS in 2005, for a risque commercial for Sex and the City that used his name as a punchline.
So Bear and Berra ultimately co-existed, their names forever intertwined in pop culture lore. Years later in 2015, in a moment of tragic irony, when Berra passed away, the confusion resurfaced for the final time when the Associated Press wire service mistakenly announced the death of Yogi Bear instead.
.@JournalistsLike pic.twitter.com/OF4pXHm31d
— Ivan Lajara (@ivanlajara) September 23, 2015
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