Wile E. Coyote (also known simply as “The Coyote”) and the Road Runner are cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Brothers, while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese. The characters went on to star in a long-running series of theatrical cartoon shorts (the first 16 of which were written by Maltese) and the occasional made-for-television cartoon.

What the E stands for is never indicated in the cartoons, but a 1975 comic book story has it standing for ‘Ethelbert’. Although the coyote’s last name is routinely pronounced with a long “e” as in the real-life animal (e.g. “ky-O’-tee”), in at least one case (To Hare is Human), the character himself is heard pronouncing it with a long “a” (e.g. “ky-O’-tay”) in an attempt to sound refined or intellectual.

The Coyote has separately appeared as an occasional antagonist in Bugs Bunny shorts. While he is generally silent in the Coyote-Road Runner shorts, he speaks with a refined accent in these solo outings, initially voiced by Mel Blanc. The Road Runner vocalizes only with a signature sound, “beep, beep”, and an occasional tongue noise. The “beep, beep” was recorded by Paul Julian.