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10 rabbits and actors in bunny costumes that hopped up on television
Get in the Easter mood with these classic bunny appearances on sitcoms and beyond. Candy not included.
Television shows celebrate Easter far less frequently than other holidays. There are a plethora of Santa scenes from the small screen, yet the Easter Bunny is a rather rare sighting. Heck, one of the bunny appearances below came during a Halloween episode.
Still, to celebrate the season of egg hunts and candy baskets, we have rounded up some of the most memorable rabbit appearances on classic TV — both real and costumed.
1. Mr. Bunny Rabbit on Captain Kangaroo
1955–1984
The beloved bespectacled bunny of the long-running children's show was created and operated by the same man behind (under?) Mr. Moose, Cosmo Allegretti.
2. Beaver in a bunny suit on Leave It to Beaver
1962
Long before A Christmas Story examined a boy's shame at having to wear a cute bunny suit, the Beav was stuck walking to a school pageant in this fuzzy get-up. This scene arrived in season five, in "Beaver, the Bunny."
3. Tim Conway as Chuckie Cottontail on McHale's Navy
1965
The Easter episode "Chuckie Cottontail" delivers alcoholic egg nog, egg hunts and Tim Conway with giant whiskers and ears. Conway must have enjoyed his time as a rabbit, as we shall see below.
4. The White Rabbit on Star Trek
1966
In "Shore Leave," the Enterprise crew take a breather on a planet in the Omicron Delta system and travel down the rabbit hole to a Wonderland of illusions. The gang returns to the planet in episode nine of Star Trek: The Animated Series.
5. Carol Wayne as Bunny on Bewitched
1969
Paul Lynde mistakenly summons a "cocktail bunny" instead of a "cottontail bunny" in "A Bunny for Tabitha." Wayne was a regular on The Tonight Show.
6. Hoss in bunny suit on Bonanza
1970
The Western did not shy away from comedy and holidays, and Hoss was typically the goof. In season five, a gang of leprechauns assaults Dan Blocker's character, smacking him over the head and pulling down his pants. Six years later, the middle Cartwright son dresses up as the Easter bunny for an orphanage and foils the plans of stagecoach robbers while in costume.
7. Tim Conway as F. Lee Bunny on The Carol Burnett Show
1972
Conway got back into the bunny suit and into the spirit of the animal for the hilarious "Huntington and Bunny Attorneys" skit in season six, episode seven, of The Carol Burnett Show.
8. This adorable bunny with the Hulk
1979
Hulk do more than SMASH. Hulk find me time in forest in "Solitary Place." Hulk pet bunny.
9. The Fonz in a bunny suit
1984
If you don't remember this one, perhaps it is because you did not stick it out until the very end. In "Fonzie's Spots," the series finale that aired in September 1984, the Fonz, Chachi and Roger go through an initiation to join the Leopard Lodge. Winkler was nearly 40 years old when he slipped into the fuzzy costume.
10. Chandler in a bunny costume on Friends
2001
Though it was a Halloween episode, "The One With The Halloween Party," this classic outing of Friends featured the most memorable Easter Bunny outfit of modern times. It remains a popular reference for costume parties.
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