For Jones’ Fans, Th-Th-That’s Not All

They brought flowers and pasted collages of his cartoons. Some took away framed pieces of his life’s work. Others dropped by just to admire his wicked sense of humor.

A day after Chuck Jones died at his Corona del Mar home, hundreds of fans flocked to his Laguna Beach gallery on Saturday to say farewell to the artist who helped create such widely loved icons as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Wile E. Coyote.

By lunchtime, blank spaces dotted the gallery walls where framed pieces of Jones’ art once hung. The store’s priciest item--an oil painting of an armor-clad Bugs Bunny kneeling to receive knighthood--had sold hours earlier for $15,000. Phones chirped constantly as fans called the store to offer condolences.

“There’s a lot of grief,” said senior consultant Randy Young. “It gets really emotional. They love him.... It’s like losing a family member.”

Jones, who died of congestive heart failure at 89, was described as a beloved local figure, as unpretentious and colorful as his animations.

By lunchtime, about 300 people had come and gone. Illustrating the scope of his appeal, his admirers included the young and the old and ranged from professional artists to people who hadn’t tried their hand at painting in years.

As Charlie Gustason, 65, admired a limited-edition print of Wile E. Coyote, she laughingly said she realized five years ago that she and Quin Gustason should get married when he revealed that he identified with the frustrated cartoon character who could never quite catch the Road Runner.

“This is my hero,” Quin, 75, said about the persistent coyote. “He gets up again and always dusts himself off.”

Sam and Rachelle Hall, 12 and 9, arrived with their mother to pay their respects.

Two years ago, the artist drew them a special picture of Bugs and Marvin the Martian playing pool.

Now the children returned the gesture, rising early Saturday to paste pictures of Bugs and his friends on a tribute card for Jones.

Jones created more than 300 animated films and won three Academy Awards for his work. In 1996, he was presented with his final Oscar for career achievements and was lauded as the “Orson Welles of animation.”

Despite the praise, friends said that Jones remained a humble figure whose life was focused on his love for art. In what became a self-deprecating trademark, Jones frequently told reporters he felt little in common with the self-assured, carrot-chomping rabbit he helped create.

“I dream every night that I’m Bugs Bunny,” Jones once said. “But when I wake up, I look in my mirror and see Daffy Duck.”

Those who knew him thought the comparison unfair.

Edward John Adams, an art consultant at the Laguna Beach store, described Jones as more closely resembling another of his animated characters: the skunk with the French accent and a passion for l’amour.

“Chuck was Pepe Le Pew,” Adams said. “He loved the ladies--I don’t think he would mind me saying that. He was the most charming man I ever met. Every lady was treated right.”

Last year, in a speech to fans at the Laguna Beach gallery, Jones chose to dwell on the artistic accomplishments of Walt Disney rather than on his own.

“He would rather talk about someone else than absorb the adulation himself,” said Adams. “He was my hero. I feel like I lost my grandfather.”