What voices!
February 5, 2010 (Friday)
I loved going to the movies on Saturdays when I was a little boy. The audience—made up almost entirely of kids—applauded, cheered, booed, laughed out loud, yelled, screamed, and generally participated in the action as the films rolled.
Besides the full length movies (usually a double feature, both in black and white), the program consisted of previews of coming attractions (lots of them), short subjects (The Three Stooges, etc.), an episode of a weekly serial, and three or four cartoons in full color. The applause and cheering was deafening as the cartoons appeared on the screen. We dearly loved the cartoons. If somehow a kid could scrape together enough money for popcorn and/or candy, his day was perfect.
We all knew the voices of the cartoon characters such as Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny, and imitated them daily. The one person responsible for most of those voices was Mel Blanc. He died in 1989 at the age of 81, but not before making an indelible impression on the entertainment industry.
He was the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote, Woody Woodpecker, Barney Rubble, Mr. Spacely, and hundreds of others. He was also the sound of Jack Benny’s Maxwell automobile as it chugged and wheezed to a start. On his tombstone are the words, “Man of a Thousand Voices.” And, lest we forget that our heroes are real people, also the words, “Beloved Husband and Father” are there, too, as well as the Star of David.
Mel Blanc died over twenty years ago, but the voices he gave to many fictional characters are still heard, because his pioneer work in the field lives on, making people laugh and spreading joy.