Mel's Yosemite Sam tantrums from the 50s are some of his best over-the-top characterizations. Legend has it that he had to rest his voice for a full week after completing From Hare to Heir, the character's magnum opus.
I have been told that my own tirades are quite similar to Sam's. I do not contest that, and take it as praise.
Mel's Yosemite Sam tantrums from the 50s are some of his best over-the-top characterizations. Legend
Yosemite Sam's tirades were some of my most favorite scenes from WB cartoons. They were even better than the imitations of different actors that Mel Blanc did in many of their cartoons.
Yosemite Sam's tirades were some of my most favorite scenes from WB cartoons. They were even better
Mel recycled many of his voices between his work on radio and his work at Termite Terrace. And then he based some voices off of other popular characters (Kenny Delmar's Senator Claghorn --> Foghorn Leghorn). But I do believe that Mel's voice for the quarter-pint powder keg is his own invention.
Mel recycled many of his voices between his work on radio and his work at Termite Terrace. And then
I do know the one male voice that Mel didn't voice was Elmer Fudd. But, he did voice one word in Elmer's voice, "SMOG!" He voiced that word because the man who voiced Elmer couldn't yell in Elmer's voice. I can't remember the name of the cartoon this occurred in but I do remember it was when Elmer was portraying an Asgaard warrior who intended to "Kill the wabbit."
I do know the one male voice that Mel didn't voice was Elmer Fudd. But, he did voice one word in El
You are correct on your first point, the name of the short being 'What's Opera Doc?", and you second point can be suspected, but now it's verified. Elmer Fudd was voiced by and modeled after seasoned radio man Arthur Quirk Bryan. And for added trivia: WB hired an uncredited voice actress after WW2 as well. June Foray.
You are correct on your first point, the name of the short being 'What's Opera Doc?", and you second
Yeah. June was called by many "The Female Mel Blanc" and she deserved it because she could do so many female voices. I believe she continued doing voiceovers until the 1990s. As for my comment about Mel Blanc voicing the word smog in "What's Opera, Doc", I got that from a video I watched. (I can't remember which one it was, darn it.) In that DVD, it was said that Mr. Bryan had a hard time saying smog in the voice manner that the director wanted so they asked Mel Blanc to try. If you listen closely, you can hear a slight change in the voice.
Yeah. June was called by many "The Female Mel Blanc" and she deserved it because she could do so ma
Oh, it's certainly Mel yelling "SMOOOOOG!". It's unmistakable. But I was never certain if it was Mel or Arthur doing the main voice for Elmer in that short. And now we're full circle! This all started talking about Mel's master class of yelling in-character, and we end with a fun little trivia of Mel 'stunt-voicing' for Authur, whose voice wasn't given to yelling!
Oh, it's certainly Mel yelling "SMOOOOOG!". It's unmistakable. But I was never certain if it was Mel
That's for true, as the Cajuns would say. Another thing I heard about Mel was that he was one of the busiest voice actors in the heyday of radio shows. Supposedly, he was working on the Jack Benny radio show and the writers would do their best to come up with a character that he couldn't do. So, they had Jack talking to his pet goldfish and they wanted Mel to ad-lib some lines for the fish. Mel walked up to the mike and just started moving his mouth like he was a fish. This cracked Jack and the other actors up so much they could be heard laughing on the radio. Again, true? I don't know but it's what I heard someone say in an interview.
That's for true, as the Cajuns would say. Another thing I heard about Mel was that he was one of th
the Jack Benny show broke character all the time, because of-course it was comedy and live radio as well. In your tale, Mel perfectly turns the tables on his affectionate antagonists, by truly imitating a fish. There's plenty of Happy Jack available online, if you're bold enough. And oh, yeah: who was Jack's band-leader for some years? Phil Harris.
Here's some of Mel Blanc, both on the radio and on the screen, yukking it up with Kay Kaiser and some other folks you might know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6qNK5OoTbM
the Jack Benny show broke character all the time, because of-course it was comedy and live radio as
I remember either reading that somewhere or hearing it in an interview with Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, or one of the other people from Termite Terrace. I also believe that originally Leon Schlesinger wasn't even remotely amused.
I remember either reading that somewhere or hearing it in an interview with Bob Clampett, Chuck Jone
Leon was kind of a dick. He made sure all the Oscars won for WB shorts went straight to his office, and never shared them with his staff-- the ones who made the cartoons what won the Oscars. They would sneak into his office when he wasn't there, and take each-other's photos with the trophy.
Leon was kind of a dick. He made sure all the Oscars won for WB shorts went straight to his office,
