Mel Blanc
Hollywood Forever
Mel Blanc
was the man of 1,000 cartoon voices. His grave marker includes one of
his popular phrases as the voice of Porky Pig: "That's All Folks."
Blanc started as a musician with NBC Radio, and later
played the violin, tuba and bass with various bands. He joined the
cartoon department at Warner Bros. studios in 1937 as a voice specialist,
and supplied the voices of dozens of cartoon characters in nearly 1,000
films and cartoon shorts, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd,
Tweety Pie, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepe Le Pew, Marvin
the Martian, the Tasmanian Devil and Speedy Gonzales, as well as most
of the supporting players and many of the sound effects.
In the 1940s, Blanc joined the cast of "The Jack Benny Show"
on radio, initially supplying the sound of Benny's Maxwell automobile. When
the Benny show moved to television in 1950, Blanc continued to supply the
sound effects, and also played supporting roles in the series. In 1960,
Blanc joined the cast of "The Flintstones," the first full-length animated
television program in prime time, providing the voices for neighbor Barney
Rubble and the Flintstone's dog, Dino. He also provided the voice of George
Jetson's boss, Cosmo Spacely, in the animated series, "The Jetsons."
Blanc continued working up until his death, and even beyond.
Archival recordings of his voice were used in the live-action film, "The
Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" (2000). After his death, Blanc's son,
Noel Blanc, provided many of the cartoon voices created by his father.
Blanc was born Melvin Jerome Blanc on June 30, 1908
(some sources say 1892), in San Francisco, CA. He died on July 10, 1989,
in Los Angeles, CA.
1908 - 1989
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