When you think of the cartoon characters you've known for years, such as Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Wile E. Coyote -- it's amazing to realize that all those voices were done by one fantastically talented man, Mel Blanc. In fact, many of the voices heard in cartoons, beginning in the 1940s, were provided by him. Amazing also to think that Mel had a teacher once who told him he would never amount to anything, that his life would be exactly like his last name, which at the time was "Blank." At that point he legally changed his name to the much more interesting "Blanc." He knew he would amount to something!
Interestingly, a woman did voice the unforgettable Woody Woodpecker character, but only because she thought out-of-the-box. Grace Lantz was the wife of Walter Lantz, the animator who created Woody Woodpecker. It was well-known that Grace did a great Woody Woodpecker voice, but Walter absolutely refused to consider a woman to voice Woody. So Grace decided to audition in secret, and submitted an anonymous audition tape. Dozens of other voice actors submitted tapes, and to his surprise, Walter chose Grace! And this is progress: Grace was eventually credited on-screen as being the voice of Woody Woodpecker.
And then...there's June Foray. Rocky the Flying Squirrel, and Natasha (of Natasha and Boris) in the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show? They're both June. Lena Hyena in Roger Rabbit? The Fairy Queen in Thumbelina? Lucifer the Cat in Cinderella? Grammi Grammi Granny in Sylvester & Tweety? Nell Fenwick on Dudley Do-Right? Witch Hazel? All June.
This feisty, spirited actress started performing a wild melange of voices, accents, ages, and personalities when she was a 12-years-old doing radio drama in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was acting regularly on the radio at 15, which drew some criticism. Her parents moved to Hollywood, and there June's career took off into the stratosphere. Her voice has been featured on radio shows, in feature films, on television, record albums, talking toys -- she was the first voice for Chatty Cathy. Now, in her 90s, she's doing voices for the backgrounds of video games.
Have you come up against people telling you you'd never amount to anything, or sexism, or ageism? So did Mel Blanc, Grace Lantz, and June Foray. But they persevered, and went on to be superstars in one of the most wonderful jobs in the world -- lending their voices to cartoon characters.
- Linda Jay Geldens, www.LindaJayGeldens.com
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