Mel Blanc

Mel Blanc
Blanc in 1959
Born
Melvin Jerome Blank

(1908-05-30)May 30, 1908
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 10, 1989(1989-07-10) (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
Other names"The Man of 1,000 Voices"
Occupations
  • Voice actor
  • radio personality
Years active1927–1989
Spouse
Estelle Rosenbaum
​
(m. 1933)​
ChildrenNoel Blanc
AwardsInkpot Award (1976)[1]

Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank /blæŋk/;[2][3] May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989)[4] was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy radio programs, including those of Jack Benny, Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen, The Great Gildersleeve, Judy Canova and his own short-lived sitcom.

Blanc became known worldwide for his work in the Golden Age of American Animation as the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, the Tasmanian Devil, and numerous other characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons.[5] Blanc also voiced the Looney Tunes characters Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd after replacing their original performers Joe Dougherty and Arthur Q. Bryan, respectively, although he occasionally voiced Elmer during Bryan's lifetime as well.[5] He later voiced characters for Hanna-Barbera's television cartoons, including: Barney Rubble and Dino on The Flintstones, Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons, Secret Squirrel on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, the title character of Speed Buggy, and Captain Caveman on Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels and The Flintstone Kids.[5]

Referred to as "The Man of a Thousand Voices",[6] he is regarded as one of the most influential people in the voice acting industry, and as one of the greatest voice actors of all time.[7]

  1. ^ "Inkpot Award". Comic-con.org. December 6, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  2. ^ "Blanc". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  3. ^ "Blanc". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  4. ^ Flint, Peter B. (July 11, 1989). "Mel Blanc, Who Provided Voices For 3,000 Cartoons, Is Dead at 81". The New York Times. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c "Mel Blanc". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  6. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (November 24, 1988). "Man of a Thousand Voices, Speaking Literally". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  7. ^ "Mel Blanc's bio at Ochcom.org". Retrieved October 20, 2014.