Mel Blanc

WorldBrand briefing

AI supplement

Original synthesis to sit alongside the encyclopedia article below. Not part of Wikipedia; verify facts on Wikipedia when precision matters.

Mel Blanc (full name Melvin Jerome Blanc, 1908–1989) was an American voice actor and comedian famously nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Voices". He is widely recognized as one of the most influential and prolific voice actors in the history of animation, having created and performed hundreds of distinct iconic characters for major Hollywood animation studios.

Key moments

  • 1908-05-30Born in San Francisco, California, United States
  • 1927Begins professional career working in local radio broadcasting, developing his vocal versatility
  • 1933Joins Warner Bros. to voice characters for Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts
  • 1960sExpands his work to Hanna-Barbera, voicing core characters for hit animated sitcoms
  • 1989-07-10Dies of heart disease in Los Angeles, California at age 81

Revolutionizing the Voice Acting Profession

Before Blanc's career, voice acting was largely an uncredited, overlooked craft in animation and radio. Blanc's extraordinary talent and high-profile work helped elevate voice acting to a respected, recognizable profession, proving that a performer's voice alone could carry the personality and success of iconic on-screen characters. He broke ground by getting credit for his work, setting a new standard for the industry that benefited all future voice actors.

Enduring Pop Culture Iconography

Most of the characters Blanc created remain globally recognized pop culture staples today, more than 30 years after his death. His best-known roles include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, and Yosemite Sam for Warner Bros., plus Barney Rubble in The Flintstones and Mr. Spacely in The Jetsons. He still holds the record for the longest period voicing a single animated character by its original actor: 52 years for Daffy Duck.

Legacy in Modern Animation

Blanc's work defined the golden age of American animation, and his influence persists in contemporary media. Archived recordings of his voice are still used in new Looney Tunes productions, and his approach to building distinct character personalities through vocal inflection continues to be studied and emulated by voice actors worldwide. He laid the foundation for the modern voice acting industry that is now central to animation, video games, and other media.

Melvin Jerome Blanc (né Blank ;[2][3] May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989)[4] was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over sixty years. Referred to as "The Man of a Thousand Voices",[5] he is regarded as the greatest and most influential voice actor of all time.[6] Blanc is best known for providing voices for Looney Tunes cartoons by Warner Bros. during the golden age of American animation.

Blanc began his career during the Golden Age of Radio when 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. He later expanded to animation, providing the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian, Foghorn Leghorn, the Tasmanian Devil, Pepé Le Pew and numerous other characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons.[7] 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.[7]

Blanc 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.[7] He was also the voice of Gideon's hiccups in Pinocchio, one of his two appearances at Disney. Blanc was also the voice of Woody Woodpecker in the first four animated shorts from 1940 to 1941, his only appearance at Universal Pictures. He also provided the screams for Tom and Jerry in the short films from 1963 to 1967, in 34 short films directed by Chuck Jones.

Early life

Blanc was born on May 30, 1908, in San Francisco, California. Blanc's birth name was Melvin Jerome Blank and his Jewish-American parents were Eva and Frederick Blank.[8] He grew up in San Francisco's Western Addition neighborhood,[9] and later in Portland, Oregon, where he attended Lincoln High School.[10] He had an early fondness for voices and dialect, which he began practicing at the age of 10. He claimed that he changed the spelling of his name when he was 16, from Blank to Blanc, because a teacher told him that he would amount to nothing and be like his name, a "blank". He joined the Order of DeMolay as a young man, and was eventually inducted into its Hall of Fame.[11] After graduating from high school in 1927, he divided his time between leading an orchestra, becoming the youngest conductor in the country at the age of 19; and performing shtick in vaudeville shows around Washington, Oregon and northern California.[12]

Career

Radio work

Blanc began his radio career at the age of 19 in 1927, when he made his acting debut on the KGW program The Hoot Owls, where his ability to provide voices for multiple characters first attracted attention. He moved to Los Angeles in 1932, where he met Estelle Rosenbaum (1909–2003), whom he married a year later, before returning to Portland. He moved to KEX in 1933 to produce and co-host his Cobweb and Nuts show with his wife Estelle, which debuted on June 15. The program played Monday through Saturday from 11:00 pm to midnight, and by the time the show ended two years later, it appeared from 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm.With his wife's encouragement, Blanc returned to Los Angeles and joined Warner Bros.–owned KFWB in Hollywood in 1935. He joined The Johnny Murray Show, but the following year switched to CBS Radio and The Joe Penner Show.

Blanc was a regular on the NBC Red Network show The Jack Benny Program in various roles, including voicing Benny's Maxwell automobile (in desperate need of a tune-up), violin teacher Professor LeBlanc, Polly the Parrot, Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael and the train announcer. The first role came from a mishap when the recording of the automobile's sounds failed to play on cue, prompting Blanc to take the microphone and improvise the sounds himself. The audience reacted so positively that Benny decided to dispense with the recording altogether and have Blanc continue in that role. One of Blanc's characters from Benny's radio (and later TV) programs was "Sy, the Little Mexican", who spoke one word at a time.[12] He continued to work with Benny on radio until the series ended in 1955 and followed the program into television from Benny's 1950 debut episode through guest spots on NBC specials in the 1970s.

Radio Daily magazine wrote in 1942 that Blanc "specialize[d] in over fifty-seven voices, dialects, and intricate sound effects",[13] and by 1946, he was appearing on over fifteen programs in various supporting roles. His success on The Jack Benny Program led to his own radio show on the CBS Radio Network, The Mel Blanc Show, which ran from September 3, 1946, to June 24, 1947. Blanc played himself as the hapless owner of a fix-it shop, as well as his young cousin Zookie. Blanc also appeared on such other national radio programs as The Abbott and Costello Show, the Happy Postman on Burns and Allen, and as August Moon on Point Sublime. During World War II, he appeared as Private Sad Sack on various radio shows, including G.I. Journal. Blanc recorded a song titled "Big Bear Lake".

Animation voice work during the golden age of Hollywood

In December 1936, Mel Blanc joined Leon Schlesinger Productions, which was producing theatrical cartoon shorts for Warner Bros. Pictures. After sound man Treg Brown was put in charge of cartoon voices, and Carl W. Stalling became music director, Brown introduced Blanc to animation directors Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, and Frank Tashlin, who loved his voices. The first cartoon Blanc worked on was Picador Porky (1937) as the voice of Porky Pig's drunken friends who dress up as a bull.[12] He soon after received his first starring role when he replaced Joe Dougherty as Porky's voice in Porky's Duck Hunt, which marked the debut of Daffy Duck, also voiced by Blanc.

Following this, Blanc became a very prominent vocal artist for Warner Bros., voicing a wide variety of the Looney Tunes characters. Bugs Bunny, as whom Blanc made his debut in A Wild Hare (1940),[14][15] was known for eating carrots frequently (especially while saying his catchphrase "Eh, what's up, doc?"). To follow this sound with the animated voice, Blanc would bite into a carrot and then quickly spit into a spittoon. One often-repeated story is that Blanc was allergic to carrots, which Blanc denied.[16][17]

In Disney's Pinocchio, Blanc was hired to perform the voice of Gideon the Cat. However, it was eventually decided to have Gideon be a mute character (similar to Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), so all of Blanc's recorded dialogue was deleted except for a solitary hiccup, which was heard three times in the finished film.[18]

Blanc also originated the voice and laugh of Woody Woodpecker for the theatrical cartoons produced by Walter Lantz for Universal Pictures, but stopped voicing Woody after the character's first four shorts when he was signed to an exclusive contract with Warner Bros. Blanc had recorded some of Woody's lines for Pantry Panic, but had already left the Lantz studio before the short was released, so Danny Webb was hired to finished Woody's remaining lines for that particular short.[19] Despite this, his laugh was still used in the Woody Woodpecker cartoons until 1951, when Grace Stafford recorded a softer version, while his "Guess who!?" signature line was used in the opening titles until the end of the series and closure of Walter Lantz Productions in 1972.[12]

During World War II, Blanc served as the voice of the hapless Private Snafu in a series of shorts produced by Warner Bros. as a way of training recruited soldiers through the medium of animation.[20]

Throughout his career, Blanc, aware of his talents, protected the rights to his voice characterizations contractually and legally. He, and later his estate, never hesitated to take civil action when those rights were violated. Voice actors at the time rarely received screen credits, but Blanc was an exception; by 1944, his contract with Warner Bros. stipulated a credit reading "Voice characterization(s) by Mel Blanc". According to his autobiography, Blanc asked for and received this screen credit from studio boss Leon Schlesinger after he was denied a salary raise.[21] Initially, Blanc's screen credit was limited only to cartoons in which he voiced Bugs Bunny. This changed in March 1945 when the contract was amended to also include a screen credit for cartoons featuring Porky Pig and/or Daffy Duck. This however, excluded any shorts with the two characters made before that amendment occurred, even if they released after the fact (Book Revue and Baby Bottleneck are both examples of this). By the end of 1946, Blanc began receiving a screen credit in any subsequent Warner Bros. cartoon for which he provided voices.[22]

Voice work for Hanna-Barbera and others

In 1960, after the expiration of his exclusive contract with Warner Bros., Blanc continued working for them, but also began providing voices for the TV cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera; his roles during this time included Barney Rubble of The Flintstones and Cosmo Spacely of The Jetsons. His other voice roles for Hanna-Barbera included Dino the Dinosaur, Secret Squirrel, Speed Buggy, and Captain Caveman, as well as voices for Wally Gator and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop.

Blanc also worked with former Looney Tunes director Chuck Jones, who by this time was directing shorts with his own company Sib Tower 12 (later MGM Animation/Visual Arts), doing vocal effects for the Tom and Jerry series from 1963 to 1967. Blanc was the first voice of Toucan Sam in Froot Loops commercials.

Blanc reprised some of his Warner Bros. characters when the studio contracted him to make new theatrical cartoons in the mid- to late 1960s. For these, Blanc voiced Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales, the characters who received the most frequent use in these shorts (later, newly introduced characters such as Cool Cat and Merlin the Magic Mouse were voiced by Larry Storch). Blanc also continued to voice the Looney Tunes for the bridging sequences of The Bugs Bunny Show, as well as in numerous animated advertisements and several compilation features, such as The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979). He also voiced Granny on Peter Pan Records in 4 More Adventures of Bugs Bunny (1974) and Holly-Daze (1974), in place of June Foray,[23] and replaced the late Arthur Q. Bryan as Elmer Fudd's voice during the post-golden age era.

Car accident and aftermath

On January 24, 1961, Blanc was driving alone when his sports car was involved in a head-on collision on Sunset Boulevard; his legs and his pelvis were fractured as a result.[24][25] He was in a coma and completely non-responsive. About two weeks later, one of Blanc's neurologists at the UCLA Medical Center tried a different approach than just trying to address the unconscious Blanc—address his characters instead. Blanc was asked, "How are you feeling today, Bugs Bunny?" After a slight pause, Blanc answered, in a weak voice, "Eh ... just fine, Doc. How are you?"[12] The doctor then asked Tweety if he was there, too. "I tawt I taw a puddy tat", was the reply.[26][27] Blanc returned home on March 17. Four days later, Blanc filed a US$500,000 lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles. His accident, one of 26 in the preceding two years at the intersection known as Dead Man's Curve, resulted in the city funding the restructuring of curves at the location. Years later, Blanc's son Noel revealed that he performed some of his father's Warner Bros. characters for some cartoons during his recovery.[28][29][30][31][32] Warner Bros. had also asked Stan Freberg to provide the voices for Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig, but Freberg declined, out of respect for Blanc.[33] Jerry Hausner briefly filled in for Blanc as Bugs and Yosemite Sam for some commercials and spots for The Bugs Bunny Show and additional lines in Devil's Feud Cake.[34][35][36] At the time of the accident, Blanc was also serving as the voice of Barney Rubble in The Flintstones. His absence from the show was relatively brief; Daws Butler provided the voice of Barney for a few episodes, after which the show's producers set up recording equipment in Blanc's hospital room and later at his home to allow him to work from there. Some of the recordings were made while he was in full-body cast as he lay flat on his back with the other Flintstones co-stars gathered around him.[37] Unknown people would arrive at Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera and say that they could do Blanc's character voices, but ended up being dismissed.[38] He returned to The Jack Benny Program to film the program's 1961 Christmas show, moving around by crutches and a wheelchair.[39]

Later years

On January 29, 1962, Mel and his son Noel formed Blanc Communications Corporation,[40][41] a media company which produced over 5,000 commercials and public service announcements, which remains in operation.[42] Mel and Noel appeared with many stars, including: Kirk Douglas, Lucille Ball, Vincent Price, Phyllis Diller, Liberace and The Who.

In the 1970s, Blanc gave a series of college lectures across the US and appeared in commercials for American Express. In 1972, Chuck McKibben started working as Blanc's personal recording engineer/producer and studio manager. His daily responsibilities at Mel Blanc Audiomedia in Beverly Hills, California included recording Blanc's voice for a variety of film, advertising and theme park projects.[43][44] In 1982, Mel's production company, Blanc Communications Corporation, collaborated on a special with the Boston-based Shriners' Burns Institute called Ounce of Prevention, which became a 30-minute TV special.[45][46]

Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Blanc performed his Looney Tunes characters for bridging sequences in various compilation films of Golden Age-era Warner Bros. cartoons, such as: The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie, The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales, Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island and Daffy Duck's Quackbusters. His final performance of his Looney Tunes roles was in Bugs Bunny's Wild World of Sports (1989). After spending most of two seasons voicing the diminutive robot Twiki in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Blanc's last major original character was Heathcliff, who he voiced from 1980 to 1988.

In the live-action film Strange Brew (1983), Blanc voiced the father of Bob and Doug McKenzie, at the request of comedian Rick Moranis. In the live-action/animated movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Blanc reprised several of his roles from Warner Bros. cartoons (Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Tweety, and Sylvester), but left Yosemite Sam to Joe Alaskey (who later became one of Blanc's regular replacements until his death in 2016). The film was one of the few Disney projects in which Blanc was involved. Blanc died just a year after the film's release. His final recording session was for Jetsons: The Movie (1990).[47]

Personal life

Blanc and his wife Estelle Rosenbaum were married on January 4, 1933,[4] and remained married until his death in 1989.[4] Their son, Noel Blanc, was also a voice actor.[4]

Blanc was a Freemason as a member of Mid Day Lodge No. 188 in Portland, Oregon.[48][49] He held membership at the lodge for 58 years. Blanc was also a Shriner.[50][51][52]

Death

Blanc began smoking at least one pack of cigarettes per day at the age of nine and continued up through 1985, having quit smoking after being diagnosed with emphysema.[53] He was later diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), after his family checked him into the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 19, 1989[4] when they noticed he had been coughing profusely while shooting an Oldsmobile commercial.[44] He was originally expected to recover,[54] but after his health had worsened, doctors discovered that he had advanced coronary artery disease. He also fell from his bed and broke his femur during the stay.

Blanc died at the age of 81 from complications related to both illnesses on July 10, 1989, at 2:30 pm, nearly two months after being admitted into the hospital.[4] He is interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery section 13, Pinewood section, plot No. 149 in Hollywood.[55][56] His will specified that his memorial marker read ""—the phrase with which Blanc's character, Porky Pig, concluded Warner Bros. cartoons from 1937 to 1946.

Legacy

Blanc is regarded as the most prolific voice actor in entertainment history.[57] He was the first voice actor to receive on-screen credit.[58]

Blanc's death was considered a significant loss to the cartoon industry because of his skill, expressive range, and the sheer number of the continuing characters he portrayed, whose roles were subsequently assumed by several other voice talents. As film critic Leonard Maltin observed, "It is astounding to realize that Tweety Bird and Yosemite Sam are the same man!"[59] Darrell Van Citters drew a lithograph titled "Speechless" in tribute to Blanc, which showed a spotlight on a microphone while the Looney Tunes characters somberly bowed their heads in a moment of silence.[60][61]

Blanc said that Sylvester the Cat was the easiest character for him to voice, because "[he's] just my normal speaking voice with a spray at the end"; and that Yosemite Sam was the hardest, because of his loudness and raspiness.[12] A doctor who examined Blanc's throat found that he possessed unusually thick, powerful vocal cords that gave him an exceptional range, and compared them to those of opera singer Enrico Caruso.[12]

After his death, Blanc's voice continued to be heard in newly released productions, such as recordings of Dino the Dinosaur in the live-action films The Flintstones (1994) and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000). Similarly, recordings of Blanc as Jack Benny's Maxwell were featured in Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). In 1994, the Blanc estate and Warner Bros. created the Warner-Blanc Audio Library, consisting of 550 songs and voices of Blanc's Looney Tunes characters, which he had begun setting down at his multi-track studio in 1958. 15 hours of new tapes of Mel's material were discovered in 1996.[62][63][64][65] Noel Blanc stated that they could also rearrange "syllables" of the new recordings to create custom dialogue for the characters.[66][67] These recordings were also used for toys, watches, video games, commercials, and websites.[64][68] Later archive recordings of Blanc were featured in computer-generated imagery-animated Looney Tunes theatrical shorts; I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat (shown with Happy Feet Two) and Daffy's Rhapsody (shown with Journey 2: The Mysterious Island).[69][70]

For his contributions to the radio industry, Blanc has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6385 Hollywood Boulevard. His character Bugs Bunny was also awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 10, 1985.[71]

Blanc trained his son Noel in the field of voice characterization.[72] Noel performed his father's characters (particularly Porky Pig) on some programs, but did not become a full-time voice artist.[31] Warner Bros. expressed reluctance to have a single voice actor succeed Blanc,[73] and employed multiple new voice actors to fill the roles since the 1990s, including Noel Blanc, Jeff Bergman, Joe Alaskey, Greg Burson, Bob Bergen, Billy West and Eric Bauza.

On September 19, 2017, publisher Penguin Random House released the picture book Melvin the Mouth, written by Mel's daughter-in-law Katherine Blanc and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler. The book follows the daily life of Blanc (here named "Melvin") during his childhood, in which he makes his comical noises and sound effects.[74][75] An audiobook adaptation was released on December 15, 2017, narrated by Ramón De Ocampo.[76][77][78]

Filmography

Radio

Film

Television

Video games

Theme park attractions

Discography

  • Yah, Das Ist Ein Christmas Tree and I Tan't Wait Til Quithmuth Day (Capitol, 1950, Album CAS-3191)
  • Clink, Clink, Another Drink (Bluebird, 1942)[80] as Drunk
  • Bugs Bunny Stories for Children (Capitol, 1947)[118] as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, additional voices
  • The Woody Woodpecker Song (Capitol, 1948)[119] as Woody Woodpecker
  • Bugs Bunny and the Tortoise (Capitol, 1948)[118] as Bugs Bunny, Cecil Turtle, Daffy Duck, Henery Hawk, additional voices
  • That's All Folks! (Capitol, 1948)[118] as Porky Pig
  • Won't You Ever Get Together With Me (Capitol, 1948)[118] as Tweety, Sylvester
  • Bugs Bunny in Storyland (Capitol, 1949)[120] as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Beaky Buzzard, Old King Cole, Fiddlers Three, Mary's Lamb, Bo Peep's Sheep, Big Bad Wolf
  • "Clink, Clink, Another Drink" (with Spike Jones and His City Slickers) (Bluebird Records, 1949), sings the bridge and hiccups
  • Woody Woodpecker and His Talent Show (Capitol, 1949)[121] as Woody Woodpecker, Stanley Squirrel, Billy Goat, Plato Platypus, Fido, Happy Hedgehog, Harry Humbug
  • Bugs Bunny Sings with Daffy Duck, Tweety Pie, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester (Capitol, 1950)[118] as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Tweety, Sylvester
  • Bugs Bunny Meets Hiawatha (Capitol, 1950)[118] as Bugs Bunny
  • Daffy Duck Meets Yosemite Sam (Capitol, 1950)[118] as Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam
  • Tweety Pie (Capitol, 1950)[118] as Tweety, Sylvester
  • Woody Woodpecker's Picnic (Capitol, 1951)[121] as Woody Woodpecker, Tommy Turtle, English Bulldog, German Shepherd, Irish Setter, Scotty
  • Henery Hawk (Capitol, 1951)[118] as Henery Hawk, Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck
  • Tweety's Puddy Tat Twouble (Capitol, 1951)[118] as Tweety, Sylvester
  • Tweet, Tweet, Tweety (Capitol, 1952)[118] as Tweety, Sylvester
  • Bugs Bunny and the Grow-Small Juice (Capitol, 1952)[118] as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck
  • Henery Hawk's Chicken Hunt (Capitol, 1952)[118] as Henery Hawk, Foghorn Leghorn, additional voices
  • Bugs Bunny and Aladdin's Lamp (Capitol, 1952)[118] as Bugs Bunny, Genie
  • Woody Woodpecker and the Scarecrow (Capitol, 1952)[80] as Woody Woodpecker, additional voices
  • Daffy Duck's Feathered Friend (Capitol, 1952)[122] as Daffy Duck
  • Sylvester and Hippety Hopper (Capitol, 1952)[80] as Sylvester, Sylvester Jr., additional voices
  • Woody Woodpecker and the Animal Crackers (Capitol, 1953)[80] as Woody Woodpecker, additional voices
  • Woody Woodpecker and the Lost Monkey (Capitol, 1953)[80] as Woody Woodpecker, additional voices
  • Bugs Bunny and Rabbit Seasoning (Capitol, 1953)[80] as Bugs Bunny
  • Snowbound Tweety (Capitol, 1953)[80] as Tweety, Sylvester
  • Woody Woodpecker and His Spaceship (Capitol, 1953)[80] as Woody Woodpecker, additional voices
  • Wild West Henery Hawk (Capitol, 1953)[80] as Henery Hawk, Foghorn Leghorn, additional voices
  • Pied Piper Pussycat (Capitol, 1953)[118] as Sylvester, additional voices
  • Daffy Duck's Duck Inn (Capitol, 1954)[80][123] as Daffy Duck, Dog
  • Bugs Bunny and the Pirate (Capitol, 1954)[118] as Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam
  • Woody Woodpecker and the Truth Tonic (Capitol, 1954)[119] as Woody Woodpecker, additional voices
  • Tweety's Good Deed (Capitol, 1954)[118] as Tweety, Sylvester, additional voices
  • Woody Woodpecker's Fairy Godmother (Capitol, 1955)[80] as Woody Woodpecker, additional voices
  • Woody Woodpecker in Mixed-Up Land (Capitol, 1955)[80] as Woody Woodpecker, additional voices
  • Woody Woodpecker Meets Davy Crockett (Capitol, 1955)[80] as Woody Woodpecker, additional voices
  • Woody Woodpecker's Family Album (Decca, 1957)[124] as Pepito, sailor, Malamute, Andy Panda, Fluten Bluten, Heinie the Hyena, Homer Pigeon, Cuckoo, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
  • "There's a Hole in the Iron Curtain" (with Mickey Katz and His Orchestra) (Capitol, 1960, Album 45–5425)
  • Bugs Bunny Songfest (Golden, 1961)[125] as Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, Tweety, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Henery Hawk, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, Hippety Hopper, Foghorn Leghorn, Cicero Pig
  • Speedy Gonzales (Dot, 1962) as Speedy Gonzales
  • Magilla Gorilla and His Pals (Golden, 1964)[126] as Droop-A-Long
  • The Flintstones: Flip Fables (Hanna-Barbera, 1965)[127] as Barney Rubble, Chubby, Tubby, Stubby, Landlord, Beowolfe
  • The Flintstones: Hansel and Gretel (Hanna-Barbera, 1965)[127] as Barney Rubble, Hansel, Gretel, Strudelmeyer, Fang, Witch, Reporter
  • Treasure Island Starring Sinbad, Jr. (Hanna-Barbera, 1965)[128] as Salty
  • Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole in: Super Spy (Hanna-Barbera, 1965)[129] as Secret Squirrel, Tyrone
  • The New Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (Hanna-Barbera, 1966)[130] as Barney Rubble, March Hare, Prosecuting Attorney/King's Son
  • The Flintstones Meet the Orchestra Family (Sunset, 1968)[131] as Barney Rubble
  • The New Adventures of Bugs Bunny (Peter Pan, 1973)[120] as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Petunia Pig, Speedy Gonzales, Pablo, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, additional voices
  • Four More Adventures of Bugs Bunny (Peter Pan, 1974)[120] as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Petunia Pig, Speedy Gonzales, Tweety, Sylvester, Granny, Road Runner, additional voices
  • Holly Daze (Peter Pan, 1974)[23] as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Speedy Gonzales, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Granny, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester, Junior, Santa Claus, narrator, Radio Announcer
  • Bugs Bunny Goes To Sea (Fisher-Price, 1978)[132] as Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, additional voices
  • The Desert Island (Fisher-Price, 1978)[133] as Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam
  • Looney Tales (Fisher-Price, 1978)[134] as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Tweety, Sylvester, Granny, additional voices
  • Looney Tunes Learn About Numbers (Warner Audio Publishing, 1986)[135] as Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, additional voices
  • Looney Tunes Learn About The Alphabet (Warner Audio Publishing, 1986)[135] as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, additional voices
  • Looney Tunes Learn About Going To School (Warner Audio Publishing, 1986)[135] as Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, Sylvester Jr., Tweety, additional voices
  • Looney Tunes Learn About Sing-Along Songs (Warner Audio Publishing, 1986)[135] as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Sylvester, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, additional voices
  • Looney Tunes Learn About Colors (Warner Audio Publishing, 1986)[135] as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, additional voices
  • Looney Tunes Learn About Shapes and Sizes (Warner Audio Publishing, 1986)[135] as Bugs Bunny, Cecil Turtle, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, additional voices
  • Space Jam: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture (Warner Sunset/Atlantic, 1996)[136] as Porky Pig (archive recording)

References

  1. Inkpot Award Comic-con.org, December 6, 2012, retrieved February 27, 2022^
  2. retrieved June 1, 2019^
  3. retrieved June 1, 2019^
  4. Peter B. Flint. Mel Blanc, Who Provided Voices For 3,000 Cartoons, Is Dead at 81 The New York Times, July 11, 1989, retrieved June 26, 2008^
  5. Aljean Harmetz. Man of a Thousand Voices, Speaking Literally The New York Times, November 24, 1988, retrieved July 8, 2016^
  6. Mel Blanc's bio at Ochcom.org retrieved October 20, 2014^
  7. Mel Blanc Behind The Voice Actors, retrieved February 5, 2013^
  8. https://walkoffame.com/mel-blanc/^
  9. Mintun, Peter (April 13, 1993) "Look Back to the Upper Fillmore" The Fillmore Museum^
  10. Mel Blanc pdxhistory.com, retrieved July 11, 2017^
  11. DeMolay International. DeMolay Hall of Fame retrieved July 11, 2017^
  12. Mel Blanc, Philip Bashe. That's Not All, Folks! Warner Books, 1988^
  13. Betty Mills. 57 Variety Blanc Radio Daily, August 7, 1942, retrieved January 26, 2020^
  14. Barrier, Michael (2003), Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-516729-0^
  15. Adamson, Joe (1990). Bugs Bunny: 50 Years and Only One Grey Hare. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 978-0-8050-1190-6^
  16. Tim Lawson, Alisa Persons. The Magic Behind The Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors University Press of Mississippi, 2004^
  17. "Did Mel Blanc hate carrots?" A Straight Dope column by Science Advisory Board Member Rico November 4, 2008 (accessed November 20, 2008)^
  18. No Strings Attached: The Making of Pinocchio, Pinocchio DVD, 2009^
  19. Keith Scott. 'GUESS WHO??' Voice Artists in the Woody Woodpecker Cartoons Cartoon Research, September 20, 2021, retrieved August 13, 2025^
  20. Situation Normal All Fouled Up: A History of Private Snafu Misce-Looney-Ous, retrieved June 20, 2020^
  21. Keith Scott. Mel Blanc: From Anonymity To Offscreen Superstar (The advent of on-screen voice credits) Cartoon Research, September 13, 2016, retrieved July 18, 2017^
  22. Mel Blanc: filmography The New York Times, retrieved November 25, 2014^
  23. Greg Ehrbar. Bugs Bunny's High-Fructose Christmas Record Cartoon Research, November 24, 2015, retrieved August 6, 2018^
  24. Mel Blanc, Man of Many Voices, Badly Injured The Terre Haute Tribune, January 25, 1961, retrieved February 16, 2019^
  25. Mel Blanc, Philip Bashe. That's Not All, Folks! Warner Books, 1988^
  26. Daniel Horowitz. What's Up, Doc? November 6, 2012, retrieved October 27, 2014^
  27. Kate Rix. The Strange Day When Bugs Bunny Saved the Life of Mel Blanc OpenCulture.com, May 6, 2013^
  28. Mel Blanc visits Gadgets in the Eastwood Mall (Home of The Looney Tunes Revue and Sammy Sands) (1982) YouTube, January 15, 2025, retrieved May 5, 2025^
  29. Ben Ohmart. Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices November 15, 2012, retrieved April 22, 2025^
  30. Lou Scheimer, Andy Mangels. Creating The Filmation Generation TwoMorrows, December 15, 2012, retrieved April 22, 2025^
  31. Mark Evanier. IAQ03 News From ME, March 23, 2013, retrieved December 25, 2025^
  32. Tim Nydell. Noel Blanc Interview (Son of Mel Blanc - The Man of a Thousand Voices) YouTube, May 1, 2022, retrieved April 22, 2025^
  33. Stan Freberg - The Complete "Pioneers of Television" Interview YouTube, January 29, 2022, retrieved February 1, 2025^
  34. Mark Evanier. Bugs Bunny on Record News From ME, November 9, 2004, retrieved November 24, 2024^
  35. Keith Scott. Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2 BearManor Media, October 3, 2022^
  36. Thad Komorowski. The Thad Review: "Looney Tunes Collector's Choice" Vol. 4 Cartoon Research, November 18, 2024, retrieved November 24, 2024^
  37. Paul Craig. Blanc laments lack of cartoon quality Anchorage Daily News, September 4, 1988, retrieved June 20, 2020^
  38. Phil Keoghan. BUCKiT #6-Noel Blanc: The Son of Mel Blanc, Voice of the Looney Tunes YouTube, July 25, 2018, retrieved May 30, 2020^
  39. Mel Blanc Is Back at Work The Vernon Daily Record, November 24, 1961, retrieved December 11, 2016^
  40. Mel Blanc. That's Not All Folks! Warner Books, 1988^
  41. Blanc Communications Corporation, California, US Open Corporates, retrieved June 21, 2021^
  42. Blanc Communications Corporation official site retrieved October 8, 2017^
  43. The Hollywood Reporter, section R5, November 29, 1972^
  44. Jim Korkis. In His Own Words: Mel Blanc's Last Interview Cartoon Research, March 1, 2021, retrieved October 25, 2024^
  45. Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices YouTube, August 13, 2012, retrieved May 11, 2025^
  46. Ounce of prevention Charles S. Morgan Technical Library, retrieved October 8, 2017^
  47. Beck, Jerry. The Animated Movie Guide (2005).^
  48. Mel Blanc Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, retrieved July 16, 2023^
  49. Ivan Tribe. Brother Mel Blanc: "The Man of a Thousand Voices" retrieved July 16, 2023^
  50. Famous Freemasons (A – Z) – Freemasons Community freemasonscommunity.life, retrieved May 19, 2023^
  51. Gary Baum. Inside Hollywood's Secret Masonic History, From Disney to DeMille The Hollywood Reporter, May 25, 2017, retrieved May 19, 2023^
  52. Brother Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices www.knightstemplar.org, retrieved May 19, 2023^
  53. Aljean Harmetz. Mel Blanc: His Voice Is His Fortune Sun-Sentinel, November 27, 1988, retrieved July 19, 2013^
  54. Paul Feldman. Mel Blanc Dies; Gave Voice to Cartoon World Los Angeles Times, July 11, 1989^
  55. Scott Wilson. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons McFarland, 2016^
  56. Grave Hunter finds Mel Blanc burial place Gravehunter.net, retrieved September 4, 2019^
  57. Nick Thomas. Raised by the Stars: Interviews with 29 Children of Hollywood Actors McFarland, 2011^
  58. Suzanne V. Horvath. Look Who's Talking! The Cincinnati Enquirer, October 13, 1946, retrieved January 20, 2020^
  59. Legacy dot com on Mel Blanc Legacy.com, May 30, 2013^
  60. Rochelle Levy. One Picture Is Worth a Thousand Voices Bugs Bunny: He's 50 Folks!, Custom Publishing, 1990, retrieved December 25, 2025^
  61. Speechless Cel - Tribute to Mel Blanc Newest Tribute to Mel Blanc Fascination St. Gallery - Animation Art & Collectibles, retrieved July 31, 2025^
  62. Albany Herald editorial staff. Blanc's voice to live on through tapes The Albany Herald, November 23, 1996, retrieved September 13, 2024^
  63. Daily Sentinel editorial staff. People in the news The Daily Sentinel, November 24, 1996, retrieved September 13, 2024^
  64. Dana Calvo. Lamb Chop, the Next Generation Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2000^
  65. Ben Ohmart. Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices November 15, 2012, retrieved November 23, 2023^
  66. Gerry Shamray. SHOW ME THE BUNNY - Part 1 of a 2-part interview with Noel Blanc DVDFile, October 24, 2000, retrieved July 31, 2025^
  67. Noel Blanc, Hot Rod & Restoration Trade Show YouTube, November 12, 2017, retrieved April 23, 2025^
  68. Ben Ohmart. Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices November 15, 2012, retrieved November 23, 2023^
  69. More 3D Looney Tunes Shorts On The Way ComingSoon.net, June 8, 2011, retrieved October 29, 2012^
  70. Adam B. Vary. Looney Tunes short with Tweety Bird, Sylvester Entertainment Weekly, November 14, 2011, retrieved October 29, 2012^
  71. Bugs Bunny Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, retrieved June 28, 2012^
  72. Mel Blanc, Philip Bashe. That's Not All, Folks! Warner Books, 1988^
  73. (Page 96 (1/2), Page 96 (2/2)) Joe Alaskey. That's Still Not All Folks! BearManor Media, 2009^
  74. Melvin the Mouth by Katherine Blanc (Author); Jeffrey Ebbeler (Illustrator) Penguin Random House Canada, retrieved April 24, 2025^
  75. Melvin The Mouth by Katherine Blanc - PenguinRandomHouse.com YouTube, September 2, 2017, retrieved April 25, 2025^
  76. Melvin the Mouth by Katherine Blanc Google Play, retrieved April 25, 2025^
  77. Melvin the Mouth by Katherine Blanc Audiobooks.com, retrieved April 25, 2025^
  78. Melvin the Mouth by Katherine Blanc · Audiobook preview YouTube, February 10, 2024, retrieved April 25, 2025^
  79. Kamden Spies. Cartoon Characters On Radio, Part IV — More From Mel Blanc Cartoon Research, January 13, 2025, retrieved May 14, 2025^
  80. Ohmart, Ben; Mitchell, Walt (2012). Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices. Bearmanor Media. ISBN 978-1593937881.^
  81. Keith Scott. Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 1 BearManor Media, October 3, 2022^
  82. Keith Scott. Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2 BearManor Media, October 3, 2022^
  83. A Mel Blanc Discovery Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy, February 18, 2021, retrieved February 20, 2021^
  84. Champagne for Caesar (1950): Full Credits Turner Classic Movies, retrieved March 25, 2016^
  85. Archived copy Behind The Voice Actors, retrieved November 19, 2021^
  86. Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961) The Three Stooges, retrieved November 19, 2021^
  87. Vincent Alexander. The Influence Of Looney Tunes On Live-Action Filmmakers Cartoon Brew, April 24, 2024, retrieved May 30, 2025^
  88. Popular Photography staff. Popular Photography Vol. 88, No. 2 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, February 1981, retrieved May 12, 2025^
  89. Scott Weinberg. NFL Greatest Follies Complete Collection DVD Talk, May 12, 2005, retrieved May 12, 2025^
  90. David M. Sutera. Sports Fans 2.0: How Fans Are Using Social Media to Get Closer to the Game Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, April 25, 2013, retrieved May 11, 2025^
  91. NFL Super Duper Football Follies YouTube, November 28, 2015, retrieved May 12, 2025^
  92. Brian Kelleher, Diana Merrill. The Perry Mason TV Show Book St. Martin's Press, 1987^
  93. George W. Woolery. Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-five Years, 1962-1987 Bloomsbury Academic, 1989, retrieved May 12, 2025^
  94. Thomas S. Hischak. American Literature on Stage and Screen: 525 Works and Their Adaptations McFarland, January 10, 2014, retrieved May 12, 2025^
  95. Gale Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow Gale Cengage Learning, September 15, 2015, retrieved May 12, 2025^
  96. Stuart Fischer. Kids' TV: The First 25 Years Facts on File, 1983, retrieved May 14, 2025^
  97. David Kamp. Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America Simon and Schuster, May 18, 2021, retrieved May 14, 2025^
  98. Chickie Baby Behind The Voice Actors, retrieved January 13, 2022^
  99. Top Five 'Press Your Luck' Moments Programming Insider, September 19, 2017, retrieved March 7, 2025^
  100. Zeta Minor staff. James Doohan 1920-2005 Zeta Minor, July 21, 2005, retrieved May 13, 2025^
  101. Kids First!. The New York Times Guide to the Best Children's Videos Simon and Schuster, November 1999, retrieved May 11, 2025^
  102. David Huckvale. The Piano on Film McFarland, March 2, 2022, retrieved May 11, 2025^
  103. Philip Ross Bullock. Rachmaninoff and His World University of Chicago Press, August 12, 2022, retrieved May 11, 2025^
  104. Mel Blanc Phone Interview as Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig YouTube, February 28, 2018, retrieved March 7, 2024^
  105. Len Lear. Hill ex-TV personality sliding up the pole of success The Chestnut Hill Local, March 8, 2018, retrieved March 7, 2025^
  106. 'May the century begin': History behind Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress ClickOrlando, September 27, 2021, retrieved September 10, 2024^
  107. The Bugs Bunny Merrie Holiday Revue Behind The Voice Actors, retrieved May 15, 2025^
  108. Dazzling New Shows Catch Great America's Spotlight Great America Parks, March 12, 2018, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  109. Foghorn Leghorn show Great America Parks, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  110. Foghorn Leghorn - Show guide front and back Great America Parks, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  111. Pasq. Animatronic Analysis - Creative Presentations YouTube, January 16, 2023, retrieved March 9, 2024^
  112. Gadgets Restaurant Berks Nostalgia, December 28, 2018, retrieved March 9, 2024^
  113. Scott's World; NEWLN: Restaurants serve up Mel Blanc characters United Press International, retrieved March 9, 2024^
  114. William E. Schmidt. NOW, A ROBOT AT THE PIANO The New York Times, July 27, 1984, retrieved March 9, 2024^
  115. Larry Nikolai on Gadgets Facebook, retrieved March 9, 2024^
  116. Jim Korkis. Eating at Bullwinkle's Cartoon Research, November 1, 2021, retrieved May 5, 2025^
  117. Looney Tunes Goin' Hollywood YouTube, September 28, 2008, retrieved November 19, 2023^
  118. "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Capitol Records Discography, 1946–1954". Web.archive.org, Retrieved October 9, 2019.^
  119. "Walter Lantz Capitol Records Discography". Web.archive.org, Retrieved October 9, 2019.^
  120. Greg Ehrbar. 'Bugs Bunny in Storyland': The Good, The Bad, and the Bugs Cartoon Research, January 7, 2014, retrieved October 9, 2019^
  121. "A Birthday Look at Mel Blanc's Woody Woodpecker Records". Cartoon Research, Retrieved October 9, 2019.^
  122. "Daffy Duck's Feathered Friend". Discogs.com, Retrieved October 9, 2019.^
  123. Greg Ehrbar. Bugs Bunny and His Friends on Capitol Records Cartoon Research, July 12, 2016, retrieved October 9, 2019^
  124. Greg Ehrbar. Woody Woodpecker on Records Cartoon Research, September 30, 2014, retrieved October 9, 2019^
  125. Greg Ehrbar. Golden Records' "Bugs Bunny Songfest" (1961) Cartoon Research, November 1, 2016, retrieved October 9, 2019^
  126. Greg Ehrbar. Hanna Barbera's "Magilla Gorilla" on the Record Cartoon Research, January 27, 2015, retrieved October 14, 2019^
  127. Greg Ehrbar. Flintstone Bedtime Stories Cartoon Research, May 13, 2014, retrieved October 14, 2019^
  128. Sam Singer and Hanna-Barbera's "Sinbad Jr." on Records Cartoon Research, retrieved October 14, 2019^
  129. Greg Ehrbar. Hanna-Barbera's "Secret Squirrel" on Records Cartoon Research, July 5, 2016, retrieved October 14, 2019^
  130. Greg Ehrbar. The Day "Alice" Fell Through Her TV: The 1966 HB Special Cartoon Research, March 25, 2014, retrieved October 14, 2019^
  131. Greg Ehrbar. "The Flintstones' Meet The Orchestra Family" (1968) Cartoon Research, November 11, 2014, retrieved October 14, 2019^
  132. #13 Book - Warner Brothers "Bugs Goes To Sea" This Old Toy, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  133. #14 Book - Warner Brothers "The Desert Island" This Old Toy, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  134. #15 Book - Warner Brothers "Looney Tales" This Old Toy, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  135. Greg Ehrbar. Mel Blanc Presents Listening and Learning with Bugs & Friends Cartoon Research, May 28, 2019, retrieved February 27, 2022^
  136. Various – Space Jam (Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture) (1996, CD) Discogs, 1996, retrieved December 25, 2025^