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Mel Blanc

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Melvin Jerome Blanc was a legendary American voice actor and radio personality. His career lasted for over sixty years. He earned the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Voices."

Mel Blanc 1976 2
Mel Blanc 1976 2

Blanc is most famous for his work during the golden age of American animation. He provided the voices for many iconic Looney Tunes characters at Warner Bros. His ability to create distinct personalities through sound changed the entertainment industry. He is considered one of the most influential voice actors of all time.

Blanc's career began in the Golden Age of Radio. He started performing at age 19 in 1927 on a program called The Hoot Owls. He was skilled at providing multiple character voices and vocal sound effects.

Jack Benny group photo
Jack Benny group photo

In 1935, he joined Warner Bros.-owned KFWB in Hollywood. A major turning point occurred on The Jack Benny Program. A recording of a car sound failed to play during a live broadcast. Blanc improvised the sounds of the automobile himself. The audience loved his performance so much that the show kept him in that role. By 1942, he could perform over fifty-seven different voices, dialects, and intricate sound effects.

In 1936, Blanc joined Leon Schlesinger Productions to work on theatrical cartoon shorts. He was introduced to directors like Tex Avery and Friz Freleng.

He initially voiced Porky Pig's friends in the 1937 short Picador Porky. He soon took over the starring role for Porky Pig. He also voiced the debut of Daffy Duck in Porky's Duck Hunt. Blanc became the primary vocal artist for a vast array of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters. These included Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety, Yosemite Sam, and Wile E. Coyote. He even voiced the Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales.

Blanc's work extended beyond Warner Bros. to other major studios. He voiced the first four Woody Woodpecker shorts for Universal Pictures from 1940 to 1941. His only appearance at Disney was providing the hiccups for Gideon the Cat in Pinocchio. During World War II, he voiced Private Snafu. This character appeared in shorts designed to train recruited soldiers. Later, he worked with director Chuck Jones to provide screams for Tom and Jerry. These vocal effects were used in 34 short films between 1963 and 1967.

Blanc was a pioneer regarding professional recognition for voice actors. In the early days, voice actors rarely received screen credits. Blanc fought to change this through his contract. By 1944, his contract with Warner Bros. required a credit for "Voice characterization(s) by Mel Blanc." Initially, this credit only applied to cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny. In March 1945, the contract was amended to include Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. By the end of 1946, he received credit for almost all his subsequent Warner Bros. work. He also took legal action to protect the rights to his characterizations.

As television grew, Blanc transitioned to providing voices for Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

Mel Blanc 1976 2
Mel Blanc 1976 2

He voiced Barney Rubble and Dino on The Flintstones. He also voiced Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons. Other roles included Secret Squirrel, Speed Buggy, and Captain Caveman. His influence even reached advertising, as he was the first voice for Toucan Sam in Froot Loops commercials. He continued to voice Looney Tunes characters for various television shows and compilation movies well into the 1970s.

Blanc's life included personal challenges and remarkable resilience. He was born in San Francisco in 1908 to Jewish-American parents. He changed the spelling of his name from Blank to Blanc at age 16. He did this after a teacher told him he would amount to nothing like his name. In 1961, he survived a serious head-on car collision on Sunset Boulevard. The accident left him in a coma with fractured legs and a fractured pelvis. While at the UCLA Medical Center, neurologists tried addressing him through his characters. They asked him how he was feeling as if he were Bugs Bunny. This approach helped him respond to his surroundings during his recovery.

Mel Blanc 4-15-05
Mel Blanc 4-15-05
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File:Mel Blanc 1976 2.jpg
Mel Blanc 1976 2.jpg
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Mel Blanc 4-15-05.JPG
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