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1-14 of 14
- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Don Messick is a legendary voice actor who spent his entire adult-hood in entertainment. He started out wanting to be a ventriloquist. Thankfully for cartoon lovers that career didn't pan out. How do you think his potential career would've stacked up against Edgar Bergen and later, Paul Winchell? No matter, Messick made his way to the hallowed halls of MGM in the early '50s on the recommendation of another voice actor, Daws Butler. At the time, MGM/Tex Avery were doing the theatrical "Droopy" cartoons. Bill Thompson, known for his hilarious voices on the radio show 'Fibber McGee and Molly', borrowed his Wallace Wimple voice and applied it to Droopy. Whenever Thompson couldn't make it to a session, MGM would ask Daws Butler to fill-in. Daws had been working for MGM since the mid '40s. Later, Daws apparently grew tired of the role and suggested Don Messick be Bill Thompson's fill-in. Butler, it's been said, literally squeezed his cheeks together to try and get that sound for Droopy while Messick simply thickened his tongue and loosened his jaws. Messick made the rounds and did every voice-over role large and small in this era. In 1957 Hanna-Barbera started their own company after departing from MGM...Daws Butler and Don Messick were the two voice actors the animation titans employed during the early days. Don was always heard as the "second banana" character or a walk-on. At various times he was the villain. His voice was heard as the 'narrator' on all of the early Hanna-Barbera cartoons. On "Ruff and Reddy", the duo's first made-for-TV cartoon series, Don was heard as "Ruff" the cat and as the Droopy-sounding "Professor Gizmo". Messick was also the narrator who interracted with the duo and got caught up in the action much like a soap opera announcer on radio. Daws was "Reddy", the dog, among other nameless characters in the show. In this 1957-1966 time span, Don Messick was cast as Daws Butler's voice partner and as the cartoon narrator. "Boo-Boo" was the little friend of "Yogi Bear" who lived in Jellystone Park. Yogi stole "pic-a-nic" baskets while Boo-Boo always tried, unsuccessfully, to steer Yogi to a more safer life always reminding him "the Ranger isn't going to like it, Yogi". The Ranger in question was "Ranger Smith", the park ranger who always chased and stopped Yogi's latest schemes. Messick gave voice to the Ranger. Daws was Yogi. In other programs, Messick was heard as "Pixie Mouse" to Daws Butler's "Dixie Mouse" and "Mr. Jinx". On "Snagglepuss", Messick was always heard as the villain, mostly the befuddled "Major Minor". Daws was Snagglepuss. In Huckleberry Hound, Daws was the star character while Messick usually did the narration as well as played a villain. Messick would later provide the voices of "Astro" and "RUDI" on the Jetsons. As a versatile voice actor, Messick performed a dozen wacky space aliens on the space cartoons of the mid '60s. The gibberish of "Gloop" and "Gleep" on the Herculoids cartoon was Messick. "Blip", "Igoo", "Zorak", "Tundra", and "Zoc" are just a few of the characters that Messick groaned or grunted for in the outer space cartoons...his most famous non-verbal voice is the snickering dog, "Muttley"...later called "Mumbley". "Richochet Rabbit", "Vapor Man", "Falcon 7", "Dr. Benton Quest", and "Multi-Man" are other voices from Messick in that era. In 1969 he provided the voice for his most famous role, "Scooby-Doo". Throughout the '70s and beyond, Messick gave voice to this cowardly great dane. In 1980 he became the voice of nephew, "Scrappy-Doo", while in later versions Daws Butler was on hand as "Scooby-Dum". On the 1977 Laff-a-Lympics cartoon, Messick not only announced the show but he performed some of the characters too. "Papa Smurf" became Messick's biggest original character in the '80s but he remained busy providing voices for his older characters in new Hanna-Barbera productions. Daws Butler and Mel Blanc were also living off their famed characters by reprising the voices in numerous made-for-TV cartoon movies and Saturday morning TV in the late '70s on into the next decade. Messick remained a much-used voice actor and in 1988 ABC announced "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo". Messick was back in the role and voiced the character until it's demise in 1990. His friend and voice partner, Daws Butler, passed away in 1988. In 1989 Mel Blanc passed away leaving Don Messick, June Foray, Stan Freberg, and Paul Winchell as the remaining link to the classic era. In 1989 The Smurfs went out of production. On the new Tiny Toon Adventures, Messick was heard as "Hamton Pig", a role he remained with until his mysterious retirement in 1996 at the age of 69 which was later revealed to be a result of a stroke. Don Messick died in 1997, closing a chapter in animation history in the process.- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Tall, gaunt, rawboned character actor with deep voice, reminiscent of John Carradine. Formal education at Morris Harvey College in Charleston, West Virginia and as Theater Arts major at UCLA. Professional training at American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, and at Max Reinhardt Workshop in Los Angeles. Before attacking Hollywood, he spent several years working in regional theaters from one end of the US to the other, and had built an impressive resume of glowing reviews of his performances in such roles as "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Abe Lincoln in Illinois", "Sir Thomas More" in "A Man For All Seasons", "Henry Drummond" in "Inherit The Wind", "Richard III" and the like, but he was never offered such lofty challenges in films or television. Still, he didn't languish, but instead relished every chance he was given to play for the camera, whether in a quality major studio production or the cheesiest of no-budget fly-by-night productions. When he wasn't acting, he uncovered his typewriter and cranked out teleplays and movie scripts. Perhaps his best-remembered television script was his first, a lighthearted comedy episode of the Bonanza (1959) series, titled Hoss and the Leprechauns (1963). As a writer, he drifted into adapting English-dubbing scripts of foreign films. American producers began buying successful Japanese animated series and dubbing them into English, and Barron was a pioneer in that industry, which grew rapidly and enormously. He became executive director and story editor for "Saban Productions", which in the course of five years became one of the largest producers of children's programming in the world, with such shows as X-Men: The Animated Series (1992) and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
American director, billed early in his career as' Al' Santell. A former architect (graduate of Los Angeles University) he began in the movie industry in 1914 as a general factotum at the Lubinville Studio in Philadelphia before working his way up the ladder to director/scenarist in which capacity he handled one- and two-reel short comedy subjects for Mack Sennett, Hal Roach and at Kalem. Following a brief spell in the army (1918-19) he advanced to supervising manager at Universal and was given his own comedy series (the "Alfred Santell Comedies") which starred a trained chimp named Joe Martin! By 1923, he had progressed to feature film direction and signed a lengthy contract with First National. A renowned light comedy specialist, Santell made an assured transition to sound. In the course of the next 15 years he turned out a string of solid second features -- as well as the occasional "A"-grade release -- for 20th Century-Fox (1929-33), RKO (1934-35), Paramount (1936-42) and United Artists (1943-44).
One of his best talkies was an early entry into the "Dr. Kildare" cycle (that was before MGM picked up the option and made millions from the franchise !). This was Internes Can't Take Money (1937), a slickly made box-office hit with Joel McCrea as the good doc and Barbara Stanwyck as an ex-convict mother. The New York Times critic described Santell's direction as "a blend of [Alfred Hitchcock] suspense and American verve". Other noteworthy highlights in his career include an early version of The Sea Wolf (1930) (starring Jane Keithley who later became Mrs. Santell), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1932), Winterset (1936) (based on the play by Maxwell Anderson), Aloma of the South Seas (1941) and the biopic Jack London (1943). Santell retired in 1946 after directing a couple of B-movies for Republic.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Joseph was born on 1 August 1986 in Bandon, Oregon, USA. He was an actor, known for George of the Jungle (1997) and MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992). He died on 7 July 2008 in Salinas, California, USA.- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Herbert Coleman was born on 12 December 1907 in Bluefield, West Virginia, USA. He was a producer and assistant director, known for North by Northwest (1959), Vertigo (1958) and To Catch a Thief (1955). He was married to Mary Belle. He died on 3 October 2001 in Salinas, California, USA.- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Mike Dinsmore was born on 16 December 1967 in Portland, Maine, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Through the Ashes (2019), Hunter and the Hunted (2016) and The Infinity Project (2018). He died on 14 November 2019 in Salinas, California, USA.- Rae Kidd was born on 15 June 1917 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. She was an actress, known for Unashamed: A Romance (1938). She was married to Rosslynn John Cowen Jr.. She died on 2 April 1962 in Salinas, Monterey County, California, USA.
- Gus Hardin was born on 9 April 1945 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for Gus Hardin: I Pass (1984), Gus Hardin: Wall of Tears (1984) and The Merv Griffin Show (1962). She died on 17 February 1996 in Salina, Oklahoma, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Babatunde Olatunji was born on 7 April 1927 in Ajido, Lagos State, Nigeria. He is known for CHIPS (2017), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) and She's Gotta Have It (1986). He was married to Amy Belle Bush. He died on 6 April 2003 in Salinas, California, USA.- Director
- Writer
Armando Gonzales was born on 22 March 1977 in Salinas, California, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Transcend (2008). He died on 14 March 2006 in Salinas, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jack Simpson was born on 6 September 1905 in Croydon, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Nothing Venture (1948) and Musical Contrasts (1946). He was married to Wilda Ray White, Catherine Louise Cantle and Dot Remy. He died on 6 May 1977 in Salinas, California, USA.- FMM Dboy was born on 3 May 2000 in Salinas, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Lil Chuggz feat. FMM Dboy: Run Up (2018), FMM Dboy feat. AOB Frost: Mud Walking (2018) and FMM Dboy feat. Arod: For the Low (2019). He died on 7 February 2020 in Salinas, California, USA.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
W.H. Echols II was born on 1 April 1947 in the USA. He was a writer, known for I Know My First Name Is Steven (1989). He died on 10 January 2003 in Salinas, California, USA.- Special Effects
- Make-Up Department
Harry Inman was born on 4 September 1964 in Salinas, California. Harry died on 29 January 2011 in Salinas, California, USA.