For our unKnown actor this week, we have a man of many voices and accents. He has been featured in many different Disney films over a span of 20 years playing several characters that Disney fans have grown to love. This man is Bill Thompson, born July 8, 1913 in Indiana and died July 15, 1971 in Los Angeles. Besides his Disney roles, Bill is also known for providing the lovable monotone voice for Droopy the dog in all of his cartoons throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
Bill’s bit with Disney started in 1951 with Alice in Wonderland. He voiced the frantic White Rabbit and the know-it-all Dodo.
The same year, he was in the Walt Disney Christmas Show, which was a TV movie, as the character Willoughby.
1953 was Bill’s next voice stint, bringing the gullible yet lovable Mr. Smee to life in Peter Pan. He also voiced a few of the other pirates as needed, though he was not credited for them.
In the 1953 short Ben and Me, Bill gave his voice to some of the background characters and to Governor Keith.
Lady and the Tramp (1955) would not be the same without Bill’s voice talents because he did a handful of the characters in that film! His main character was the scotty dog Jock, but he also voiced Bull the Bull Terrier, the Policeman at the Zoo, Dachsie and Joe.
Four years later, we hear him in Sleeping Beauty, giving a voice to Prince Phillip’s father, King Hubert.
There was a long break before his next Disney film, which came as a short film in 1967. He voiced Scrooge McDuck in Scrooge McDuck and Money.
There were two characters that Bill brought to Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color throughout its broadcast. Those characters were Ranger J Audubon Woodlore and an Ajax Employment Agency Proprietor.
Bill’s last Disney film came the year before his death, in 1970, where he had a short yet memorable voice part as Uncle Waldo in The Aristocats. It was a small part, but I know that is one that my sister and I laugh at every time we watch it! "Neighbourhood!!"
I hope you are enjoying reading about all of the different actors throughout Disney history and how they shared their many talents with us and future generations!
Showing posts with label Lady and the Tramp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lady and the Tramp. Show all posts
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
unKNOWN Actors: Barbara Luddy
The actress we are going to talk about today is special because today, she would have been 103 years old! Barbara Luddy, Born May 25, 1908 in Montana and died April 1, 1979 in LA, is a very familiar and distinctive Disney voice that we must celebrate!
Barbara got her start with Disney in 1955 providing the voice for the adorably proper Lady in Lady and the Tramp.
In 1959, Barbara was called to record for Sleeping Beauty. She was the loveable yet stubborn good fairy, Merryweather. (For those of you who know the fairies by their color, she’s the blue one!)
She had a small part in 1961’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians, giving a little voice to the puppy Rover.
Her biggest and most repeated role came in 1966 when she was asked to voice loving mother figure, Kanga, in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. She also voiced Kanga in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974) and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
There was one more movie that Barbara was in, and that was 1973’s Robin Hood. She voiced the Mother Rabbit and Mother Church Mouse.
Barbara had a sweet and fun voice and I know that I really enjoy hearing her in her movies. I hope this will help you to pick out this birthday girl’s voice the next time you watch these movies!
Barbara got her start with Disney in 1955 providing the voice for the adorably proper Lady in Lady and the Tramp.
In 1959, Barbara was called to record for Sleeping Beauty. She was the loveable yet stubborn good fairy, Merryweather. (For those of you who know the fairies by their color, she’s the blue one!)
She had a small part in 1961’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians, giving a little voice to the puppy Rover.
Her biggest and most repeated role came in 1966 when she was asked to voice loving mother figure, Kanga, in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. She also voiced Kanga in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974) and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
There was one more movie that Barbara was in, and that was 1973’s Robin Hood. She voiced the Mother Rabbit and Mother Church Mouse.
Barbara had a sweet and fun voice and I know that I really enjoy hearing her in her movies. I hope this will help you to pick out this birthday girl’s voice the next time you watch these movies!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The Wonderful World of Disney Web- Nov 15 to 21
I have realized that there are so many wonderful Disney related events on the internet during the week, that it is hard for people to keep them all straight! Because of this, I have decided to start The Wonderful World of Disney Web (WWDW), a weekly post where I will list everything I know that is going on that week related to Disney. Here is what I know is coming This week:
Monday, November 15
Do you have a favorite Disney event that is not listed here? Do you have an event going on this week or coming up that you would like me to add to the Wonderful World of Disney Web Schedule? Send me an email at lady_aurora_yensid@hotmail.com or send me a tweet to http://twitter.com/lady_aurora and I would be happy add it to the list!
Monday, November 15
- 1:00 PM Eastern- Cosmic Reid's Starlight Cafe- Listen at www.magicalmouseradio.com for 90 minutes of great Disney music and AMAZING Disney interviews hosted by "Cosmic" Chris Reid! You can join his chatroom during the show as well at http://cosmicreid.com/
- 8:30 PM Eastern- Ryan Kilpatrick's TweetWatch: Lady and the Tramp - Join the Friendfeed at http://friendfeed.com/disneyfilmproject to chat and watch the movie with lots of Disney friends!
- 8:00 PM Eastern- Live Recording of innermouse- Go to http://keithbarrett.com/tv/ to see and chat with the hosts of innermouse as they make this week's episode
- 7:30 PM Eastern- WDW Radio NewsCast- Lou Mongello fills you in on all of the lastest Disney news live via webcam. Click Here to find out more about NewsCast and Go to http://WDWNewsCast.com to join in the NewsCast live!
- 8:00 PM Eastern- Be Our Guest Podcast November Live Show- Every month, the awesome members of the Be Our Guest Podcast have a live show with chat and call-ins! To join the chat, go to BeOurGuestMike's Friendfeed and to listen to the entire Live Show, tune in to www.magicalmouseradio.com
Do you have a favorite Disney event that is not listed here? Do you have an event going on this week or coming up that you would like me to add to the Wonderful World of Disney Web Schedule? Send me an email at lady_aurora_yensid@hotmail.com or send me a tweet to http://twitter.com/lady_aurora and I would be happy add it to the list!
Friday, November 12, 2010
A Fun Evening In for Disney Fans
A friend of mine on twitter, Ryan Kilpatrick, has an awesome blog that, if you have not checked it out yet, you are missing out!! It is called Disney Film Project and, as the title may suggest, it is all about Disney films. Not just feature films either, but shorter works as well! Ryan has a goal to watch all of the Disney theatrical films, both feature and short, in one year. He does make a disclaimer that it may take more than a year, and, I will admit, I hope it does because following along and learning about different films with him is just too much fun!!
He has been able to make his experience interactive thanks to Friendfeed. Ryan schedules what he calls a TweetWatch, where whoever wants to join in can go to his blog's FriendFeed account (http://friendfeed.com/disneyfilmproject) and watch a movie with him! Ryan picks a Disney movie for that day, learns lots of different facts about it and while everyone watches the movie together, he tells us facts about it. It is a great learning experience and a fun way to spend the evening interacting with fellow Disney fans. Having been able to take part in several of these TweetWatches, I have gotten hooked on the experience and look forward to the evenings when it takes place, which is usually a Monday evening.
If you are interested in joining in on one of these TweetWatches, your first opportunity is this Monday, November 15th at 8:30pm Eastern. The movie this week is Lady and the Tramp, one of my all-time favorites, which I am very excited for! To join in the fun, just have the movie on the menu screen and join the DisneyFilmProject's FriendFeed and wait for the signal from Ryan to press "Play" and begin the movie.
Click here for a full schedule of TweetWatch movies for the next few weeks and check back to Ryan's site frequently to learn about all of the great shorts he watches throughout his film project journey: http://disneyfilmproject.blogspot.com/. Follow Ryan on twitter at Twitter.com/RyanKilpatrick
He has been able to make his experience interactive thanks to Friendfeed. Ryan schedules what he calls a TweetWatch, where whoever wants to join in can go to his blog's FriendFeed account (http://friendfeed.com/disneyfilmproject) and watch a movie with him! Ryan picks a Disney movie for that day, learns lots of different facts about it and while everyone watches the movie together, he tells us facts about it. It is a great learning experience and a fun way to spend the evening interacting with fellow Disney fans. Having been able to take part in several of these TweetWatches, I have gotten hooked on the experience and look forward to the evenings when it takes place, which is usually a Monday evening.
If you are interested in joining in on one of these TweetWatches, your first opportunity is this Monday, November 15th at 8:30pm Eastern. The movie this week is Lady and the Tramp, one of my all-time favorites, which I am very excited for! To join in the fun, just have the movie on the menu screen and join the DisneyFilmProject's FriendFeed and wait for the signal from Ryan to press "Play" and begin the movie.
Click here for a full schedule of TweetWatch movies for the next few weeks and check back to Ryan's site frequently to learn about all of the great shorts he watches throughout his film project journey: http://disneyfilmproject.blogspot.com/. Follow Ryan on twitter at Twitter.com/RyanKilpatrick
Friday, July 23, 2010
unKNOWN Actors: Verna Felton
Have you ever been watching a Disney movie and you hear a voice that sounds familiar to you, but you are not sure why? Maybe you have ridden an attraction in a Disney park and heard a voice that you know you heard before, but you are not sure where you heard it or whose voice it is? Well, this blog series is here to change all that! I want to expose the unknown voice artists throughout Disney and show you how well you actually do know them!
Disney is known for reusing actors for different voice parts. When they hear a voice they like why should they change it? It’s because of this that you may hear one voice and people in the room can name multiple characters with that voice.
The first actress we are going to look at is Verna Felton. She was born in Salinas, California on July 20th of 1890 and died in Hollywood December 14, 1966. She was a very famous television and radio actress, but this is probably not why Disney fans would know her.
The first time Disney fans would see….or rather, hear Verna was in 1941 as the Elephant Matriarch, aka the mean elephant with the red headdress, in Dumbo. Fun fact: Mrs. Jumbo’s one line, “Jumbo Junior” was also said by Verna.
It would be 9 years until we hear Verna again, but in a much different part, playing the bubbly Fairy Godmother in Cinderella.
The next year, Verna reprised her role as a villain of sorts by playing the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, using her powerful voice to belt out such famous lines as “Off with her head!”
She had a very small part in Peter Pan, doing the voice for Squaw, the large native woman who tells Wendy to "get ‘em Firewood!"
In 1955, she is the voice for Aunt Sarah, the pushy bossy aunt who owns the Siamese Cats in Lady and the Tramp.
After a few years, she is heard as the self-appointed leader of the good fairies and lover of the color pink, Flora in Sleeping Beauty.
Right after Sleeping Beauty, she provided the voice for Eloise in Goliath II, a smaller Disney production.
Verna held so much talent and lent her voice to some memorable Disney characters. Even though she sadly died in 1966, she was able to share her talents with one more Disney character, and fittingly, it was with the same type of character with which she got her Disney start! The year after her death, she was heard as Winifred, the wife of Captain Haiti in The Jungle Book, an elephant.
When a typical Disney fan hears the name Verna Felton, they may not recognize the name, but all you have to do is play her voice and they immediately could name at least one of her characters. The villain roles seemed to fit her shrill, powerful voice, while for the Fairy Godmother and Flora, she had a bit softer voice.
There are quite a few people who have such a long Disney record, but no one knows of them! I hope to be able to share their names and talents with you! Let us know if there are any actors or actresses who should be featured in this article and if you have any questions, just send me an email!
Disney is known for reusing actors for different voice parts. When they hear a voice they like why should they change it? It’s because of this that you may hear one voice and people in the room can name multiple characters with that voice.
The first actress we are going to look at is Verna Felton. She was born in Salinas, California on July 20th of 1890 and died in Hollywood December 14, 1966. She was a very famous television and radio actress, but this is probably not why Disney fans would know her.
The first time Disney fans would see….or rather, hear Verna was in 1941 as the Elephant Matriarch, aka the mean elephant with the red headdress, in Dumbo. Fun fact: Mrs. Jumbo’s one line, “Jumbo Junior” was also said by Verna.
It would be 9 years until we hear Verna again, but in a much different part, playing the bubbly Fairy Godmother in Cinderella.
The next year, Verna reprised her role as a villain of sorts by playing the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, using her powerful voice to belt out such famous lines as “Off with her head!”
She had a very small part in Peter Pan, doing the voice for Squaw, the large native woman who tells Wendy to "get ‘em Firewood!"
In 1955, she is the voice for Aunt Sarah, the pushy bossy aunt who owns the Siamese Cats in Lady and the Tramp.
After a few years, she is heard as the self-appointed leader of the good fairies and lover of the color pink, Flora in Sleeping Beauty.
Right after Sleeping Beauty, she provided the voice for Eloise in Goliath II, a smaller Disney production.
Verna held so much talent and lent her voice to some memorable Disney characters. Even though she sadly died in 1966, she was able to share her talents with one more Disney character, and fittingly, it was with the same type of character with which she got her Disney start! The year after her death, she was heard as Winifred, the wife of Captain Haiti in The Jungle Book, an elephant.
When a typical Disney fan hears the name Verna Felton, they may not recognize the name, but all you have to do is play her voice and they immediately could name at least one of her characters. The villain roles seemed to fit her shrill, powerful voice, while for the Fairy Godmother and Flora, she had a bit softer voice.
There are quite a few people who have such a long Disney record, but no one knows of them! I hope to be able to share their names and talents with you! Let us know if there are any actors or actresses who should be featured in this article and if you have any questions, just send me an email!
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