John Stephenson (actor)

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John Stephenson (born August 9, 1923 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is an American voice actor. He has also been credited as "John Stevenson." For several decades, Stephenson worked for Hanna-Barbera Productions, providing supporting voices for many of its 1960s and 1970s animated television series, including Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, Top Cat, Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, and Jonny Quest, among many others. Stephenson's most notable role for Hanna-Barbera was as the voice of Mr. Slate, Fred Flintstone's hard-edged boss at Slate Rock and Gravel Company, from the original The Flintstones series up through to the present. During the 1980s, he contributed to notable cartoons of the period such as The Smurfs, Galaxy High and G. I. Joe. John also voiced Huffer, Windcharger,Thundercracker, and Alpha Trion from the 1980s mega-hit The Transformers and took over the role of Kup for the show's third season (the character was voiced by Lionel Stander in Transformers: The Movie). He even appeared in a cameo role when he played the minister to Fred & Wilma's marriage in the Flintstones' Viva Rock Vegas movie.

Stephenson is perhaps best known, however, as the narrator in the classic television series Dragnet (1967-1970), in which he uttered the words "Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to see is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." John reprised his role of Luke from Wacky Races in the Wacky Races video game.