Talk:Mel Blanc

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[edit] sources

To Maveric149: I just updated Yosemite Sam and Taz.

See this lovely page: http://www.hlla.com/reference/wb.html

My source for Woody Woodpecker wasIMDB

yes, Mel voiced Woody in the first three of his cartoons. Even after he signed an exclusive contract with Warners in 1941, Walter Lantz continued to use a recording of Mel's laugh in later cartoons until 1948, when he sued Lantz because of it. --b. Touch 22:33, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Blanc was known for protecting the rights to his creative skills. He compelled Warner to list his name in the credits ("Voice characterization by...") in a time when studios did not do that. It's fair to say that he was very talented, and knew it. No harm in that. He was great! Wahkeenah 00:04, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Mel Blanc was allergic to carrots, and he worked for more than just Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera. He worked for Walter Lantz, MGM, and Disney as well during the late 1930s and (very) early 1940s. --b. Touch 22:33, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC)

He also worked for Jack Benny, as noted in the article. There was a fair amount of crossover between his characterizations in the cartoons and on the radio. Wahkeenah 00:04, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

As noted on Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner he did not actually ever voice Road Runner, only claimed to. Shouldn't it be removed from the list of characters he voiced? byeee 22:44, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] voice actor template

I temporarily added proposed template User:Who/Voice actor to this article for proposal purposes only. It will be removed after 1 week or fixed if proposed template created. It will not affect readers nor editors, view of the article. Please do not remove. Thank you. <>Who?¿? 03:38, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] category Character actors

A Character actor is NOT a voice actor, or a "cartoon character". It is a supporting actor in a production, it is an actual part. His current filmography does not list any such supporting roles to categorize in Character actors. <>Who?¿? 4 July 2005 22:23 (UTC)

'Tain't my argument, but... Blanc often played "character" parts in the skits in the Jack Benny radio and TV shows. Does that qualify? Wahkeenah 5 July 2005 00:49 (UTC)

[edit] Changed spelling of name

"Born in San Francisco, California, he grew up in Portland, Oregon, attending Lincoln High School. At 16 he changed the spelling of his last name." FROM WHAT?????? Answer: From "Blank," which he disliked for obvious reasons. As a whimsical play on words, Mel named his son "Noel." What's the joke? "Noel Blanc" means "white Christmas" in French. (Answer from Chuck McKibben, former Studio Operations Manager of Mel Blanc Audiomedia, Beverly Hills, CA, now a voiceover artist and teacher in the New York City-Long Island area as of 2006. Stories of the Blanc studio era can be found at VoiceoverIsland.com.)

Adam Holland 22:08, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wife and early years

This article doesn't even mention Mel's wife Estelle! And this article has a lot of interesting info about the penniless nature of Mel's early career. This material would be terrific in helping to flesh out the article; I may work on it when I have time. - Brian Kendig 08:12, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] C-3P0's voice

Blanc was one of literally hundreds of individuals that were auditioned by director George Lucas to provide the voice for the character of C-3PO for his 1977 motion picture Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and it was he who ultimately suggested that the producers utilize mime actor Anthony Daniels' own voice in the role. I recall a Star Wars television special from last year which stated that Stan Freberg was the one who had this idea. Anyone have a reference either way? - Brian Kendig 08:14, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mel Blanc's American Express TV Commercial

I have reverted the last edit by 67.19.229.122 to the previous edit which happens to be by me because at the time American Express did NOT offer any Credit card products, All of their cards were considered to be a Charge card the difference between a Charge card and a credit card is that with a Charge card all charges made must be paid-off in full each month, rather than having revolving credit which carries a balance forward every month which is exactly what a credit card is. It wasn't until the late 1980's/Early 1990's that American Express started to offer any Credit Card products. Misterrick 02:18, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] TV Commercials

Is there a good source to support a mention of voices he did for characters in TV commercials? I'm pretty sure he was the voice of the Frito Bandito, before concerns about cultural insensitivity axed that character. Also I recently saw a VERY early Froot Loops commercial (predating the Paul Frees Ronald Colman-style voice) that was clearly Blanc's voice. Karen | Talk | contribs 21:48, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Inaccuracies in article

This interview with Mel Blanc's son, Noel, sets the record straight about his father's allergy to carrots (he wasn't) and his audition for Star Wars (not true.)

Here is the interview: [1]

72.88.209.138 16:58, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

You're absolutely correct: Blanc didn't audition for Star Wars: A New Hope; that was Stan Freberg. — Cinemaniac (talk) 21:59, 17 November 2007 (UTC)


The famous "Sí...Sy...sew...Sue" routine is incorrect. The responses to the questions by Jack Benny in correct sequence are Si, Sy, Sue, Sew. Si for yes, Sy for his name, Sue for his sisters name, and sew for her occupation.Goodpaster (talk) 02:43, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Make sure you watch the video in Note 2 - slight change there. Blanc wasn't adverse to changing the order of the routine around when it made for a better joke. So not a true inaccuracy, but certainly noteworthy. Thanks. Manway (talk) 03:00, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The name of the routine was "The Little Mexican", or some such. "Sí...Sy...sew...Sue" or "Sí...Sy...Sue...sew" or whatever is just a guideline. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? 03:08, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
That's a great clip. Gentle humor, the kind they don't do anymore. And funny stuff, to us old-timers. And as with any known quantity (the audience knew immediately what was up and laughed in anticipation), they had to keep changing it to keep the audience guessing. "Yes, sir." "Did you say, 'Yes, sir'?" "Sí." There were endless variations on this bit, some of which are described in Blanc's book. This also illustrates well Benny's use of timing. He had no problem with just standing there, striking his famous hand-on-face pose, looking around at nothing in particular, deadpan, waiting as long as necessary for just the right time to do the next line. Other comics such as Johnny Carson and Kelsey Grammer openly cited Benny as an inspiration to their approach to comedy. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? 03:26, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
Two more, if you like the routine. The first one is Jack Benny's last appearance with Mel Blanc on Johnny Carson - and a short older b&w version Manway (talk) 04:03, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
Thank you! Great stuff. A couple of subtleties. One, Carson lighting up on-camera. It was reported that he once told someone privately, in the 1970s, "These things are killing me." Eventually, he was right. Also, I noticed how Benny had such trouble keeping a straight face, regardless (or maybe because of) the countless times they had done that bit. And a third bit, the "English horse" deal. He did the whinny by pressing his finger onto the side of his nose. In the original "Henery Hawk" cartoon, Foghorn Leghorn claims he's a horse, and proceeds to whinny, and is shown using that Blanc technique while doing so. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? 04:22, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Mel Blanc "Happy Rabbit" Mystery on the Way to Solution

I and several other editors are engaging in a discussion and investigation concerning Mel Blanc's use of "Happy Rabbit" as the name of the Bugs Bunny prototype. I think we're getting close to putting "Happy Rabbit" to rest, but anyone is invited to go to my discussion forum [2] and participate in the investigation.

Also, I think the section title "Benny/Bugsy Crossover" is a little odd-sounding. (After all, isn't the article about Blanc?) It probably should be retitled "Benny/Blanc/Bugs Crossover". Or something along those lines. Just a thought. — Cinemaniac (talk) 21:57, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

For the record, the discussion continued here and the case closed here. Conclusion: "Happy Rabbit" = Mel Blanc's fantasy. Cinemaniac (talk • contribs • critique) 00:29, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wrong redirects in character list

I just stumbled across a couple of incorrect redirects--and incomplete info--in the character list. The Wacky Races origin of the Ant Hill Mob was ignored, making a link of them redirects to Perils of Penelope Pitstop, and their Perils car, Chugga-Boom, which replaced the one they drove in the Races, redirects to Races. I've revised the list to eliminate those problems here, but the redirects still exist in the system. I tried to change an incorrect title on an unrelated article--it contained a spelling of the character's name that was a typo in the on-screen graphics in his second and last appearance on the TV series Airwolf, so I changed the article's title to the correct spelling--and caused problems. I changed the other linked usages of the name--all that I could find--but that problem still exists in the system, and I don't want to take the chance of causing another one here. So I simply point out the situation here and ask someone with more experience in such things to fix them. Ted Watson (talk) 21:01, 31 December 2007 (UTC) UPDATE: I see that these have been fixed. Many thanks to whomever! Ted Watson (talk) 19:41, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] FYI

Deleted a bit of the article saying that Blanc appeared using 'only 999 voices, which is really only about 7'. Blanc said himself in numerous interviews that he used about 400 different voices, and saying that this is 'really only about 7' is ludicrous, since as Blanc himself argued, each was clearly recognisable. I don't know what the author of this comment had in mind as to what constitutes a distinct voice, but I would suggest that this is out of left field and better replaced with a more sensible 'factoid'. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.131.156.24 (talk) 21:57, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

The explanation is simple: The one who wrote it is a smart-aleck. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? 01:18, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
What's especially frustrating to me is that I actually didn't revert that myself. I don't know how it got by me, but it did. Thank you, 86.131.156.24. Cinemaniac (talk • contribs • critique) 02:11, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
It happens to the best of us vandal-swatters. Sometimes one o' them li'l gnats slip by. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? 02:26, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
I put it back in, revised for clarity. The passage is and always was expressly referring to a scene in the short Curtain Razor (which was seen out of context as a tribute on TNT when Blanc passed away), in which a turtle claims to talent agent Porky Pig that he has a thousand voices, and then demonstrates. Porky then tells him he did only 999, and the turtle walks out, promising the pig, "I'll get it!" Mel actually does only about seven voices here; for example, Foghorn Leghorn's can clearly be heard several times. Vandalism it ain't! Ted Watson (talk) 20:46, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
Now that you mention it, I think I remember that short. Wasn't that one directed by Robert McKimson, 'cause I recall the film using his design of Porky, what with the bowtie and all. I can also remember caricatures of Al Jolson and Bing Crosby appearing, trying to land a job. Yeah! I do remember! Sorry. . . you're right: It wasn't vandalism. Cinemaniac (talk • contribs • critique) 22:35, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

For the record, IMDb credits it to Friz, but, yeah, you've got it. Ted Watson (talk) 20:32, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Even though WillOakland deleted this and several other tidbits from the "Homages and tributes" section, I went ahead and re-inserted a lot of that information back in, as it wasn't trivial and in fact carried encyclopedic weight. Cinemaniac (talk • contribs • critique) 00:24, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Will Oakland needs to be less sharp with his knife. I reverted his earlier chop and cut. Manway (talk) 00:53, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

If you'd like, you can join in this discussion at Ted Watson's talk page; there, you will find a link to two other discussions concerning WillOakland's more-or-less nonconstructive edits. Cinemaniac (talk • contribs • critique) 01:03, 17 February 2008 (UTC)