Fred Jones (Scooby-Doo)

Fred Jones
Scooby-Doo character
First appearance	"What a Night for a Knight" (Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!)
Portrayed by	Freddie Prinze, Jr. (2002 & 2004) Ryan Vrba (2004) Robbie Amell (2009-2010)
Voiced by	Frank Welker (1969–present) Carl Steven (1988–1991) Jim Wise (2011) (Singing)
Information
Species	Human
Gender	Male

Fred "Freddy" Jones is a fictional character in the American television animated series Scooby-Doo, about a quartet of teenage mystery solvers and their Great Dane companion, Scooby-Doo. He is voiced by Frank Welker.

Character description

In all series, Fred wears a blue and/or white shirt and blue jeans. In the original series, Fred wears an orange ascot tie. In the 1990s direct-to-video movies and in the 2000s series What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Fred's outfit was given an update, with the removal of his orange ascot and two blue stripes added to his sleeves. He is often shown constructing various Rube Goldberg traps for villains, which Scooby-Doo or Shaggy would often set off by mistake, causing the villain to be captured in another way. Fred usually takes the lead in solving mysteries. When searching for clues, Fred and Daphne usually go together with Velma coming along, but sometimes Fred and Daphne would pair off, leaving Velma to go with Shaggy and Scooby. Although generally a very nice and handsome guy, Fred can be bossy at times, and will force Shaggy and Scooby to hang around until the mystery is solved.

In A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Fred was depicted as being somewhat less intelligent and was often believing in crazy legends such as Bigfoot and mole people and liked reading a magazine called The National Exaggerator. In each episode, Fred would (often incorrectly) blame the crime on the neighborhood bully, Red Herring (a play on the idiom red herring). This more ditsy and scatterbrained version of Fred was also carried over to What's New, Scooby-Doo? but without his supernatural beliefs. In this teenage version, he is shown to have many interests (obsessions for traps, martial arts, wrestling, and weightlifting).

Development

Fred was inspired by the titular character of the late 1950s/early 1960s American sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, as played by Dwayne Hickman.^[1] Some network sales presentation art from an early version of Scooby-Doo, entitled Who's S-S-Scared?, featured early designs of Fred with brown hair;^[2]

Originally named "Ronnie" when production for Scooby-Doo began in spring 1969,^[3] Fred was named by and after Fred Silverman, who was then head of daytime programming at CBS and a key member of the show's development team.^[4] Frank Welker, a young comedian and impressionist, was asked by the network to audition for the voice of Fred, although he had originally intended to audition for first Scooby-Doo (whom he eventually did get to voice after Don Messick died in 1997) and later Shaggy (Casey Kasem, who was cast as Shaggy, had originally wanted to voice Fred).^[5][6] Being cast as Fred led to the start of a long, prolific career in voice work for Welker, with Scooby-Doo being his first voice acting job.

Fred Jones has been given two different first names. In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays, he is called Frederick,^[7][8] while in Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map, he is called Fredward.^[9] In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, it was revealed that Fred's father Fred Jones Sr. was not in fact his biological father, but instead a man who kidnapped him as a child and raised him as his own son. His biological parents Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves later returned, but Fred continued to use the last name of Jones. In the series finale, when the universe is restarted to where Fred was never raised by Fred Jones Sr., but rather his biological parents, it is never stated what his last name is in the new reality. In Aloha, Scooby-Doo!, his middle name is stated to be Herman.^[10]

Performers

Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Fred in Scooby-Doo.

Robbie Amell as Fred in Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster.

• Frank Welker (1969–1984, 1997–present)
• Carl Steven (A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, 1988–1991)
• Freddie Prinze, Jr. (2002 and 2004)
• Ryan Vbra (2004) Young Fred in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
• Robbie Amell (2009 and 2010 live-action films)
• Jim Wise provides the singing for Fred in Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire.

In Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, Robbie Amell portrays Fred as a brunette rather than a blonde. In the sequel Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster Robbie Amell is once again a brunet, though he does sport the original look of Fred (with the blonde hair) while hiding from the Lake Monster in the tennis shop window. The reason Amell is a brunet is due to the director and Amell believing he would not look good as a blond.^[11] In a deleted scene in the 2002 Scooby-Doo live-action film, it is said that Fred may possibly dye his hair.

Relatives

Relatives of Fred's shown or mentioned during the series include:

• Mayor Frederick Jones Sr.: Fred's illegal "father" in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, voiced by Gary Cole. In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Fred's fake father is the mayor of Crystal Cove. He is self-centered and more interested in his status as town mayor and keeping the town's tourist industry going, something he tries to force on his "son". In the season 1 finale, it is revealed Mayor Jones was masquerading as a monster known as "the Freak of Crystal Cove", and is the person responsible for the disappearance of the original Mystery Incorporated twenty years prior. In order to make sure two members never returned, he took Fred as an infant as blackmail, raising him as his own son. He is later arrested for his crimes. Later, in "Come Undone," he becomes the coach at Crystal Cove High School, and says that he always has loved Fred and feels like a father figure to him.

• Skip and Peggy Jones: Fred's father and mother in the movie Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!.

• Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves: Fred's real father and mother in Mystery Incorporated, voiced by Tim Matheson and Tia Carrere (younger selves voiced by Nolan North and Kari Wahlgren). Both were members of the original Mystery Incorporated searching for the haunted treasure of Crystal Cove, until they were blackmailed by Mayor Jones into leaving Crystal Cove forever. (see above)

• Eddie Jones: Fred's uncle from A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, voiced by Frank Welker. The publisher of the tabloid newspaper The National Exaggerator.

• The Count von Jones: Fred's uncle who lives in a castle near a factory that makes specialized coffins, and runs a museum. Fred intended to visit him during one episode of What's New Scooby-Doo but was outvoted by the gang, who decided to watch a dog show instead. He is never seen in the series.

• Uncle Karl: Fred's uncle who runs a cheese shop near Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. He is better than Fred at bench-pressing.

• An uncle who is in the United States Air Force and works for a space agency.

• An uncle who is first cymbalist in the United States Marine Corps band.

• A 3 year-old nephew. Mentioned in The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode that guest-starred Monkees member Davy Jones, "The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall".

• Jed Jones: Fred's cousin working for Monstrous, Fright, and Magic. He is voiced by Chris Edgerly in Scooby-Doo! Unmasked.

Reception to relationship with Daphne

Members of the fanbase of the Scooby Doo series speculated that Fred and Daphne Blake had a romantic attraction to one another.^[6][12] The makers of the Scooby-Doo film originally planned to refer to the rumor by including a scene where Fred asks to stay with Daphne, using a toothbrush to imply that he wanted to stay with Daphne for the night. The scene was not included in the final version of the film.^[12] In Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost, Daphne and Velma both inquire as to why Fred always wants to split up with Daphne, and Daphne visibly becomes jealous when Fred is enamored by Thorn, the lead singer of The Hex Girls. In Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, the two are caught kissing at the beginning of the film, it is later stated by Daphne that they are better off just as friends for the sake of Mystery Incorporated. In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Daphne is in love with Fred, and in the episode "Dead Justice" they have their first kiss and Fred asks her to marry him. In later episodes, the engagement is broken off and their relationship continues to evolve. It is never revealed if they became married or not. In the episode "When the Cicada Calls," they have their first date at the Trap Exhibit 3000.

Coincidentally, both Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. who portrayed Daphne and Fred in the first two live-action movies are married to each other in real life. They have been married since 2002.

References