At every single one of Anne Overstreet’s poetry readings, I sit there in a mix of amazement, wonder, and joy that I have the privilege of being more than just a fan.
Tonight, she knocked out another crowd of poetry listeners with some of her graceful, generous poetry. In this city of poets who tend to be angry, bitter, excessively and narrowly political, and obsessed with sexuality, Anne’s works are examples of grace, eloquence, beauty, and mystery. They turn my eyes upward instead of downward, and they sensitize my spirit instead of hammering into stone.
It was a wonderful evening, and I thank everyone who turned up to support Anne at the Victrola. You were a great crowd, and made the evening as enjoyable for Anne as it was for the rest of us.
Special thanks to Amber, the brains behind the poetry journal called Cranky.
Most of ’em are dead. Meaning, of course, Mel Blanc.
But I always thought of the voices for the Simpsons as being one of their strongest qualities. Homer, much like Bugs, et. al., should not be attempted on the occasion that the original voice talent passes (either from this life to the next, or from an ending of contract). The same should go for Fred Flintstone (how do you top that gravelly, Jackie Gleason-inspired voice?) and a few others.
But if you wanna continue with the voices of Shaggy and the gang, go for it, be my guest.
Animators, please hire more voice talents. Stop getting actors who look pretty but don’t know how to use their voc boxes (i.e., Mike Meyers and Cameron Diaz.).
Actually, as I discovered when blogging this myself, Winchell hadn’t been the voice of Tigger since the late ’90s. Jim Cummings has been providing the voices of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger in all those big-screen sequels we’ve seen lately, including The Tigger Movie (2000).
Oh, and the voice of Piglet died the day after Winchell died, too, FWIW.
Outside of Mel Blanc (whose example inspired me to imitate him and develop my own impressions), I’m going to add the names of Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. Great comedians (whose work I’ve discovered later in life but still love), and…oh, good grief, who else? Oh, yeah: the first child actor to voice Linus in the Charlie Brown specials. He’s not active anymore that I know of, but he nailed Linus perfectly. Also, Dave Goelz (Gonzo the Great). My favorite Muppet character.