One of the most familiar voices from my childhood is that of Paul Winchell, who has given life to Disney’s version of A.A. Milne’s classic character from Winnie the Pooh… the bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy Tigger.
I am sad to learn thath is voice will no longer be heard in the Hundred Acre Wood.
To lose Thurl Ravenscroft and Paul Winchell within the space of a few weeks… makes me appreciate even more those who gave personality and voice to characters that made a difference to me as a child. Sterling Holloway, Pat Buttram, Mel Blanc, Jim Henson, Frank Oz…
Who are your favorite character voice talents?
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.