Voice in "Super Rabbit"

[Maxie Zeus]

Can anyone confirm or disconfirm that Richard Hayden (probably best known as Uncle Max in "The Sound of Music") did the voice of Professor Canafrazz (if I'm remembering it right) in Bugs Bunny's "Super Rabbit"? I saw Hayden on an episode of "The Dick van Dyke Show" and he gave his character that very voice.

[Matt Yorston]

Nope. It was Dick Nelson, probably doing a Hadyn impersonation (I'm getting this information from a book I mentioned in another post of mine here. Nelson probably also did the Gildersleeve impression in "Hare Conditioned" as well).

[Andrew Gilmore]

Originally posted by Matt Yorston
Nope. It was Dick Nelson, probably doing a Hadyn impersonation (I'm getting this information from a book I mentioned in another post of mine here. Nelson probably also did the Gildersleeve impression in "Hare Conditioned" as well).

*$@! I was always under the impression it was BLANC!

[Matt Yorston]

It was Blanc... but only for one scene. There is a scene in the cartoon where Bugs appears to be raising his hands (as if to surrender) from behind a counter. Gildersleeve chortles, "Heh. Now I'll finish you off!" and it is indeed Blanc's voice doing the character. My guess is Nelson did the impression for the majority of the cartoon but couldn't make it for one scene (for reasons unknown) so they subbed Blanc for it. It may also be the same case with the wolf in "The Windblown Hare". Certain sources say that Jim Backus did the wolf's voice but it sounds like Blanc in an awful lot of scenes from it.

[Patrick McCart]

The Internet Movie Database says it was Haydn. I think it was since he did some other cartoon voices around that time.

[Greg Method]

<< It may also be the same case with the wolf in "The Windblown Hare". Certain sources say that Jim Backus did the wolf's voice but it sounds like Blanc in an awful lot of scenes from it. >>

Backus is doing the wolf in his first scene, in which he's practicing his lines. "I'll blow your house dooown..." I'm can't recall exactly when it switches over to Mel, but it seems to come early.

[Paul Penna]

Originally posted by Patrick McCart
The Internet Movie Database says it was Haydn. I think it was since he did some other cartoon voices around that time.

You do realize that the imdb says whatever it is the last schmoe told it to say. I say this as an imdb-inputting schmoe (retired) myself. Back when I was doing that, I was aghast at one point when some other schmoe suddenly input Mel Blanc as a voice credit in *every single* WB cartoon ever made, and also that they were *all* in color. I managed to get that changed.

[Andrew Gilmore]

Originally posted by Greg Method
<< It may also be the same case with the wolf in "The Windblown Hare". Certain sources say that Jim Backus did the wolf's voice but it sounds like Blanc in an awful lot of scenes from it. >>

Backus is doing the wolf in his first scene, in which he's practicing his lines. "I'll blow your house dooown..." I'm can't recall exactly when it switches over to Mel, but it seems to come early.

My guess is Backus couldn't do that, "AND I'LL BLBLBLBLLLOOOWWW YOUR HOUSE DOWN!"

[SJC]

I think it is Richard Haydn (Shep Menken was the voice of the similiar Clyde Crashcup on 1961's ALVIN).

Speaking of voices, here are some that may surprise you (I think the book Matt Yortston alluded to was the Hames Ware book on cartoon shorts)
Warners
SWOONER CROONER (1944): Animator Richard Bickenback (Bing Crosby rooster)
HARE RIBBIN' (1944): Comedian Sammy Wolf (the dog)
ROUGHLY SQUEAKING (1946): Dick Nelson (Hubie) and Stan Frberg (Bertie). Voice of cat is unknown but of cxourse Mel is the dog and bird
RACKETEER RABBIT (1946): Dick Nelson (both Peter Lorre and Edward G.Robinson)
A B IRTH OF A NOTION (1947): Tedd Pierce (dog, based on Billy Gilbert) and Dick Nelson (Peter Lorre)
SLICK HARE (1947) Dave Barry* (Bogart)
LONG-HAIRED HARE (1949) Nicolai Shuturov (Gionni Jones)
EACH DAWN I CROW (1949): Frank Graham (Narrator)
WHAT'S UP DOC (1950) Dave Barry (probaly just about every celeb)
HOMELESS HARE (1950) John Smith (construction guy)
HILLBILLY HARE (1950) John T.Smith (dopey hillbilly, Mel is the other)
8 BALL BUNNY (1950)-John Smith (Hobo), Norman Nesbitt (Man drinking milt julep in New Orleans, Louisana), and Dave Barry* (Hobo)
CORN PLASTERED (1951) Pat Patrick (Crow)
CHOW HOUND (1950) John T.Smith (Dog), and possibly Sterling Holloway (zookeeper)
THE SUPER SNOOPER )10952) Benjamin Frommer (butler), Arthur Q>?Bryan (voice on phone)
THERE AUTO BE A LAW (1953) John Smith (narrator)
GOO GOO GOLIATH (1954) Norm Nesbitt (Narrator)
LUMBER JACK RABBIT (1954,3-D) Norm Nesbutt (Narrator and Paul Bunyan)
FROM A TO ZZZZ (1954) Nomran Nesbutt (Ralph's dad, the diver, alongside Dick Beals, Bea Benadaeret and Mel Blanc)
A KIDDIE'sS KITTY (1955) Lucille Bliss (Suzanne)
A WAGGILY TALE (1958) Lucille Bliss (little girl)
UNNATURAL HISTORY (1959) Edward Prentiss (scinentist who is the narrator)
and here's one more...
ONE FROGGY EVENING (saviong thsi 1955 one for last)
Bill Roberts, not Terrence Monck (Frog)

MGM
GEORGE AND JUNIOR series: Dick Nelson does BO)TH George and Junyor.
SCREWY SQUIRELL Wally Maher
MGM and apparently WB used Harlow Wilcox a number of times.

[SJC]

Regarding "Winblown Hare" about 50 percent is Backsua dn other 50 is Blanc.

Similiarly, "A Hick, A Slick, and a Chick: had Stan Freberg as the goofy country bumpkin mouse Elmo until he got drunk whereupon Mel took over, but that's no surprise since to paraphrase Carly Simon (how ironic since I am watching Sean Connery in ENTRAPMENT and he was in SPY WHO LOVED ME), Nobody does it better than Mel Blacn when it comes to doing drunk voices (Spike Jones had he not died would have told you about Mel's drunken voices..as would have Walt Disnery!)

This was common practice,too...Lionel Stander, Phillip Kramer and Frank Graham did the Fagin character (supplementing) my list below) in 1938's FAGINB's FRESHMEN

[SJC]

Re:my list
*The Dave Barry alluded to us a Las Vegas impressionist active since thw 1930s. He was on ED SULLIVAN and PINK PANTHER and is NOT the equally sidespl,iting syndicated Pulitzer prise (or Pullet Surprise) winning humor columinst.

[BobChief]

The columnist Barry wasn't born until sometime in 1949.

[Greg Method]

<< RACKETEER RABBIT (1946): Dick Nelson (both Peter Lorre and Edward G.Robinson) >>

That's Mel doing Lorre.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by Greg Method
<< RACKETEER RABBIT (1946): Dick Nelson (both Peter Lorre and Edward G.Robinson) >>

That's Mel doing Lorre.

I've often wondered about the Lorre characterizations. The voice work in "Birth of a Notion" has always sounded much closer to the real Lorre than the work in "Racketeer Rabbit," which does sound quite a bit like Blanc.

[DR. BELCH]

In Chuck Jones' Bear family shorts, it's Bea Benaderet (you may know her best as Betty Rubble) as Mama and Stan Freberg as Junior. Now...is that Blanc as Papa, or the same actor who did Brody in one of the Bugs Bunny shorts (who I believe also did Pete in early Disney shorts)? If it's the latter, then that means Blanc didn't do word one in several shorts he recieves billing for on the title card ("Bear Feat" at least, and maybe some or all of the others)....

[Jack]

Blanc did Papa's voice in "Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears," Billy Bletcher supposedly did all the rest, as well as a bunch of other voices in the late 40s and early 50s.

I'll have to fix my Hubie and Bertie page, I have believed Blanc and Freberg did the voices in all those cartoons.


Jack:D

[Greg Method]

<< I've often wondered about the Lorre characterizations. The voice work in "Birth of a Notion" has always sounded much closer to the real Lorre than the work in "Racketeer Rabbit," which does sound quite a bit like Blanc. >>

Lorre seems to be the impression that gave Warner Bros. the most trouble casting, since it would almost always be diferent. Blanc did him in both "Racketeer Rabbit" and "Hair-Raising Hare" (not counting when Daffy would do that "A-heh...a-heh" laugh in some McKimson shorts).

I suppose it could be Dick Nelson in "Birth of a Notion," although Stan Freberg was known to do Lorre (in fact, that was one of the voices he did during his audition at the studio).