Man of a Thousand Voices

It’s said that voice actor Mel Blanc had the most recognizable voice in the world. I find that believable. Many previous famous voices (Walter Cronkite, Jack Benny, Peter Lorre) are no longer known by recent generations, but Mel Blanc’s gifts are being enjoyed this minute by children around the globe. I’d wager that just thinking of the lyrics “Oh, Brunhilda, your so wuvley!” “Yes, I know it! I can’t help it,” brings a smile to your face.

Blanc was, moreover, master of all he surveyed, conquering radio, TV, movies, records and animation. To take radio for an example, Blanc created his own show, The Mel Blanc Show and, earlier, had roles in at least three hit radio shows at the same time (around 15 radio show episodes a week), requiring him to hurry from one production company to another every weekday: Fibber McGee and Molly, The Jack Benny Program and The Great Gildersleeve.

Mel Blanc: Man of a Thousand Voices does a great job trying to cram as much info about Blanc into its 70 minute running time as possible, but there’s still much left out (did you know, for example, that Blanc’s voice was the sound of the Monkees’ Monkeemobile?). The documentary features commentary and remembrances from Blanc (the core of the film), but also interviews many of the late Blanc’s family, friends and colleagues, including his (voice-acting) son, Noel, voice actors Tom Kenny (Spongebob), Stan Freberg, June Foray, Billy West and Gary Owens, plus Terry Gilliam, Kirk Douglas and other top talents.

The restless Blanc was treading new ground even before his career as a voice actor: at the age of 17, Blanc became the youngest orchestra leader in the country, while at the same time performing in vaudeville on the west coast. After years of trying to get work at Warner Bros., he finally got in in 1937 and ended up voicing nearly every major WB cartoon character, some of them till the end of his life: Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Sylvester, Porky Pig, Speedy Gonzales, Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Wile E. Coyote, even the Tasmanian Devil, plus Woody Woodpecker and Tom and Jerry for other production companies. He was the first voice actor to receive on-screen credit for his voice. He wasn’t just a voice man, but a great actor: he gave the characters distinct personalities.

The documentary makes the case that Bugs Bunny’s initial popularity was both a result and a function of his time; introduced not long before Pearl Harbor, Bugs’ voice was a sassy, sarcastic coolness and bravado in the face of adversity, a sly jokester who turned the tables on anyone who interfered in his life. He quickly became the most famous cartoon character in the world. Bugs sold war bonds in special shorts created during WWII and Blanc also voiced Sad Sack and Private Snafu for the war effort.

Blanc had a tragic, yet amazing brush with death in the early ’60s, told here by his son and family friends, which I’ll leave for your discovery. Blanc went on to yet another career in TV, voicing Barney Rubble and Dino, Cosmo Spacely, Secret Squirrel, Speed Buggy, Heathcliff and dozens more. Even when he died, he didn’t really die; as Kirk Douglas says here, there are people who aren’t even born yet who will be enjoying the work of Mel Blanc.

Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices may be 70 minutes long, but it speeds past like The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico. Although it can be seen with a degraded image for free on YouTube, a high resolution version is in Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Vol. 6 (2008).

—Michael R. Neno, 2018 Dec 03