Mel Blanc

Melvin Jerome Blanc (May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor, radio comedian, and recording artist. After beginning his 60-plus-year career performing in radio, he became known for his work in animation as the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, the Tasmanian Devil, and many of the other characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons during the golden age of American animation. He voiced all of the major male Warner Bros. cartoon characters except for Elmer Fudd, whose voice was provided (uncredited) by fellow radio actor Arthur Q. Bryan, although Blanc later voiced Fudd as well after Bryan's death. He later played characters for Hanna-Barbera's television cartoons, including Barney Rubble on The Flintstones and Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons. Blanc was also the original voice of Woody Woodpecker for Universal Pictures, and provided vocal effects for the Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Chuck Jones for MGM. During the golden age of radio, Blanc also frequently performed on the radio programs of famous comedians from the era, including Jack Benny, Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen, and Judy Canova. Having earned the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Voices", Blanc is regarded as one of the most influential people in the voice-acting industry. 2Early life Blanc was born in San Francisco, California to Russian-Jewish parents Frederick and Eva Blank, the younger of two children. He grew up in the neighborhood of Western Addition in San Francisco, and later in Portland, Oregon where he attended Lincoln High Schoo