Scatman Crothers

Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man and as Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980). He was also a prolific voiceover artist, and provided the voices of Meadowlark Lemon in the Harlem Globetrotters' animated TV series, Jazz the Autobot in The Transformers and The Transformers: The Movie (1986), the title character in Hong Kong Phooey and Scat Cat in the animated Disney film The Aristocats (1970). 2Early life Crothers was born in 1910 in Terre Haute, Indiana, the son of Fredonia Lewis and Benjamin Crothers. He obtained the name Scatman when he auditioned for a radio show in 1932 at the former WSMK (now WING) in Dayton, Ohio. The director did not think his given name seemed catchy enough, so Crothers devised the handle Scat Man, although this talent, scat singing, would develop later. He continued to enjoy this talent throughout his career, even teaching scat singing to college students. Later, the nickname was condensed to Scatman by Arthur Godfrey. In his early career, he also associated with many Cleveland-based acts and frequently played on the scene in Ohio. 2Career Crothers started his musical career as a 15-year-old drummer in a speakeasy band in his home town of Terre Haute. He played a variety of instruments, including drums and guitar, on jazz club band circuits in his early days as an entertaine