Noel Barton Blanc (born October 19, 1938)[1] is an American commercial producer, retired voice actor, and the son of the late cartoon voice actor Mel Blanc.
Noel Blanc | |
|---|---|
| Born | Noel Barton Blanc October 19, 1938 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Voice actor, commercial producer |
| Years active | 1951–2012 (voice actor) 1955–present (commercial producer) |
| Spouses | Larraine Zax
(m. 1967; div. 1972)Katherine Hushaw
(m. 1998) |
| Father | Mel Blanc |
Early life and career
editBlanc was born on October 19, 1938, in Los Angeles, California. He is the only child of voice actor Mel Blanc, and throughout Noel's childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, he worked with his father on the Looney Tunes voices so that when Mel Blanc eventually retired or died, Noel could take over for his father.[2] In 1961, Noel performed some of Mel's voices, uncredited, when Mel was injured in a car crash.[3][4] Following his father's death, Noel voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd (a character that was originally Arthur Q. Bryan's role that Mel inherited after Bryan's death and occasionally during Bryan's lifetime), the Tasmanian Devil, Porky Pig and other characters in Tiny Toon Adventures and a series of You Rang? answering machine messages;[5] he was one of several successors to his father in the immediate aftermath of Mel's death, with others including Jeff Bergman, Joe Alaskey, Greg Burson and Billy West. Warner Bros. had been splitting up the various voice-acting roles to prevent any one of them from being a singular successor.[6] He later contributed voice work to Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.
On January 29, 1962, Noel and his father Mel formed Blanc Communications Corporation,[7][8] a media company which remains in operation.[9] Together, they produced over 5,000 public service announcements and commercials, appearing with Kirk Douglas, Lucille Ball, Vincent Price, Phyllis Diller, Liberace, and The Who. Kirk Douglas' son, Joel, served as one of the executives at Blanc Communications Corporation and helped to develop and produce commercials until the late 1980s.[10]
Personal life
editRelationships and marriages
editBlanc has been married three times; he first married Larraine Zax in 1967; they divorced in 1972. Blanc then married actress Martha Smith in 1977; the marriage lasted for nine years until they divorced in 1986. Blanc married his third wife, Katherine Hushaw, at the Warner Bros. Studios on June 3, 1998.[11][12]
Helicopter incident
editIn February 1991, Blanc was injured in his personal helicopter when the aircraft collided with a small plane above Santa Paula Airport. Two other people were also injured, including Kirk Douglas, and two people in the plane were killed.[13] Blanc suffered multiple fractures to his right leg, five broken ribs, a bruised lung, and a bruised kidney. He was taken to the intensive care unit at Santa Paula Hospital.[14]
Filmography
editTelevision and film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Dog Gone People | Kid on Television[15] | Uncredited |
| 1990–1992 | Tiny Toon Adventures | Porky Pig Tasmanian Devil The Great and Powerful Principal Additional Voices |
6 episodes |
| 1992 | The Plucky Duck Show | Additional Voices | |
| 1993 | General Electric's Carousel of Progress | Radio Personalities[16] | |
| 2001 | 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 | Himself, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety[17][18][19] | Televised stock car race |
| 2005 | Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story | Elmer Fudd | Direct-to-video |
| 2005 | Family Guy | Elmer Fudd | Episode: "Stewie B. Goode" |
Video games
edit- Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball – Bugs Bunny (vocal effects), Daffy Duck (additional lines), Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, Speedy Gonzales, Barnyard Dawg, Chickens
Documentaries
edit- This Is Your Life – Himself
- Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toontown – Himself
- 50 Years of Bugs Bunny in 31/2 Minutes – Porky Pig[20]
- Happy Birthday, Bugs!: 50 Looney Years – Himself, Porky Pig[21]
- What's Up Doc? A Salut/refe to Bugs Bunny – Himself
- Entertaining the Troops – Himself
- Behind the Tunes – Himself
- 100 Greatest Cartoons – Himself
- The Chuck Woolery Show – Himself
- Vicki! – Himself
- Friz on Film – Himself
- Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices – Himself
- King-Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution – Himself
- I Know That Voice – Himself
Theme park attractions
edit- Tomorrowland – Radio Personalities
- Carousel of Progress – Cuckoo Clock, Radio Personalities[22]
- Rabbit-cadabbra – Bugs Bunny (one line)[23]
Discography
edit- You Rang?: Bugs Bunny – Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Tasmanian Devil, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Pepé Le Pew, Yosemite Sam, Speedy Gonzales[5]
- You Rang?: Daffy Duck – Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Pepé Le Pew, Tasmanian Devil, Speedy Gonzales[24]
- You Rang?: Porky Pig – Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, Foghorn Leghorn, Chicken Little[25]
- You Rang?: Sylvester and Tweety – Sylvester, Tweety, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales, Pepé Le Pew[26]
- You Rang?: Holidays and Special Occasions – Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, Tweety, Speedy Gonzales[27]
References
edit- ^ "Noel Blanc". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ "Bob Bergen Official Web Site: Cool Clips". BobBergen.com. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
- ^ Ohmart, Ben (November 15, 2012). Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices. ISBN 9781593932596. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
According to one report, Noel, by then a fair imitator of his father's characters, was asked by Warner Bros. to loop a series of cartoons, ones which needed an extra phrase or word redone. He would still pinch-hit for Mel later on occasion too, but "about 99% of what the public hears is my dad. My voice is basically used in public service announcements and on Armed Forces broadcasts."
- ^ "BUCKiT #6-Noel Blanc: The Son of Mel Blanc, Voice of the Looney Tunes". YouTube. July 25, 2018. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ a b "You Rang? Answering Machine Messages Bugs Bunny". YouTube. March 30, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ That's Still Not All Folks! 2009, by Joe Alaskey, page 96 ISBN 978-1593931124
- ^ Blanc, Mel (1988). That's not all Folks!. Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-51244-3.
- ^ "BLANC COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION :: California (US) :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
- ^ "Blanc Communications Corporation official site". Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- ^ "Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois on September 12, 1982 · Page 73". Newspapers.com. September 12, 1982. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
- ^ "Stone Temple Pilots singer arrested".
- ^ "Mel Blanc's son marries at Warner Bros. Studios". June 3, 1998.
- ^ Gorman, Gary; O'Donnell, Santiago (February 14, 1991). "2 Die as Plane, Copter Crash; Kirk Douglas, 2 Others Hurt". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
- ^ "Kirk Douglas, Noel Blanc Recovering After Air Collision That Killed Two". AP NEWS. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media. p. 196.
- ^ "Noel Blanc". IMDb. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "2001 Chevy Monte Carlo 400 [5/16]". YouTube. December 6, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "2001 Chevy Monte Carlo 400 [8/16] (7th Caution)". YouTube. December 8, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "2001 Chevy Monte Carlo 400 [16/16] (Post Race)". YouTube. December 11, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "50 Years Of Bugs Bunny - Happy Birthday Bugs". Dailymotion. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "Fifty Years of Bugs Bunny in 3 1/2 Minutes". YouTube. July 7, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "'May the century begin': History behind Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress". ClickOrlando. September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
Since 1964, Uncle Orville has been voiced by the one and only Mel Blanc. Blanc originally voiced the cuckoo clock in the Carousel, and a few other odds and ends but those were re-voiced for 1993 by his son, Noel Blanc.
- ^ "Rabbitcadabbra - Magic Mountain 7-18-85". YouTube. March 12, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "You Rang? Answering Machine Messages Daffy Duck". YouTube. March 30, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "You Rang? Answering Machine Messages Porky Pig". YouTube. March 12, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "You Rang? Answering Machine Messages Sylvester and Tweety". YouTube. March 30, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ "You Rang? Answering Machine Messages Holidays and Special Occasions". YouTube. December 25, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
External links
edit- Noel Blanc at IMDb