Hanna-Barbera: That Voice Sounds Familiar

[tv star collector]

Many of the animals in the Hanna-Barbera menagerie were imitations of famous
celebrities. A partial list:

Yogi Bear - Art Carney (by Daws Butler)
Doggie Daddy - Jimmy Durante (by Doug Young; later by John Stephenson)
Snooper - Ed Gardner ("Duffy's Tavern") / Tom D'Andrea ("Life of Riley") (by
Daws Butler)
Snagglepuss - Bert Lahr (by Daws Butler)
Fibber Fox - Shelley Berman (by Daws Butler)
Hokey Wolf - Phil Silvers (by Daws Butler)
Top Cat - Phil Silvers (by Arnold Stang)
Fancy-Fancy - Cary Grant (by John Stephenson)
Wally Gator - Ed Wynn (by Daws Butler)
Lippy the Lion - Joe E. Brown (by Daws Butler)
Peter Potamus - Joe E. Brown (by Daws Butler)
Morocco Mole - Peter Lorre (by Paul Frees)
Mildew Wolf - Paul Lynde (by Lynde himself; later by John Stephenson)
Jabberjaw - Curly Howard (of The Three Stooges; by Frank Welker)

In the biography, DAWS BUTLER: CHARACTERS ACTOR, Daws points out that--while Snagglepuss started out as an imitation of Lahr (in his early
appearances on QUICK DRAW McGRAW where he was sometimes called Ol'
Snaggletooth), by the time Snag became one of the stars of THE YOGI
BEAR SHOW, Butler modified the voice by raising it higher and removing "the
guttural sounds" that were Lahr's trademark but retaining the personality and
rhythm. One common misconception: Huckleberry Hound was NOT based on
Andy Griffith. Butler had used the voice years earlier on RUFF & REDDY and
even before that in Walter Lantz cartoons. In fact, Huck's Southern drawl
was inspired by a doctor who worked with his father-in-law in his veterinary practice, in Albemarle, North Carolina (near Charlotte).

[snl 70s show fan]

i read a funny story about when they were casting for a show called help its the hair bear bunch they asked john stephenson if he could do a joe flynn imitation. and he told h&b sure i can but i heard that joe flynn is avaliable why dont you guys just hire him and ether h or b told john we had him in here the other day we tested him and he didnt sound right to us. how weird

[tv star collector]

Originally Posted by snl 70s show fan

i read a funny story about when they were casting for a show called help its the hair bear bunch they asked john stephenson if he could do a joe flynn imitation. and he told h&b sure i can but i heard that joe flynn is avaliable why dont you guys just hire him and ether h or b told john we had him in here the other day we tested him and he didnt sound right to us. how weird

Cool story. I had never heard that one before. But I do recall reading that, when
Arnold Stang was the voice of Top Cat, Joe Barbera asked him to pull back a bit
on the Phil Silvers impression ... so he would sound more like Arnold Stang!