Review: THE MAGIC BEHIND THE VOICES - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

tv star collector · 12-18-2007, 09:20 AM

I've always been fascinated with learning about the hidden talents behind the voices of my favorite cartoon characters. These unseen actors have received very little attention from the press and, indeed, some of them may have preferred to have that anonymity.

But now there is an obscure book, THE MAGIC BEHIND THE VOICES by Tim Lawson and Alisa Persons, published in 2004 by University Press of Mississippi. (I found my copy on eBay; you could also try the University's website http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/461)

The book is not without its flaws. There's some misinformation (especially when it is culled from Jeff Lenburg's error-filled ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMATED CARTOONS) and some glaring omissions (such as the versatile Allen Swift, known--on the east coast, at least, as "the man of a thousand voices"). Still, it does offer interesting biographies of 39 past and present voice actors (ranging from the famous to the unknown).

The list includes: Charlie Adler, Dayton Allen, Wayne Allwine, Jackson Beck, Mary Kay Bergman, Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Nancy Cartwright, Adriana Caselotti, Dan Castellaneta, Art Clokey, Townsend Coleman, Wally Cox, Jim Cummings, E.G. Daily, Nicole (Jaffe) David, June Foray, Paul Frees, Sterling Holloway, Mike Judge, Tom Kenny, John Kricfalusi, Maurice LaMarche, Norma Macmillan, Bob McFadden, Jack Mercer, Don Messick, George O'Hanlon, Rob Paulsen, Mae Questel, Alan Reed, Chris Sarandon, Bill Scott, Kath Soucie,
Jean Vander Pyl, Janet Waldo, Frank Welker, Billy West, and Paul Winchell.

Like me, author Tim Lawson (as he states in the preface) "grew up as part of the Hanna-Barbera generation." He began his research back in 1984, only to find that--due to a lack of on-screen credit and few reference materials--there was not much reliable information about voice actors. When he called the Screen Actors Guild, trying to locate Daws Butler, he had to tell them who Daws was. When he told them Daws was the voice of Huckleberry
Hound and Yogi Bear, to his amazement, he was told, "Oh, well, no wonder I can't find him. We don't consider voice people to be actors."

Fortunately, that perception has changed. As Daws Butler revealed, in the excellent PBS documentary DAWS BUTLER: VOICE MAGICIAN, a voice actor is truly a consummate actor, who utilizes not only the vocal cords but the entire body to breathe life into these animated drawings. For his book, Lawson discovered that often the best source of info was the actors themselves.

So, if you're as much an animation fanatic as I am, you won't read this book--you'll devour it. Its 360 pages contain not only biographies but extensive credits for each actor who is profiled. I bought my copy, in June 2005, on eBay for $14.79. If you're interested in the actors who gave voice to Popeye, Betty Boop, Casper, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Gumby, and Underdog (and scores of others), pick up a copy.

12-18-2007, 09:20 AM	#1
tv star collector I Love Susie Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,487	Review: THE MAGIC BEHIND THE VOICES I've always been fascinated with learning about the hidden talents behind the voices of my favorite cartoon characters. These unseen actors have received very little attention from the press and, indeed, some of them may have preferred to have that anonymity. But now there is an obscure book, THE MAGIC BEHIND THE VOICES by Tim Lawson and Alisa Persons, published in 2004 by University Press of Mississippi. (I found my copy on eBay; you could also try the University's website http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/461) The book is not without its flaws. There's some misinformation (especially when it is culled from Jeff Lenburg's error-filled ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMATED CARTOONS) and some glaring omissions (such as the versatile Allen Swift, known--on the east coast, at least, as "the man of a thousand voices"). Still, it does offer interesting biographies of 39 past and present voice actors (ranging from the famous to the unknown). The list includes: Charlie Adler, Dayton Allen, Wayne Allwine, Jackson Beck, Mary Kay Bergman, Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Nancy Cartwright, Adriana Caselotti, Dan Castellaneta, Art Clokey, Townsend Coleman, Wally Cox, Jim Cummings, E.G. Daily, Nicole (Jaffe) David, June Foray, Paul Frees, Sterling Holloway, Mike Judge, Tom Kenny, John Kricfalusi, Maurice LaMarche, Norma Macmillan, Bob McFadden, Jack Mercer, Don Messick, George O'Hanlon, Rob Paulsen, Mae Questel, Alan Reed, Chris Sarandon, Bill Scott, Kath Soucie, Jean Vander Pyl, Janet Waldo, Frank Welker, Billy West, and Paul Winchell. Like me, author Tim Lawson (as he states in the preface) "grew up as part of the Hanna-Barbera generation." He began his research back in 1984, only to find that--due to a lack of on-screen credit and few reference materials--there was not much reliable information about voice actors. When he called the Screen Actors Guild, trying to locate Daws Butler, he had to tell them who Daws was. When he told them Daws was the voice of Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear, to his amazement, he was told, "Oh, well, no wonder I can't find him. We don't consider voice people to be actors." Fortunately, that perception has changed. As Daws Butler revealed, in the excellent PBS documentary DAWS BUTLER: VOICE MAGICIAN, a voice actor is truly a consummate actor, who utilizes not only the vocal cords but the entire body to breathe life into these animated drawings. For his book, Lawson discovered that often the best source of info was the actors themselves. So, if you're as much an animation fanatic as I am, you won't read this book--you'll devour it. Its 360 pages contain not only biographies but extensive credits for each actor who is profiled. I bought my copy, in June 2005, on eBay for $14.79. If you're interested in the actors who gave voice to Popeye, Betty Boop, Casper, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Gumby, and Underdog (and scores of others), pick up a copy.