1.
Walt Disney
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Walter Elias Walt Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor and film producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons, as a film producer, Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors, several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Born in Chicago in 1901, Disney developed an early interest in drawing and he took art classes as a boy and got a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to California in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio with his brother Roy, with Ub Iwerks, Walt developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success, he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years. As the studio grew, Disney became more adventurous, introducing synchronized sound, full-color three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons, the results, seen in features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Pinocchio, Dumbo and Bambi, furthered the development of animated film. New animated and live-action films followed after World War II, including the critically successful Cinderella and Mary Poppins, in the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry, and in 1955 he opened Disneyland. In 1965, he began development of theme park, Disney World, the heart of which was to be a new type of city. Disney was a smoker throughout his life, and died of lung cancer in December 1966 before either the park or the EPCOT project were completed. Disney was a shy, self-deprecating and insecure man in private and he had high standards and high expectations of those with whom he worked. Although there have been accusations that he was racist or anti-semitic and his reputation changed in the years after his death, from a purveyor of homely patriotic values to a representative of American imperialism. Nevertheless, Disney is considered an icon, particularly in the United States. Walt Disney was born on December 5,1901, at 1249 Tripp Avenue and he was the fourth son of Elias Disney—born in the Province of Canada, to Irish parents—and Flora, an American of German and English descent. Aside from Disney, Elias and Calls sons were Herbert, Raymond and Roy, in 1906, when Disney was four, the family moved to a farm in Marceline, Missouri, where his uncle Robert had just purchased land. In Marceline, Disney developed his interest in drawing when he was paid to draw the horse of a neighborhood doctor. Elias was a subscriber to the Appeal to Reason newspaper, Disney also began to develop an ability to work with watercolors and crayons. He lived near the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway line and he and his younger sister Ruth started school at the same time at the Park School in Marceline in late 1909. In 1911, the Disneys moved to Kansas City, Missouri, before long, he was spending more time at the Pfeiffers house than at home
2.
Sterling Holloway
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Sterling Price Holloway Jr. was an American actor and voice actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He was also an actor for The Walt Disney Company, well known for his distinctive tenor voice. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Holloway was named after his father, Sterling Price Holloway and he had a younger brother named Boothby. The family owned a store in Cedartown, where his father served as mayor in 1912. After graduating from Georgia Military Academy in 1920 at the age of fifteen, he left Georgia for New York City, while there, he befriended actor Spencer Tracy, whom he considered one of his favorite working colleagues. A talented singer, he introduced Manhattan in 1925, and the following year sang Mountain Greenery and he moved to Hollywood in 1926 to begin a film career that lasted almost 50 years. His bushy red hair and high pitched voice meant that he almost always appeared in comedies and his first film was The Battling Kangaroo, a silent picture. Over the following decades, Holloway would appear with Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Lon Chaney Jr, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Bing Crosby, and John Carradine. In 1942, during World War II, Holloway enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 37 and was assigned to the Special Services. He helped develop a show called Hey Rookie, which ran for nine months, in 1945, Holloway played the role of a medic assigned to an infantry platoon in the critically acclaimed film A Walk in the Sun. During 1946 and 1947, he played the sidekick in five Gene Autry Westerns. Walt Disney originally considered Holloway for the voice of Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, holloways voice work in animated films began in 1941 when he was first heard in Dumbo, as the voice of Mr. Stork. Holloway was the voice of the adult Flower in Bambi, the narrator of the Antarctic penguin sequence in The Three Caballeros and the narrator in the Peter and he is perhaps best remembered as the voice of Winnie the Pooh in Disneys Winnie-the-Pooh featurettes through 1977. He was honored as a Disney Legend in 1991, the first one to receive the award in the Voice category. In the late 1940s, he could be heard in various roles on NBCs Fibber McGee and his distinctive tenor voice retained a touch of its Southern drawl and was very recognizable. Holloway was chosen to narrate many childrens records, including Uncle Remus Stories, Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, Walt Disney Presents Rudyard Kiplings Just so Stories and Peter, Holloway easily made the transition from radio to television. He appeared on the Adventures of Superman as Uncle Oscar, an eccentric inventor, during the 1970s, Holloway did commercial voice-overs for Purina Puppy Chow dog food and sang their familiar jingle, Puppy Chow/For a full year/Till hes full-grown. He also provided the voice for Woodsy Owl in several 1970s and 1980s United States Forest Service commercials, in 1982 he auditioned for the well known comic book character Garfield but lost to Lorenzo Music
3.
Barbara Jo Allen
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Barbara Jo Allen was an actress also known as Vera Vague, the spinster character she created and portrayed on radio and in films during the 1940s and 1950s. She based the character on a woman she had seen delivering a PTA literature lecture in a confused manner, as Vague, she popularized the catch phrase You dear boy. Born Marian Barbara Henshall in New York City, Allen was the daughter of Charles Henshall, following her mothers death when Allen was 9, she went to live with an aunt and uncle in Los Angeles. She was educated at Los Angeles High School, UCLA, Stanford University, and her acting ability first surfaced in school plays. Concentrating on language at the Sorbonne, she became proficient in French, Spanish, in 1933, Allen joined the cast of NBCs One Mans Family as Beth Holly, followed by roles on Death Valley Days, I Love a Mystery and other radio series. According to Allen, her Vera Vague character was “sort of a female, dumb, always ambitious and overzealous… a spouting Bureau of Misinformation. ”After Vera was introduced in 1939 on NBC Matinee. In the early 1940s, she was a regular on Signal Carnival, Allen appeared in at least 60 movies and TV series between 1938 and 1963, often credited as Vera Vague rather than her own name. The character she created was so popular that she adopted the character name as her professional name. From 1943 to 1952, as Vera, she more than a dozen comedy two-reel short subjects for Columbia Pictures. In 1948, she did less acting and instead opened her own commercial business, while also serving as the Honorary Mayor of Woodland Hills. In 1953, as Vera, she hosted her own series, Follow the Leader. In 1958, she appeared as Mabel, the boss of the attendants, in Jeannie Carsons syndicated version of her situation comedy Hey. The program aired six episodes in syndication. She also did voices for animation, notably as Fauna, the fairy, in Sleeping Beauty, Goliath IIs mother in Goliath II. As Vera Vague, Allen has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures at 1720 Vine Street, both were dedicated February 8,1960. Allens first marriage was to actor Barton Yarborough, in 1946, the couple co-starred in the two-reel comedy short, Hiss and Yell, nominated for an Academy Award as Best Short Subject. Allen married lumberman Charles Hopper Crosby October 19,1931, in Reno, in 1943, she married Bob Hopes producer, Norman Morrell. They had one child and were married for three decades, until her 1974 death in Santa Barbara, California, Allen died September 14,1974, in Santa Barbara, California
4.
Paul Frees
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He became known as The Man of a Thousand Voices. Frees was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago, Illinois, on June 22,1920, in the 1930s, Frees first appeared on vaudeville as an impressionist, under the name Buddy Green. He began his career on radio in 1942 and remained active for more than 40 years, during that time, he was involved in more than 250 films, cartoons and TV appearances, like many voice actors of the time, his appearances were often uncredited. Frees early radio career was cut short when he was drafted into World War II where he fought at Normandy and he was wounded in action and was returned to the United States for a year of recuperation. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute under the G. I, when his first wifes health failed, he decided to drop out and return to radio work. These dubs extended from a few lines to entire roles, Frees also dubbed the entire role of Eddie in the Disney film The Ugly Dachshund, replacing actor Dick Wessel, who had died of a sudden heart attack after completion of principal photography. Frees also dubbed Humphrey Bogart in his final film The Harder They Fall, Bogart was suffering at the time from what would be diagnosed as esophageal cancer and thus could barely be heard in some takes, hence the need for Frees to dub in his voice. He also voiced the cars in the comedy The Great Race, walter Lantz Studios, UPA, Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, Jay Ward Productions, and Rankin/Bass. Some of Frees most memorable voices were for various Disney projects, the character also appeared on many Disneyland Records. Von Drakes introductory cartoon, An Adventure in Color, featured The Spectrum Song, sung by Frees as Von Drake, a different Frees recording of this song appeared on a childrens record, and was later reissued on CD. Frees narrated a number of Disney cartoons, including the Disney educational short film Donald in Mathmagic Land and this short originally aired in the same television episode as Von Drakes first appearance. Disney eventually issued limited edition compact discs commemorating the two rides, featuring outtakes and unused audio tracks by Frees and others, Frees also provided narration for the Tomorrowland attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space and was the first narrator for the Hall of Presidents. Audio clips from the attractions in Frees distinctive voice have appeared in fireworks shows at Disneyland. A computer-animated singing bust in Frees likeness appeared in the 2003 film The Haunted Mansion as an homage, similarly, audio recordings of Frees from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction can be heard in Pirates of the Caribbean, At Worlds End in an homage to the ride. He also did the opening narration. He was also the traffic cop, ticket-taker, and Santa Claus in Frosty the Snowman in 1969 and he was several voices, including Eon the Terrible, in Rudolphs Shiny New Year in 1976. He provided the voices for several J. R. R. Tolkien characters in Rankin/Bass animated versions of The Hobbit, memorably, his character says that the recording is being made for future history. Frees also provided the dramatic opening narration, prior to Sir Cedric Hardwickes voice-over tour of the solar system
