Dallas McKennon | |
---|---|
Born |
Dallas Raymond McKennon July 19, 1919 La Grande, Oregon |
Died | July 14, 2009 Raymond, Washington |
(aged 89)
Other names | Dal McKennon Charles Farrington |
Occupation | Actor, voice actor |
Years active | 1942–2009 |
Spouse(s) | Betty Warner (m. 1942; his death 2009) |
Children | 8 |
Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American actor, with extensive work as a voice actor, in a career lasting over 50 years.
Born in La Grande, Oregon, McKennon's best-known roles were that of Gumby for Art Clokey, and Archie Andrews for Filmation's Archie series, and the primary voice of Buzz Buzzard in the Woody Woodpecker cartoons. In the early 1950s, McKennon created and hosted his own daily kids TV wraparound show, Space Funnies/Capt. Jet, which was seen weekday mornings on KNXT (KCBS) TV Ch. 2 in Hollywood, California. Space Funnies was the first Los Angeles-based kids show to air reruns of The Little Rascals and Laurel & Hardy Film Comedies. He was also the primary voice actor for the 1960 cartoon series Q.T. Hush. McKennon was also the voice of Hardy Boys sidekick Chet Morton in the 1969 animated mystery series.
McKennon also sang, and provided many character voices for Disney. His distinctive voice can be heard in movies such as Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. He also provided the voices for many Disney Attractions such as the famous Big Thunder Mountain Railroad safety spiel, a pair of laughing hyenas in the Africa Room portion of It's a Small World, Benjamin Franklin's voice in Epcot's The American Adventure and the voice of Zeke in the Country Bear Jamboree.