Dallas McKennon explained
Dallas McKennon |
Birth Name: | Dallas Raymond McKennon |
Birth Date: | 19 July 1919 |
Birth Place: | La Grande, Oregon, U.S. |
Death Place: | Raymond, Washington, U.S. |
Other Names: | Dal McKennon Charles Farrington |
Occupation: | Actor |
Years Active: | 1952–1995 |
Children: | 8 |
Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American film, television and voice actor, who had a career lasting over 50 years.[1]
Career
Born near La Grande, Oregon, Mckennon served during World War II in the Army Signal Corps in Alaska.[2]
McKennon's best-known voice roles were Gumby for Art Clokey, Archie Andrews in several different Archie series for Filmation, 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 aired weekday mornings on KNXT (KCBS-TV) TV Ch. 2 in Los Angeles. It was the first Los Angeles–based kids show to air reruns of The Little Rascals and Laurel & Hardy shorts. He was also the primary voice actor for the 1960 cartoon series Q.T. Hush. McKennon was also the voice of the Hardy Boys' sidekick, Chet Morton, in the 1969 animated mystery series.
McKennon also sang and provided many character voices, mainly for Walt Disney Animation. He voiced characters in Pinocchio, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks;[3] [4] his laughter as a hyena in Lady and the Tramp was later recycled as a stock sound effect for the voice of Ripper Roo in the Crash Bandicoot video game series.[5] He also provided the voices for many Disney attractions such as the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad safety announcement, 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, Epcot's WorldKey information kiosks, and Zeke in the Country Bear Jamboree.[6]
McKennon's best-known live action role is the innkeeper Cincinnatus in Daniel Boone.[7] He also had a bit part as a diner cook in The Birds and as a gas station attendant in Clambake. His final movie was under the pseudonym Charles Farrington. He voiced Gumby, Fatbuckle, Lucky Claybert, and Professor Kapp.
McKennon was an avid Oregon Trail historian. He visited schools around the Northwest lecturing children about Oregon history and worked at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center giving instructional speeches, and put together plays, skits, songs, stories, and informational documents leading up to the Oregon Trail's sesquicentennial (150th anniversary).
He also worked with Oregon Public Broadcasting creating The Pappenheimers, an instructional video series to help teach children German. His character lived in a Volkswagen Type 2 and would tell stories about relatives in Germany.
Personal life
In 1942, McKennon married his childhood love interest, Betty Warner, in Portland, Oregon. The couple had six daughters and two sons. They lived in California until 1968, when they moved to Cannon Beach, Oregon, from where McKennon commuted for voice acting and voiceover roles.
Death
McKennon died from natural causes aged 89 on July 14, 2009, at the Willapa Harbor Care Center in Raymond, Washington, five days shy of his 90th birthday.
Filmography
Live-action
- Bend of the River (1952) – Miner (uncredited)
- Tom Thumb (1959) – Carpenter (uncredited)
- The Tingler (1959) – Projectionist (uncredited)
- Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959, TV Series) – The Unicorn (voice, uncredited)
- Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960) – Court Clerk (uncredited)
- Wagon Train (1960) – Hotel Clerk Kelly
- The Silent Call (1961) – Old Man
- Twist Around the Clock (1961) – Motel Proprietor (uncredited)
- Gunsmoke (1961–1962) – Jake / Homesteader
- Womanhunt (1962)
- Ben Casey (1962, TV Series) – Waco Martin
- Son of Flubber (1963) – 1st Juror (uncredited)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1963, TV Series) – Jim Tolliver
- The Birds (1963) – Sam, the Cook (uncredited)
- House of the Damned (1963) – Mr. Quinby
- Twilight of Honor (1963) – Mr. Phillips (uncredited)
- The Wheeler Dealers (1963) – Sea Captain / Prissy Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
- My Favorite Martian (1963, TV Series) – Mailman
- The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964) – Detective Hutchins
- A Tiger Walks (1964) – Reporter (uncredited)
- 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) – Lean Cowboy
- Mary Poppins (1964) – Fox / Penguin #2 / Hunting Horse / Merry-Go-Round Operator (voice, uncredited)
- Daniel Boone (1964, 80 episodes) – Cincinnatus
- The Glory Guys (1965) – Karl Harpane
- Bonanza (1966, TV Series) – Jenkins
- The Andy Griffith Show (1967, TV Series) – Brian Jackson
- Clambake (1967) – Bearded Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
- Iron Horse (1967, TV Series) – Gabe
- Dundee and the Culhane (1967, TV Series) – Al
- Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady? (1968) – Old Soldier
- The Love God? (1969) – Bird Caller (uncredited)
- The Andersonville Trial (1970, TV Movie) – First Guard
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) – Bear (voice)
- Cannon (1971, TV Series) – Bucky Fosdick
- Emilio and His Magical Bull (1975)
- Space Academy (1977, TV Series) – Johnny Sunseed
- The Cat from Outer Space (1978) – Charlie Cooney
- Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978) – Saloon Man
- Tourist Trap (1979) – Mask (archived recording of laugh)
- Mystery Mansion (1983) – Sam
- Wee Sing: King Cole's Party (1987) – Crooked Old Man
- The Talking Christmas Tree (1990) – Santa Claus
- Frozen Assets (1992) – Stud of the Year Octogenarian
- Elf (2003) – Jack-in-the-Box (archived recording of laugh)
Animation
- Woody Woodpecker (1952–1972) – Buzz Buzzard / Willoughby / Paw
- Lady and the Tramp (1955) – Toughy / Pedro / Professor / Hyena
- Space Funnies[8] (1956–1957, TV Series) – Captain Jet
- Hergé's Adventures of Tintin (1957, TV Series) – Tintin / Professor Calculus
- The Gumby Show (1957, 1960–1964, TV Series) – Gumby / Pokey / Prickle / Nopey / Gumbo (only in Chicken Feed) / Henry (re-dubbed voice) / Rodgy (re-dubbed voice) / Granny
- The Woody Woodpecker Show (1957–1958, Walter Lantz Series) – Buzz Buzzard
- Paul Bunyan (1958, Short) – Cal McNab
- Sleeping Beauty (1959) – Owl
- Bucky and Pepito[9] (1959–1960, TV Series) – Bucky and Pepito
- Q. T. Hush (1960, TV Series) – Q.T. Hush / Shamus
- Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse (1960–1962, TV cartoon series) – Courageous Cat / Minute Mouse / Additional voices
- Inspector Willoughby (1960–1965, Walter Lantz series)
- One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) – Barking Dogs
- Come Out Party (1963, Short) – Inspector Willoughby
- Sinbad Jr. and his Magic Belt (1965–1966, TV Series) – Sinbad Jr.
- Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) – Bees (uncredited)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) – Max
- Cat and Dupli-cat (1967, Tom and Jerry short) – Jerry Mouse (singing voice)
- Sissy Sheriff (1967, Short) – Sugarfoot / Dirty McNasty
- Lotsa Luck (1968) – (voice)
- Archie's Funhouse (1968, TV Series) – Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherbee
- The Archie Show (1968, TV Series) – Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherbee
- The Hardy Boys (1969, cartoon series) – Joe Hardy / Chubby Morton
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1969–1970, TV Series) – Salem / Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherbee / Batso / Ratso
- Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies (1970, TV Series) – Salem / Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherby / Rover / Batso / Ratso
- Aesop's Fables (1971) – Owl / Frog / Rooster and Beaver
- Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies (1972) – Sylvester the Cat (meowing sounds)
- Journey Back to Oz (1972) – Omby Amby
- Treasure Island (1973) – Captain Flint / Ben Gunn
- Oliver Twist (1974) – Bookseller / Charlie Bates
- The U.S. of Archie (1974, TV Series) – Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherbee
- Pinocchio (1978) – Geppetto
- The American Adventure (1982) – Benjamin Franklin / Soldier #2
- The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) – Jim Smiley
- The Puppetoon Movie (1987) – Additional voices including the character Gumby.
- Goof Troop (1992, TV Series) – Old Man in Bathtub
- (1995) – Gumby / Professor Kapp / Fatbuckle / Lucky Claybert / Nobuckle (credited as Charles Farrington)
Commercials
- Kellogg's Corn Flakes - Cornelius Rooster
Video games
Theme park attractions
Walt Disney and Other Record Albums
- Story and Songs of Mary Poppins - Bert/Narrator
- Story and Songs of The Jungle Book - Narrator/Bagheera
- More Jungle Book - Narrator/Bagheera
- Story and Songs of Bedknobs and Broomsticks - Emelius/Narrator
- Story of Lady and the Tramp - Tramp
- Story of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Ned Land
- The Story of Sword in the Stone - Sir Ector
- Hector, the Stowaway Pup - Hector
- Donald Duck and His Friends – Scrooge McDuck
- The Wizard of Oz - Scarecrow, other voices
- The Scarecrow of Oz - Captain Andy
- The Tin Woodman of Oz - Scarecrow, other voices
- The Cowardly Lion of Oz - Scarecrow, other voices
- The Story of Treasure Island - Narrator
- The Story of Robin Hood - Narrator
- The Story of The Boatniks - Narrator/Harry
- The Story of The Love Bug - Peter Thorndyke
- Toby Tyler in the Circus - Mr. Tupper
- The Story of Swiss Family Robinson - Father
- The Hall of Presidents Soundtrack - Andrew Jackson
- The Story of 101 Dalmatians - Collie, other voices
- tom thumb Soundtrack - Various Voices
- Woody Woodpecker and His Friends - Inspector Willoughby
- The Animal Village - Various Voices
- Wee Sing Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies (1985) – Narrator / Crooked old man
- Wee Sing America (1987) – Various voices
- Wee Sing Silly Songs (1988 re-recording) – Various voices
- Wee Sing: Fun n Folk (1989) – Various voices
- Wee Sing Around the Campfire (1990 re-recording) – Various voices
- Wee Sing Dinosaurs (1991) – Various voices
- Wee Sing Animals Animals Animals (1999) – Various voices
- Centerpoint: Poetry & Music for Christmas – Featured reader
External links
Notes and References
- News: Dallas McKennon dies at 89; voice actor gave voice to many animated characters. The Los Angeles Times. July 18, 2009. November 7, 2010. Claire. Noland.
- Web site: July 18, 2009. Dallas McKennon dies at 89; voice actor gave voice to many animated characters. August 23, 2021. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
- Web site: Dallas McKennon Character voice actor, 89. August 23, 2021. www.inquirer.com. en.
- Web site: Dallas McKennon. August 23, 2021. www.telegraph.co.uk. July 28, 2009 .
- Web site: 20 things you didn't know about Crash Bandicoot . https://web.archive.org/web/20200818092530/https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/a806253/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-crash-bandicoot/ . Loveridge . Sam . . . September 9, 2016 . August 18, 2020 . November 23, 2020 . live.
- Web site: May 17, 2004. StartedByAMouse.com Features – Dallas McKennon by Steve Burns. August 23, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20040517023849/http://www.startedbyamouse.com/features/DalMcKennon.html. May 17, 2004.
- Web site: NEWSPAPERS. Claire Noland, TRIBUNE. DALLAS MCKENNON: 1919–2009. August 23, 2021. chicagotribune.com. July 20, 2009 . en-US.
- http://www.veoh.com/videos/yapi-ZOBr_8LrD2g www.veoh.com
- Web site: DataBase . The Big Cartoon . Bucky and Pepito Episode Guide -Trans-Artists Prods @ BCDB . https://archive.today/20120722141848/http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Other_Studios/T/Trans-Artists_Productions/Bucky_and_Pepito/ . dead . July 22, 2012 . Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB) . August 8, 2019.