Frank Graham (voice actor) explained

Frank Graham
Birth Name:Frank Lee Graham
Birth Date:22 November 1914
Birth Place:Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Death Place:Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation:Radio announcer, voice actor
Years Active:1936–1950

Frank Lee Graham (November 22, 1914 – September 2, 1950) was an American radio announcer and voice actor.

Biography

Graham was born on November 22, 1914, in Detroit, Michigan, to Frank L. Graham and opera singer Ethel Briggs Graham. He later traveled with his mother on tour.[1]

He starred in Jeff Regan, Investigator[2] and co-developed the radio drama Satan's Waitin with Van Des Autels. Graham was also The Wandering Vaquero, the narrator of The Romance Of The Ranchos radio series (1941–1942), also on the CBS network.

One of his few live-action roles was portraying the title character in the film Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher (1943). He had also served as a writer for the radio program upon which the film was based.

Graham voiced numerous characters in animated films for Walt Disney, MGM, Columbia and Warner Bros. He voiced the Wolf in Tex Avery's Droopy cartoons, as well as the Mouse in King-Size Canary at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He provided the voices of the Fox and the Crow in the shorts of the same name at Columbia.

He was found dead at age 35 in his convertible in the carport of his home in Hollywood on September 2, 1950, with a photograph of Mildred Rossi by his side.[3] [4] Rossi had ended a relationship with him weeks earlier.[5] A coroner declared he had committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.[6]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1941The Night Before ChristmasNarrator[7] Voice, uncredited
1942A Hollywood DetourNarratorVoice, uncredited
Horton Hatches the EggNarrator / Tall HunterVoice, uncredited
Woodman, Spare That TreeThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Foney FablesNarrator / WolfVoice, uncredited
Blitz WolfNarratorVoice, uncredited
Saludos AmigosHimselfUncredited
The Early Bird Dood It!BirdVoice, uncredited
Toll Bridge TroublesThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
1943Slay It with FlowersThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Cosmo Jones, Crime SmasherProfessor Cosmo Jones
Dumb-HoundedWolf / Mayor[8] Voice, uncredited
Plenty Below ZeroThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Red Hot Riding HoodWolf / Storyteller / Nightclub MC / Cab DriverVoice, uncredited
Tree for TwoThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Coming!! SnafuNarrator[9] Voice, uncredited
A-Hunting We Won't GoThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Reason and EmotionNarrator / ReasonVoice, uncredited
Sleepy LagoonNarratorUncredited
Room and BoredThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Way Down Yonder in the CornThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Chicken LittleNarrator / Foxy Loxy / Chicken Little / Cocky Locky / Turkey Lurkey / Additional Voices[10] Voice, uncredited
RumorsNarrator – SoldierVoice, uncredited
1944Ladies CourageousCol. Andy BrennanVoice, uncredited
The Weakly ReporterVariousVoice, uncredited
The Lady and the MonsterNarratorUncredited
The Dream KidsThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Going HomeNarratorVoice, uncredited
The Chow HoundNarratorVoice, uncredited
Mr. MoocherThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Big Heel-WathaNarrator / Chief Rain-in-Face / InterpreterVoice, uncredited
The Stupid CupidNarrator and Elmer FuddVoice, uncredited
Be Patient, PatientThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
The Egg-YeggThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
The Three CaballerosNarratorVoice
1945Tokyo WoesNarratorVoice, uncredited
The Shooting of Dan McGooWolf / Bartender / NarratorVoice, uncredited
Jerky TurkeyIndian[11] Voice, uncredited
Something You Didn't EatNarratorVoice, uncredited
Ku-Ku NutsThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Swing Shift CinderellaWolf / Nightclub MC / WolvesVoice, uncredited
Fresh AiredaleNarrator – Shep's MasterVoice, uncredited
Treasure JestThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Phoney BaloneyThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Wild and WoolfyRace CallerVoice, uncredited
1946Baseball BugsBaseball Commentator / Gas-House Gorilla[12] Voice, uncredited
Springtime for ThomasJerry's Devil Conscience / ButchVoice, uncredited
Foxy FlatfootsThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Unsure RuntsThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
The Hick ChickBull[13] Voice, uncredited
The Eager BeaverNarratorVoice, uncredited
Cagey BirdDogVoice, uncredited
Northwest Hounded PoliceWolf / Chief / Dr. Putty-PussVoice, uncredited
Mysto-FoxThe Fox and the CrowVoice, uncredited
Honesty Is the Best PolicyProfessor J. Waldo Purrington / Fish Vendor[14] Voice, uncredited
1947Slap Happy LionMouseVoice, uncredited
King-Size CanaryMouseVoice, uncredited
1949So Much for So LittleNarratorVoice, uncredited
The House of TomorrowNarrator / Machine[15] Voice, uncredited
Each Dawn I CrowNarratorVoice, uncredited
1950Jerry and the LionLion / Radio AnnouncerVoice, uncredited
The Chump ChampAnnouncerVoice, uncredited, final film role, released posthumously

External links

Notes and References

  1. Gilmore, Art; Middleton, Glenn (1946). Radio Announcing. Hollywood, CA: Hollywood Radio Publishers. p. 113. "Frank comes by his talent naturally, having toured with his famous singing mother, Ethel Briggs Graham."
  2. News: Main Street. 24 August 2014. Radio Daily. October 18, 1949.
  3. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89389004/radio-star-graham-commits-suicide/ 'Radio Star Graham Commits Suicide'
  4. News: Frank Graham . 3 August 2018 . Broadcasting . September 11, 1950 . 82.
  5. Book: O'Meara, Mallory. The lady from the black lagoon : Hollywood monsters and the lost legacy of Milicent Patrick. 9781335937803. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 1080884379. 2019.
  6. News: Graham Suicide Letter Interrupted by Friend: Filing of Will Discloses Last Writing by Radio Producer Resumed After He Had Caller. September 19, 1950. Los Angeles Times. A8. The producer ended his life last Sept. 2 by inhaling monoxide gas in his automobile outside his home, 9115 Wonderland Ave.. .
  7. Web site: MGM's "The Night Before Christmas" (1941) With Tom & Jerry. cartoonresearch.com.. 2021-04-21. 23 December 2015.
  8. Web site: "Hello All You Happy Tax Payers": Tex Avery's Voice Stock Company . cartoonresearch.com . 24 December 2020 . 10 February 2020.
  9. Web site: Snafu Special: For the Boys . cartoonresearch.com . 24 December 2020 . 27 October 2020.
  10. Web site: Disney's "Chicken Little" Cartoon from 1943 . cartoonresearch.com . 24 December 2020 . 22 June 2016.
  11. Web site: "Pretty Long Wait, Wasn't It?": TEX AVERY'S VOICE ACTORS (Volume 3) . 2021-10-07. cartoonresearch.com.
  12. Book: Beck, Jerry . 2020 . The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes . Insight Editions . 15 . 978-1647221379.
  13. Book: Scott . Keith . Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2 . 3 October 2022 . BearManor Media . en.
  14. Web site: Norm McCabe's "Honesty Is The Best Policy" (1946) . cartoonresearch.com . 24 December 2020 . 20 August 2018.
  15. Web site: AVERY.... Vol. 2??? WELL, IMAGINE THAT! . cartoonresearch.com . 24 December 2020 . 7 December 2020.