Daws Butler
Encyclopedia
Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler (November 16, 1916 – May 18, 1988) was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio
. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera
and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon
characters, including Yogi Bear
, Quick Draw McGraw
, Snagglepuss
, and Huckleberry Hound
.
Daws Butler trained many working actors including Nancy Cartwright
(the voice of Bart Simpson
), Corey Burton
(the voice of Dale in Chip 'n' Dale) and Joe Bevilacqua
(whom Butler personally taught how to do all of his characters). Butler's voice and scripts were a frequent part of Bevilacqua's now-defunct XM show. Bevilacqua also wrote Butler's official biography, published by Bear Manor Media. A new book of cartoon scripts written by Daws Butler and Joe Bevilacqua, Uncle Dunkle and Donnie: Fractured Fables, was scheduled for publication in the fall of 2009. A four-volume, 4½-hour audio set of Uncle Dunkle and Donnie was to be released simultaneously with Bevilacqua performing all 97 characters in 35 stories. Butler also trained Hal Rayle
, who ultimately determined that his best-known character of Doyle Cleverlobe from Galaxy High School should sound like Elroy Jetson after he finished puberty
.
. Tex Avery
hired Butler to provide narration work for several of his cartoons. In many cartoons, there was a nameless wolf who spoke in a Southern accent
and whistled all the time. Butler provided the voice for this wolf. While at MGM, Avery wanted Butler to try to do the voice of Droopy, a character that Bill Thompson
regularly voiced. Butler performed the voice for a few cartoons, but he then told Avery about Don Messick
, another voice actor and Butler's life-long friend. Messick quickly became a voice actor.
In 1949, Butler landed a role in a televised puppet
show created by former Warner Bros.
cartoon director Bob Clampett
called Time for Beany
. Thirty-three-year-old Butler was teamed up with 23-year-old Stan Freberg
, and together they did all the voices of the puppets. Butler voiced Beany Boy and Captain Huffenpuff. Freberg voiced Cecil and Dishonest John. An entire stable of recurring characters were seen. The show's writers were Charles Shows and Lloyd Turner, whose dependably funny dialog was still always at the mercy of Butler's and Freberg's ad libs. Time for Beany ran from 1949 to 1954 and won several Emmy Award
s. It was the basis for the cartoon Beany and Cecil
.
Butler briefly turned his attention to TV commercials, although he quickly moved to providing the voice to many nameless Walter Lantz
characters for theatrical shorts later seen on the Woody Woodpecker
program. His notable character was the penguin "Chilly Willy
" and his sidekick, the southern-speaking dog Smedley (the same voice used for Tex Avery's laid-back wolf character).
Also in the 1950s, Stan Freberg asked Butler to help him write comedy skits for his Capitol Records
albums. Their first collaboration, "St. George and the Dragon-Net" (based on Dragnet), was the first comedy record to sell over one million copies. Freberg was more of a satirist who did song parodies, but the bulk of his "talking" routines were co-written by, and co-starred, Daws Butler. Butler also teamed up again with Freberg and cartoon actress June Foray
in a short-lived network radio series, The Stan Freberg Show
, which ran from July to October 1957 on the CBS Radio Network. Freberg's box-set, Tip of the Freberg (Rhino Entertainment
, 1999) chronicles every aspect of Freberg's career except the cartoon voice-over work, and it showcases his career with Daws Butler.
In 1957, MGM closed their animation division, and producers William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
found themselves unemployed. They quickly formed their own company
, and Daws Butler and Don Messick were on-hand to provide voices. The first, The Ruff & Reddy Show
, set the formula for the rest of the series of cartoons that the two would helm until the mid 1960s.
The characters with voices by Butler from 1957 to 1978 included:
Butler would voice most of these characters for many decades, in both TV shows and in some commercials. The breakfast cereal mascot Cap'n Crunch
became an icon of sorts on Saturday morning TV through many commercials produced by Jay Ward
. Butler gave voice to the Cap'n from the 1960s to the 1980s. He based the voice on that of character actor Charles Butterworth
. In the 1970s he was the voice of "Hair Bear" and a few characters in minor cartoons such as C.B. Bears. On Wacky Races
, Butler provided the voices for a number of the racers, notably Rock Slag, Big Gruesome, the Red Max, Sgt. Blast, Peter Perfect, and Rufus Ruffcut. On Laff-a-Lympics
, Butler was virtually the entire "Yogi Yahooey" team. He voiced a penguin and a turtle in the movie Mary Poppins
, his only known film work for Disney. Along with Stan Freberg
, Paul Frees
and June Foray
, Butler also provided voices for countless children's records featuring recreations of several successful Disney cartoons and films.
impression; Butler had done a similar voice in several of Robert McKimson
's films at Warner Brothers and Stan Freberg's comedy record "The Honey-Earthers." However, Butler soon changed Yogi's voice, making it much deeper and more sing-songy, thus making it a more original voice. Hokey Wolf began as an impression of Phil Silvers
, and Snagglepuss as Bert Lahr
. In fact, when Snagglepuss began appearing in commercials for Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies
in 1961, Lahr threatened to sue Butler for "stealing" his voice. As part of the settlement, the disclaimer "Snagglepuss voice by Daws Butler" was required to appear on each commercial, making him the only voice actor ever to receive one in an animated TV commercial. Again, Butler redesigned these voices, making them his own inventions. Huckleberry Hound was inspired many years earlier, in 1945, by the North Carolina neighbor of Daws's wife's family, and he had in fact been using that voice for a long time, for Avery's laid-back wolf and Lantz's Smedley.
was recovering from a motor vehicle accident, Butler stepped in to provide the voice of Barney Rubble
(another rather Carney-esque voice) in four episodes of Flintstones
. Butler remained somewhat low-key in the 1970s and 1980s, until a 1985 revival of The Jetsons
. In 1975, Butler began an acting workshop that spawned such talents as Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons
), Corey Burton
(Old Navy, Disney), and Joe Bevilacqua
(NPR
).
In the year of his death, The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound
was released, a tour-de-force featuring most of his classic early characters.
during World War II
. They had four sons, David Butler, Don Butler, Paul Butler, Charles Butler. Butler died from a heart attack
on May 18, 1988. Being a Roman Catholic, he was buried in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery
. Many of his roles were assumed by Greg Burson
, who had personally studied with Butler for years.
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
characters, including Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
, Quick Draw McGraw
Quick Draw McGraw
The Quick Draw McGraw Show is the third cartoon television production created by Hanna-Barbera starring an anthropomorphic cartoon horse named Quick Draw McGraw following their success with The Ruff & Reddy Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show. The show debuted in syndication in the fall of 1959,...
, Snagglepuss
Snagglepuss
Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character created in 1959, a pink anthropomorphic mountain lion voiced by Daws Butler. He is best known for his famous catchphrase, "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", along with phrases such as "Exit, stage left!" Snagglepuss was originally known as "Snaggletooth"...
, and Huckleberry Hound
Huckleberry Hound
The Huckleberry Hound Show is a 1958 syndicated animated series and the second from Hanna-Barbera following The Ruff & Reddy Show, sponsored by Kellogg's. Three segments were included in the program: one featuring Huckleberry Hound; another starring Yogi Bear and his sidekick Boo Boo; and a third...
.
Daws Butler trained many working actors including Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
(the voice of Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
), Corey Burton
Corey Burton
Corey Burton is an American voice actor, perhaps best known as Count Dooku, Ziro the Hutt and Cad Bane in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Brainiac in the DC animated universe and Spike Witwicky and Shockwave in the Transformers universe...
(the voice of Dale in Chip 'n' Dale) and Joe Bevilacqua
Joe Bevilacqua
Joe Bevilacqua is an award-winning voice actor, radio producer, dramatist, humorist, and documentary film producer.- Early life :Bevilacqua grew up in Newark, New Jersey, the son of a policeman and a housewife.- Career :...
(whom Butler personally taught how to do all of his characters). Butler's voice and scripts were a frequent part of Bevilacqua's now-defunct XM show. Bevilacqua also wrote Butler's official biography, published by Bear Manor Media. A new book of cartoon scripts written by Daws Butler and Joe Bevilacqua, Uncle Dunkle and Donnie: Fractured Fables, was scheduled for publication in the fall of 2009. A four-volume, 4½-hour audio set of Uncle Dunkle and Donnie was to be released simultaneously with Bevilacqua performing all 97 characters in 35 stories. Butler also trained Hal Rayle
Hal Rayle
Hal Rayle is an American voice actor. He has done many roles for both animated series and live action movies.-Career:Rayle has had a number of voice acting jobs over his career. Rayle's animated series roles include Lieutenant Commander Steele in SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, Pipes, Snarl and...
, who ultimately determined that his best-known character of Doyle Cleverlobe from Galaxy High School should sound like Elroy Jetson after he finished puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
.
Early life and career
His first voice work came in 1943 at MGMMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
hired Butler to provide narration work for several of his cartoons. In many cartoons, there was a nameless wolf who spoke in a Southern accent
Southern American English
Southern American English is a group of dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from Southern and Eastern Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky to the Gulf Coast, and from the Atlantic coast to most of Texas and Oklahoma.The Southern dialects make...
and whistled all the time. Butler provided the voice for this wolf. While at MGM, Avery wanted Butler to try to do the voice of Droopy, a character that Bill Thompson
Bill Thompson (voice actor)
Bill Thompson was an American radio actor and voice actor whose career stretched from the 1930s until his death.-Early career:...
regularly voiced. Butler performed the voice for a few cartoons, but he then told Avery about Don Messick
Don Messick
Donald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
, another voice actor and Butler's life-long friend. Messick quickly became a voice actor.
In 1949, Butler landed a role in a televised puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
show created by former Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
cartoon director Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
called Time for Beany
Time for Beany
Time for Beany was an American television series, with puppets for characters, which aired locally in Los Angeles starting in 1949 and nationally on the improvised Paramount Television Network from 1950 to 1955...
. Thirty-three-year-old Butler was teamed up with 23-year-old Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
, and together they did all the voices of the puppets. Butler voiced Beany Boy and Captain Huffenpuff. Freberg voiced Cecil and Dishonest John. An entire stable of recurring characters were seen. The show's writers were Charles Shows and Lloyd Turner, whose dependably funny dialog was still always at the mercy of Butler's and Freberg's ad libs. Time for Beany ran from 1949 to 1954 and won several Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s. It was the basis for the cartoon Beany and Cecil
Beany and Cecil
Beany and Cecil was an animated cartoon series created by Bob Clampett, who had previously worked for Warner Bros.. As a puppet show entitled Time for Beany, it originally aired in 1949, with the animated series first appearing in Matty's Funday Funnies in 1959, later renamed Matty's Funnies with...
.
Butler briefly turned his attention to TV commercials, although he quickly moved to providing the voice to many nameless Walter Lantz
Walter Lantz
Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, film producer, and director, best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.-Early years and start in animation:...
characters for theatrical shorts later seen on the Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
program. His notable character was the penguin "Chilly Willy
Chilly Willy
Chilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive anthropomorphic penguin living in Alaska, although the species is native only to the southern hemisphere. He was created by Paul J. Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953...
" and his sidekick, the southern-speaking dog Smedley (the same voice used for Tex Avery's laid-back wolf character).
Also in the 1950s, Stan Freberg asked Butler to help him write comedy skits for his Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
albums. Their first collaboration, "St. George and the Dragon-Net" (based on Dragnet), was the first comedy record to sell over one million copies. Freberg was more of a satirist who did song parodies, but the bulk of his "talking" routines were co-written by, and co-starred, Daws Butler. Butler also teamed up again with Freberg and cartoon actress June Foray
June Foray
June Foray is an American voice actress, best known as the voice of many animated characters...
in a short-lived network radio series, The Stan Freberg Show
The Stan Freberg Show
The Stan Freberg Show was a weekly radio comedy show that ran on the CBS Radio Network for only fifteen episodes in 1957 from July 14 through October 20...
, which ran from July to October 1957 on the CBS Radio Network. Freberg's box-set, Tip of the Freberg (Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
, 1999) chronicles every aspect of Freberg's career except the cartoon voice-over work, and it showcases his career with Daws Butler.
In 1957, MGM closed their animation division, and producers William Hanna
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
and Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
found themselves unemployed. They quickly formed their own company
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
, and Daws Butler and Don Messick were on-hand to provide voices. The first, The Ruff & Reddy Show
The Ruff & Reddy Show
The Ruff & Reddy Show is a Hanna-Barbera animated series starring Ruff, a straight and smart cat voiced by Don Messick, and Reddy, a dumb and stupid dog voiced by Daws Butler...
, set the formula for the rest of the series of cartoons that the two would helm until the mid 1960s.
Voice characters
- "Bring 'Em Back Alive" CliveChilly WillyChilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive anthropomorphic penguin living in Alaska, although the species is native only to the southern hemisphere. He was created by Paul J. Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953...
- Aesop's Son (in the "Aesop and Son" segment of The Rocky and Bullwinkle ShowThe Rocky and Bullwinkle ShowThe Rocky & Bullwinkle Show is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959 to June 28, 1964 on the ABC and NBC television networks...
) - Fibber Fox and Alfy Gator (of Yakky DoodleYakky DoodleYakky Doodle is a fictional character created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Yakky's name is an obvious takeoff of Yankee Doodle.-History:...
) - Ali Gator (in two Lantz theatrical shorts)
- Augie DoggieAugie Doggie and Doggie DaddyAugie Doggie and Doggie Daddy are Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters who debuted on The Quick Draw McGraw Show and appeared in their own segment of that show.-Summary:The segments centered around the misadventures of a dachshund father-and-son team...
- Baba LooeyBaba LooeyBaba Looey is a fictional anthropomorphic Mexican burro that appeared in The Quick Draw McGraw Show. He is deputy and best friend to Quick Draw McGraw. He was voiced by Daws Butler.Character:...
(from Quick Draw McGrawQuick Draw McGrawThe Quick Draw McGraw Show is the third cartoon television production created by Hanna-Barbera starring an anthropomorphic cartoon horse named Quick Draw McGraw following their success with The Ruff & Reddy Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show. The show debuted in syndication in the fall of 1959,...
) - Barney RubbleBarney RubbleBernard "Barney" Rubble is the deuteragonist of the television animated series The Flintstones. He is the diminutive blonde-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
(from The FlintstonesThe FlintstonesThe Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
) (1959–1961; The Flagstones pilot and season two episodes 1, 2, 5, 6, and 9 only) - Big GruesomeWacky RacesWacky Races is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with each driver hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer." Wacky Races ran on CBS from September...
- Bingo (of Banana SplitsBanana SplitsThe Banana Splits were four comedic animal characters who featured in a late 1960s children's variety show made for television. The costumed hosts of the show were Fleegle , Bingo , Drooper and Snork .The Banana Splits Adventure Hour was an hour-long, packaged television program that featured both...
) - Brutus the Lion (of The Roman HolidaysThe Roman HolidaysThe Roman Holidays is a Hanna-Barbera animated television series that was broadcast in 1972 on NBC. It ran for 13 episodes before being cancelled...
) - Cap'n CrunchCap'n CrunchCap'n Crunch is a product line of sweetened corn and oat breakfast cereals introduced in 1963 and manufactured by Quaker Oats Company. Quaker Oats has been a division of PepsiCo since 2001. The product line is heralded by a cartoon mascot named Cap'n Crunch, a sea captain .-Development:Pamela Low,...
- Captain Skyhook (of The Space Kidettes)
- Chilly WillyChilly WillyChilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive anthropomorphic penguin living in Alaska, although the species is native only to the southern hemisphere. He was created by Paul J. Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953...
- CogswellThe JetsonsThe Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
- Colonel Pot ShotChilly WillyChilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive anthropomorphic penguin living in Alaska, although the species is native only to the southern hemisphere. He was created by Paul J. Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953...
- Dixie Mouse (of Pixie and Dixie)
- Elroy JetsonThe JetsonsThe Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
- Fibber Fox (of Yakky DoodleYakky DoodleYakky Doodle is a fictional character created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Yakky's name is an obvious takeoff of Yankee Doodle.-History:...
) - Fred FlintstoneFred FlintstoneFrederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
(1959; The Flagstones pilot only) - Gabby Gator (of Woody WoodpeckerWoody WoodpeckerWoody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
) - Gelationous Giant from The Phantom TollboothThe Phantom Tollbooth (film)The Phantom Tollbooth is a 1970 American live-action/animated film based on Norton Juster's 1961 children's book The Phantom Tollbooth. This film was produced by Chuck Jones at MGM Animation/Visual Arts. Jones also directed the film, save for the live action bookends directed by fellow Warner Bros....
- Gooney the "Gooney Bird" AlbatrossChilly WillyChilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive anthropomorphic penguin living in Alaska, although the species is native only to the southern hemisphere. He was created by Paul J. Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953...
- Hair Bear (of Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch)
- Henry OrbitThe JetsonsThe Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
- Hokey WolfHokey WolfHokey Wolf is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon about the adventures of a con-artist wolf who is always trying to cheat his way into the simple life...
- Huckleberry HoundHuckleberry HoundThe Huckleberry Hound Show is a 1958 syndicated animated series and the second from Hanna-Barbera following The Ruff & Reddy Show, sponsored by Kellogg's. Three segments were included in the program: one featuring Huckleberry Hound; another starring Yogi Bear and his sidekick Boo Boo; and a third...
- Hustle (of The CB BearsCB BearsCB Bears was a 60-minute Saturday morning cartoon program block produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired on NBC from September 10 to December 3, 1977...
) - Jonathan Wellington "Mudsy" Muddlemore (of The Funky PhantomThe Funky PhantomThe Funky Phantom was a Saturday morning cartoon, produced for Hanna-Barbera Productions by Australian production company, Air Programs International in 1971 for ABC.-Plot:...
) - Karlos K. KrinkelbeinThe Cat in the Hat (TV special)The Cat in the Hat is an animated musical television special first aired on CBS on March 10, 1971, based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss' children's book of the same name and produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
(from the 1971 animated TV special version of The Cat in the HatThe Cat in the Hat (TV special)The Cat in the Hat is an animated musical television special first aired on CBS on March 10, 1971, based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss' children's book of the same name and produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
) - LambsyCattanooga CatsCattanooga Cats is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for ABC. It aired from September 6, 1969 until September 4, 1971.-Segments:...
(of "It's the Wolf" on Cattanooga CatsCattanooga CatsCattanooga Cats is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for ABC. It aired from September 6, 1969 until September 4, 1971.-Segments:...
) - Lippy the LionLippy the LionLippy the Lion & Hardy Har Har are a pair of anthropomorphic Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters, a lion in a tattered top hat and vest and a hyena in a porkpie hat and bow tie, respectively...
- Loopy De LoopLoopy De LoopLoopy De Loop was the only theatrical cartoon short series produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera after leaving MGM and opening their new Hanna-Barbera Studios...
- Louie (from The DogfatherThe DogfatherThe Dogfather was created by Hawley Pratt and Friz Freleng. The shorts were produced by DFE films, released through theaters by United Artists and ran from 1974 to 1976. 17 shorts were produced.-Plot:...
) - Maxie the Polar BearChilly WillyChilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive anthropomorphic penguin living in Alaska, although the species is native only to the southern hemisphere. He was created by Paul J. Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953...
- Mr. Jinks (of Pixie and Dixie)
- Peter PerfectWacky RacesWacky Races is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with each driver hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer." Wacky Races ran on CBS from September...
- Peter PotamusPeter PotamusPeter Potamus is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and first broadcast on September 16, 1964. -Premise:Peter Potamus was a syndicated series divided into three segments; one of Peter Potamus and So-So, one of...
- Pug (from The DogfatherThe DogfatherThe Dogfather was created by Hawley Pratt and Friz Freleng. The shorts were produced by DFE films, released through theaters by United Artists and ran from 1974 to 1976. 17 shorts were produced.-Plot:...
) - Quick Draw McGrawQuick Draw McGrawThe Quick Draw McGraw Show is the third cartoon television production created by Hanna-Barbera starring an anthropomorphic cartoon horse named Quick Draw McGraw following their success with The Ruff & Reddy Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show. The show debuted in syndication in the fall of 1959,...
- QuispQuispQuisp is a sugar-sweetened breakfast cereal from the Quaker Oats Company. It was introduced in 1965 and continued as a mass-market grocery item until the late 1970s. Sometime afterward, the company sold the item sporadically, and upon the rise of the Internet began selling it primarily online.Quisp...
- Raggedy Andy (in "The Great Santa Claus Caper (1978)")
- Red MaxWacky RacesWacky Races is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with each driver hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer." Wacky Races ran on CBS from September...
- Reddy the dog (from The Ruff & Reddy ShowThe Ruff & Reddy ShowThe Ruff & Reddy Show is a Hanna-Barbera animated series starring Ruff, a straight and smart cat voiced by Don Messick, and Reddy, a dumb and stupid dog voiced by Daws Butler...
) - Rock SlagWacky RacesWacky Races is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with each driver hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer." Wacky Races ran on CBS from September...
- Rufus RuffcutWacky RacesWacky Races is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with each driver hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer." Wacky Races ran on CBS from September...
- Scooby-Dum
- Senses Taker from The Phantom TollboothThe Phantom Tollbooth (film)The Phantom Tollbooth is a 1970 American live-action/animated film based on Norton Juster's 1961 children's book The Phantom Tollbooth. This film was produced by Chuck Jones at MGM Animation/Visual Arts. Jones also directed the film, save for the live action bookends directed by fellow Warner Bros....
- Sgt. BlastWacky RacesWacky Races is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with each driver hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer." Wacky Races ran on CBS from September...
- Smedley the dog (from the Chilly Willy cartoons)
- SnagglepussSnagglepussSnagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character created in 1959, a pink anthropomorphic mountain lion voiced by Daws Butler. He is best known for his famous catchphrase, "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", along with phrases such as "Exit, stage left!" Snagglepuss was originally known as "Snaggletooth"...
- Super Snooper and Blabber MouseSnooper and BlabberSnooper and Blabber is one of the sequences from The Quick Draw McGraw Show . Snooper and Blabber form a pair of cat and mouse detectives. Daws Butler voiced both characters although some of the earliest episodes feature Jerry Hausner as Blabber. Michael Maltese crafted the stories...
- Stick and Duke (of Posse ImpossibleCB BearsCB Bears was a 60-minute Saturday morning cartoon program block produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired on NBC from September 10 to December 3, 1977...
) - Undercover ElephantCB BearsCB Bears was a 60-minute Saturday morning cartoon program block produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired on NBC from September 10 to December 3, 1977...
- Terrible Trivium from The Phantom TollboothThe Phantom Tollbooth (film)The Phantom Tollbooth is a 1970 American live-action/animated film based on Norton Juster's 1961 children's book The Phantom Tollbooth. This film was produced by Chuck Jones at MGM Animation/Visual Arts. Jones also directed the film, save for the live action bookends directed by fellow Warner Bros....
- Whether Man from The Phantom TollboothThe Phantom Tollbooth (film)The Phantom Tollbooth is a 1970 American live-action/animated film based on Norton Juster's 1961 children's book The Phantom Tollbooth. This film was produced by Chuck Jones at MGM Animation/Visual Arts. Jones also directed the film, save for the live action bookends directed by fellow Warner Bros....
- Wally GatorWally GatorWally Gator is one of the segments from The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series. The other segments that compose this trilogy are Lippy the Lion & Hardy Har Har and Touché Turtle and Dum Dum. The segment consisted of 52 episodes over two seasons....
- WimpyJ. Wellington WimpyJ. Wellington Wimpy, generally referred to as Wimpy, is one of the characters in the long-running comic strip Popeye, created by E. C. Segar and originally called Thimble Theatre, and in the Popeye cartoons based upon the strip...
(from The All-New Popeye HourThe All-New Popeye HourThe All-New Popeye Hour is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and King Features Syndicate. Starring the popular comic strip character Popeye, the series aired from 1978 to 1983 on CBS.-Production:...
) - Wolf (from the Droopy cartoons)
- Yahooey (from Yippee, Yappee and YahooeyYippee, Yappee and YahooeyYippee, Yappee and Yahooey is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon which premiered September 16, 1964. The show was presented as a segment of Peter Potamus and his Magic Flying Balloon, along with Breezly and Sneezly and Peter Potamus.-Plot:...
) - Yogi BearYogi BearYogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
Butler would voice most of these characters for many decades, in both TV shows and in some commercials. The breakfast cereal mascot Cap'n Crunch
Cap'n Crunch
Cap'n Crunch is a product line of sweetened corn and oat breakfast cereals introduced in 1963 and manufactured by Quaker Oats Company. Quaker Oats has been a division of PepsiCo since 2001. The product line is heralded by a cartoon mascot named Cap'n Crunch, a sea captain .-Development:Pamela Low,...
became an icon of sorts on Saturday morning TV through many commercials produced by Jay Ward
Jay Ward
J Troplong "Jay" Ward was an American creator and producer of animated television cartoons. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody and Sherman, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken...
. Butler gave voice to the Cap'n from the 1960s to the 1980s. He based the voice on that of character actor Charles Butterworth
Charles Butterworth (actor)
Charles Butterworth was an American actor specializing in comedy roles, often in musicals. In his obituary, he was described as "the man who could not make up his mind". Butterworth's distinct voice was the inspiration for the Cap'n Crunch commercials from the Jay Ward studio...
. In the 1970s he was the voice of "Hair Bear" and a few characters in minor cartoons such as C.B. Bears. On Wacky Races
Wacky Races
Wacky Races is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with each driver hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer." Wacky Races ran on CBS from September...
, Butler provided the voices for a number of the racers, notably Rock Slag, Big Gruesome, the Red Max, Sgt. Blast, Peter Perfect, and Rufus Ruffcut. On Laff-a-Lympics
Laff-A-Lympics
Laff-A-Lympics was the co-headlining segment, with Scooby-Doo, of the package Saturday morning cartoon series Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show was a spoof of the Olympics and the ABC television series Battle of the Network Stars, which debuted one...
, Butler was virtually the entire "Yogi Yahooey" team. He voiced a penguin and a turtle in the movie Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
, his only known film work for Disney. Along with Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
, Paul Frees
Paul Frees
Paul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
and June Foray
June Foray
June Foray is an American voice actress, best known as the voice of many animated characters...
, Butler also provided voices for countless children's records featuring recreations of several successful Disney cartoons and films.
Inspiration
Butler based some of his voices on popular celebrities of the day. Yogi Bear began as an Art CarneyArt Carney
Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
impression; Butler had done a similar voice in several of Robert McKimson
Robert McKimson
Robert "Bob" Porter McKimson, Sr. was an American animator, illustrator, and director best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros., and later DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
's films at Warner Brothers and Stan Freberg's comedy record "The Honey-Earthers." However, Butler soon changed Yogi's voice, making it much deeper and more sing-songy, thus making it a more original voice. Hokey Wolf began as an impression of Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S...
, and Snagglepuss as Bert Lahr
Bert Lahr
Bert Lahr was an American actor and comedian. Lahr is remembered today for his roles as the Cowardly Lion and Kansas farmworker Zeke in The Wizard of Oz, but was also well-known for work in burlesque, vaudeville, and on Broadway.-Early life:Lahr was born in New York City, of German-Jewish heritage...
. In fact, when Snagglepuss began appearing in commercials for Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies
Cocoa Krispies
Cocoa Krispies is a breakfast cereal produced by Kellogg's, coming both as a packet cereal and as a snack bar with a dried milk covered bottom to make the cereal-with-milk tradition portable. It is a cocoa-flavored version of Rice Krispies...
in 1961, Lahr threatened to sue Butler for "stealing" his voice. As part of the settlement, the disclaimer "Snagglepuss voice by Daws Butler" was required to appear on each commercial, making him the only voice actor ever to receive one in an animated TV commercial. Again, Butler redesigned these voices, making them his own inventions. Huckleberry Hound was inspired many years earlier, in 1945, by the North Carolina neighbor of Daws's wife's family, and he had in fact been using that voice for a long time, for Avery's laid-back wolf and Lantz's Smedley.
Later life
When Mel BlancMel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
was recovering from a motor vehicle accident, Butler stepped in to provide the voice of Barney Rubble
Barney Rubble
Bernard "Barney" Rubble is the deuteragonist of the television animated series The Flintstones. He is the diminutive blonde-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
(another rather Carney-esque voice) in four episodes of Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
. Butler remained somewhat low-key in the 1970s and 1980s, until a 1985 revival of The Jetsons
The Jetsons
The Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
. In 1975, Butler began an acting workshop that spawned such talents as Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
), Corey Burton
Corey Burton
Corey Burton is an American voice actor, perhaps best known as Count Dooku, Ziro the Hutt and Cad Bane in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Brainiac in the DC animated universe and Spike Witwicky and Shockwave in the Transformers universe...
(Old Navy, Disney), and Joe Bevilacqua
Joe Bevilacqua
Joe Bevilacqua is an award-winning voice actor, radio producer, dramatist, humorist, and documentary film producer.- Early life :Bevilacqua grew up in Newark, New Jersey, the son of a policeman and a housewife.- Career :...
(NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
).
In the year of his death, The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound
The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound
The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound is a 1988 American animated television movie that stars Huckleberry Hound. It was a part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series of televised movies. This television feature is a parody of various western movies, the title is a take-off of The Good, the...
was released, a tour-de-force featuring most of his classic early characters.
Personal life and death
He was married to Myrtis Martin from the 1940s to 1988, whom he had met and married while he was in the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. They had four sons, David Butler, Don Butler, Paul Butler, Charles Butler. Butler died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on May 18, 1988. Being a Roman Catholic, he was buried in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
. Many of his roles were assumed by Greg Burson
Greg Burson
-Biography:Greg Burson was given the responsibility of voicing Bugs Bunny in the 1995 Carrotblanca, a well-received 8-minute Looney Tunes cartoon originally shown in cinemas alongside The Amazing Panda Adventure and The Pebble and the Penguin...
, who had personally studied with Butler for years.
Media
- The video Daws Butler: Voice Magician is a 1987 documentary of Butler's career from his pre-MGM days on up through his teaming with Freberg in 1949 and the teaming with Don MessickDon MessickDonald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
in 1957. It was originally seen as a PBS pledge-drive special.
- Former Butler protege Joe BevilacquaJoe BevilacquaJoe Bevilacqua is an award-winning voice actor, radio producer, dramatist, humorist, and documentary film producer.- Early life :Bevilacqua grew up in Newark, New Jersey, the son of a policeman and a housewife.- Career :...
used to host a radio series on XM Satellite Radio's Sonic Theater Channel called The Comedy-O-Rama Hour which features a regular segment called What the Butler Wrote: Scenes from the Daws Butler Workshop with rare scripts of Daws performed by his students, including Nancy CartwrightNancy CartwrightNancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
, and rare recordings of Daws himself. Bevilacqua has also co-authored (with Ben Ohmart) the authorized biography book Daws Butler, Characters Actor, and edited the book Scenes for Actors and Voices written by Daws Butler, both published by Bear Manor Media.
External links
- http://www.archive.org/download/CBSRadioWorkshop/CBSrw_57-07-28_ep78-Never_Bet_the_Devil_Your_Head.mp3 A rare dramatic role by Butler as Toby Dammit in Poe's story Never Bet the Devil Your Head
- The Official Daws Butler Website
- Comedy-O-Rama and Scenes From the Daws Butler Workshop