Mel Blanc (1908 - 1989) - a famous American voice actor, comedian, entertainer. Known primarily as an actor for voicing the characters of the cartoon characters of Warner Bros. Mel's voice is spoken by the characters Bugs Bunny, Cat Sylvester, Porky Pig, Chick Tweety, Coyote Willie and many others.
For his talent for managing his own voice, Blank received the nickname "Man of a Thousand Votes."
Youth and career start
Mel was born on May 30, 1908 in the city of San Francisco. The full name of the actor is Melvin Jerome Blank.
When Mel was sixteen years old, his school teacher said that he, as a person, is worth nothing and fully corresponds to his last name Blank (which is translated as “empty” in Russian). Then Blank changed the last letter of the surname, it became known not Mel Blank, but Mel Blanc.
As an actor, the guy first tried himself in 1927, when he got a job at the KGW radio station. A few years later, Mel switched to working on KEX radio, and in 1935 got a job on a radio station owned by Warner Bros. KFWB.
After working at this radio station for only a year, Mel quit again and got a job on CBS radio.
Blanca had a well-developed comedian talent from childhood. Comic shows were easy for the actor; he regularly appeared on the shows of the then-popular comedian Jack Benny, who broadcast on radio.
In the show, Jack Benny Mel had to portray a lot of different characters, which played into the hands of the actor in subsequent years. Over time, the Benny show became so popular, and largely thanks to Mel, that in the mid-40s, Blank decided to create his own show.
The broadcast, which Mel launched, lasted a year on CBS radio.
Sounding cartoons
In 1936, actor Mel Blank engaged in voicing cartoons in a special multinational department of Warner Brothers. He did not get there right away. Initially, the company's multi-department was supervised by music director Norman Spencer. He categorically did not want to hire Blank. Only after his death, did Blank get into the multi-department.
Blanca had to work with such legendary animators as Tex Avery, Fritz Freeling, Frank Tashlin and Bob Clampett.
The first cartoon, which was commissioned to voice Mela - "Picador Porki", released in 1937. In it, Blank voiced a drunken bull. Soon, the talented actor voiced Porqui Porky and Daphi Duck in the cartoon “Porky's Duck Hunt”.
A little more time passed, and Mel voiced already all the main characters of the company’s cartoons: Bugs Bani, Sylvester, Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn and many others.
In the 60s, Mel left Warner Bros. and got a job at Hanna-Barbera.
From 1962 to 1967, Blank worked on the voice acting for the animated series Tom and Jerry with Chuck Jones.
Car accident
In January 1961, Mel Blanc had a serious car accident. He had a head injury, both legs and pelvic bones were fractured. The actor fell into a coma for three weeks. During his stay in the hospital, Mel received about fifteen thousand cards with the wishes of a speedy recovery. Many of them were addressed to Blanc's character Bagz Bunny.
After recovering, Mel liked to tell that one of his doctors called him Bugs Bunny when the actor was in a coma. Coming out of a coma, Mel answered the doctor with the voice of a famous hare.
Mel considered it necessary to constantly fight for their rights. He repeatedly studied with the studio for copyright for voice acting, and after the accident he sued the municipality in which this car accident happened. As a result, the municipality was obliged to repair and secure this section of the road.
The accident with the actor happened while Mel was working on dubbing the Flintstones for ABC. While in the hospital, he was temporarily replaced by actor Dawes Butler.
As soon as the actor got out of the coma and returned home, ABC ordered to bring and install recording equipment at Mel's house so that Blank could work at home.
Recent work and death
The last films of Mel Blanca: “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, “Star Wars” (voiced by the S-3PO robot), as well as the cartoon “Heathcliff” (the role of the cat of Heathcliff).
In the 80s, Mel often engaged in dubbing commercials. It was hard for the actor to work on advertising, he often repeated that such work was younger for the actors.
The actor died July 10, 1989 from heart failure. The inscription “That's all guys!” Is carved on his headstone. Mel Blank, a man of a thousand votes. "