Paul Frees
Solomon Hersh Frees (born June 22, 1920 in Chicago , Illinois , United States - † November 2, 1986 in Tiburon , California , United States), better known as Paul Frees , was an American actor , voice actor , comedian and screenwriter , known for his work at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Trickstudio , Walter Lantz Productions and The Walt Disney Company in the golden age of animation and for providing the voice of Boris Badenov on the television series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show . He became known as "The Man of a Thousand Voices".
Early life
Paul Frees was born Solomon Hersh Frees on June 22, 1920 in Chicago , Illinois , United States . He had an unusually deep four-octave vocal range, which enabled him to play the voice of the "ghost host" in The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland in California and at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida the voice of Little Green Sprout in the Green Synchronize Giant Vegetable Commercials.
Career
In the 1930s, Frees first appeared as an impressionist under the name Buddy Green . He began his radio career in 1942 and remained active there for 40 years. During this time he was involved in over 250 films, cartoons and television appearances; as with many voice actors, however, his appearances were often not noted in the credits.
Frees' early radio career was briefly interrupted when he was in the Second World War was convened and in Normandy in France in Operation Neptune fought. He was shot and returned to the United States for a year to recover. The provisions of the GI Bill allowed him to attend the Chouinard Art Institute . When his first wife's health deteriorated significantly, he returned to the radio.
He appeared frequently on Hollywood radio series, played leading roles and was in the late 1940s, alternating with William Conrad, the opening spokesman for the radio play series Suspense and in parts of Smoking Colts and Crime Classic . One of his few leading roles in this medium was as Jethro Dumont / Green Lama in the series The Green Lama (1949).
Frees was often used in the 1950s and 1960s to correct other actors' dialogues with a foreign dialect. That expanded from small to large roles such as in films like Grand Prix (1966 as Izo Yamura) and Battle for Midway (1976), where Frees dubbed Toshirō Mifune's appearances as Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ; or in Some Like It Hot (1959), in which he dubbed Director Mozzarella and Tony Curtis ' role as Josephine. In the Disney film Beloved House Tyrant (1966) he played the full role of Eddie, whose actor Dick Wessel had suddenly died of a heart attack after filming . He also dubbed Humphrey Bogart in his last film, Dirty Laurel (1956), as the actor, who had esophageal cancer, could hardly say anything. Frees also dubbed the cars in the film The Great Race Around the World (1965).
In contrast to many other voice actors, Frees not only worked for a film studio, but for at least nine of the most important film companies of the 20th century: Walt Disney Studios , Walter Lantz Studios , UPA , Hanna-Barbera , Filmation , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , DePatie- Freleng Enterprises , Jay Ward Productions, and Rankin / Bass Productions .
Disney
Some of Frees' most famous dubbing were for various Disney productions. He played the role of Prime Minister Quack in 11 episodes of the Walt Disney anthology television series , beginning with the first episode under the new series name Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color on September 24, 1961. The character also appeared in many Walt Disney Records . Quack's introductory cartoon An Adventure in Color , The Spectrum Song , was sung by Frees. Another recording of the song was released as a children's version and was later reissued on CD.
Frees has narrated numerous Disney cartoons, including the educational short film Donald in Mathmagic Land . A small action role for Disney in the feature film The Unheimliche Zotti (1959), Dr. Galvin, also here as the opening voice.
He also spoke to numerous characters in Disney parks, for example the invisible "Ghost Host" in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort , and several pirates, including the auctioneer in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride . Disney eventually released limited edition CDs with outtakes and unused audio tracks by Frees and others to commemorate the two rides. Frees provided narration for the Tomorrowland attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space (1967–1985) and the first narration for the Hall of Presidents (1971–1993). Audio clips of the specifics of Frees' distinctive voice have even appeared in fireworks shows at Disneyland.
A computer-animated vocal hit based on the image of Frees appeared in the film Die Geistervilla (2003) as an honor. Similarly, audio recordings of Frees from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction can be heard in the feature film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).
His other Disney appearances, mostly narrating segments of the Walt Disney anthology television series , include:
- From Aesop to Hans Christian Andersen (Movie made for TV, 1955)
- The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca (Miniseries, 1958)
- Tales of Texas John Slaughter (Miniseries, 1958)
- The Eerie Zotti (film, 1959)
- The flying timpanist (film, 1961)
- Moochie of Pop Warner Football (Movie made for TV, 1960)
- The Monkey's Uncle (film, 1965)
Frees was honored as a Disney Legend on October 9, 2006 for his contributions to the Disney legacy .
Jay Ward Productions
Frees was a regular at Jay Ward Cartoons and provided his voice for Boris Badenov (from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show ), Inspector Fenwick (from Dudley Do-Right ; played by Eric Blore ), Ape (played by Ronald Colman ), District Commissioner Alistair and Weevil Plumtree in George of the Jungle , Baron Otto Matic in Tom Slick , Fred in Super Chicken , the Hoppity Hooper narrator, and many others.
Rankin / Bass
Frees has been involved in many characters from Ranking / Bass cartoons and animated TV specials. So he spoke to the villain mayor master burger and his assistant Grimsley in Santa Claus Is Comin 'to Town (1970). He also played the cop , ticket taker, and Santa in Frosty the Snowman in 1969. In 1968, he appeared as Captain Jones in the Thanksgiving special, The Mouse on the Mayflower . He dubbed the voices of special JRR Tolkien characters in Rankin / Bass-animated versions of The Hobbit and The Return of the King , as well as King Haggard's assistant Mabruk in The Last Unicorn and roles in the Jackson Five cartoon series between 1971 and 1973.
Paul Frees played in the following Rankin / Bass TV specials or films:
- Cricket on the Hearth (TV Special) (1967) Voice of Sea Captain and others
- The Mouse on the Mayflower (1968) voice of Captain Jones
- The Little Drummer Boy (1968) Ali, Aaron's father, three men
- Frosty the Snowman (1969) Cop, ticket taker, Santa Claus
- The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians (1970) Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, and WC Fields
- Santa Claus is Comin 'to Town (1970) Mayor Master Burger, Grimsley, Mayor's Soldier
- Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) Colonel Bunny's assistant, Fireman, Man at Thanksgiving Table, Santa Claus
- The First Easter Rabbit (1976) voice of Santa, Zero and Spats
- Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976) voice of Jack Frost
- Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976) Santa Claus, General Ticker, Aeon the Terrible, Humpty Dumpty
- The Hobbit (1977) voice of Bombur and Troll # 1
- Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) voice of Olaf and Donkey Dealer
- Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979) Jack Frost, Policeman, Winterbolt
- Jack Frost (1979) Father Winter, Kubla Kraus
- The Return of the King (1980) Orc, Uruk-hai, Elrond (replacing the late Cyril Ritchard whodubbedElrond in The Hobbit )
- The Last Unicorn (1982) voice of Mabruk
- The Flight of Dragons (1982) voice of Antiquity
Other synchronous work
Frees dubbed special characters including three of the main characters in the US version of The Adventures of Tintin , which was based on the books by Hergé .
He also spoke the trailer for the Clint Eastwood film Sadistico (1971).
Others
Although Frees was best known for his work as a voice actor (like Mel Blanc , Frees was known in the industry as "The Man of a Thousand Voices"), he also wrote songs and scripts. As a screenwriter and director, he created the film The Beatniks (1960), a film of the emerging beat generation in the style of Reefer Madness (1936).
In the movie The Thing (1951) he played a scientist and in the CBS - sitcom Meet Mr. McNutley an angry husband who accuses his wife. Frees rarely worked as a cameraman , but mostly only on a smaller scale. He appeared in 1954 in the black and white classic The Assassin .
family
Frees had a total of five marriages. His first wife, Anelle McCloud, died on September 20, 1945. He married Kleda June Hansen on February 10, 1947, but the two divorced on February 23, 1950. On February 27, 1951, Frees married Joyce Schultz and had a child with her, but they too divorced. From 1967 to 1969 he was married to Jeri J Cole. On June 15, 1971, he got his last marriage to Beverly T. Marlow, with whom he remained married until his death on November 2, 1986.
His son Fred Frees is also a voice actor.
Death and afterlife
Frees died unexpectedly of heart failure on November 2, 1986 in Tiburon , California , at the age of 66 . His body was cremated. The burial at sea took place in the Pacific .
After Frees' death, Corey Burton dubbed some of the deceased's characters and re-recorded some of the introductions to Disneyland attractions that Frees originally voiced. The latter was due to the fact that the Frees originals either no longer corresponded to the recording technology (digital recording methods) or no longer reflected the safety standards. In 1986, Corey Burton took over the role of Primus from Quack.
Filmography
Voice actor
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actor
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literature
- Paul Frees: The Writings of Paul Frees. BearManor Media, Albany 2004, ISBN 1-59393-011-9 .
- Paul Frees: You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To. The Letters of Paul “Buddy” Frees and Annelle Frees. BearManor Media, Albany 2011, ISBN 1-59393-646-X .
- Ben Ohmart: Welcome ... Foolish Mortals - The Life & Voices of Paul Frees. BearManor Media, Albany 2004, ISBN 1-59393-004-6 .
- Jordan R. Young: Spike Jones Off the Record: The Man Who Murdered Music. 3rd edition, BearManor Media, Albany 2005, ISBN 1-59393-012-7 .
Web links
- Paul Frees in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Paul Frees in the German dubbing file
- Paul Frees at All Movie Guide
- Paul Frees at Find a Grave
- Disney Legends profiles
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Paul Frees. In: The New York Times . November 5, 1986. Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
- ^ Robert C. Reinehr, John D. Swartz: The A to Z of Old Time Radio. Rowman & Littlefield, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8108-7616-3 , p. 104.
- ↑ David Perimutter: America Toons. In: A history of Television Animation McFarland & Company, 2014, ISBN 978-0-7864-7650-3 , p. 78.
- ^ Dave Smith: The Updated Official Encyclopedia: Disney A to Z. Hyperion Books, New York 1998, ISBN 0-7868-6391-9 , p. 337.
- ^ A b David J. Fisher: The Music of Disney: A Legacy in Song Collector's Book. Walt Disney Records, 1992, ISBN 0-7868-6359-5 , pp. 28, 48.
- ↑ 365 Days of Magic blog ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Frees, Paul |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Frees, Solomon Hersh; Frees, Solomon; Frees, Paul Hersh; Man of a thousand voices, The |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American actor, voice actor, comedian, screenwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 22, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago , Illinois , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 2nd 1986 |
| Place of death | Tiburon , California , United States |