Pinto Colvig

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Vance DeBar "Pinto" Colvig (born September 11, 1892 in Jacksonville , Oregon , † October 3, 1967 in Woodland Hills , California ) was an American actor , author , animator , illustrator and voice actor . He became known for his role as Bozo, the clown and for his voice, which he lent in cartoons to the world-famous Disney character Goofy and Popeye's arch enemy Bluto, among others .

childhood

Pinto Colvig at Jacksonville School (1900)

Colvig was born in 1892 as the youngest of seven children. Colvig discovered his passion for the role of the clown early on . Even as a small child, he amused people by making faces and imitating noises. In addition, Colvig was an excellent clarinet player from an early age . Thanks to these talents, he played a clarinet-playing clown in the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition at the age of 12.

His nickname "Pinto" comes from his childhood. He kept this name as a stage name.

Circus clown, comic book artist and animator

In 1913 Colvig left Oregon State University to join the "Vaudeville" circus. In 1914/15 he worked as a newspaper cartoonist for Carson City News. He initially gave up this work and joined the "Al G. Barnes Circus". In the winter months, however, he repeatedly worked as a cartoonist.

In 1916 Colvig met Margaret Bourke Slavin. Soon after, the two married, causing Colvig to quit his job as a clown and move to San Francisco with his wife . From then on Colvig concentrated on his work as a cartoonist. His cartoon series Life on the Radio-Wave, which parodied the new medium of radio and its influence on people , became famous .

From 1919 Colvig worked as an animator. He founded his own studio, Pinto Cartoon Comedies Co. It was here that he developed one of the first cartoon films in color: Pinto's Prizma Comedy Revue.

In 1922 Colvig moved to Hollywood with his family . There he was hired as an animator at Keystone Film Co. Soon, however, Colvig also wrote scripts and took part in films.

In 1928 Colvig and Walter Lantz developed one of the first animated films to be set to music: “Bolivar, the Talking Ostrich”. However, the film was not a success. Colvig then left Keystone Film Co.

Career as a speaker

From 1930 Colvig worked for Walt Disney Studios . At first he worked as an animator. Soon, however, Colvig's voice was recognized, from then on he was used as a voice actor. Among other things, he lent his voice to Pluto , Goofy, two dwarfs from Snow White and a pig in The Three Little Pigs. In 1937 Colvig left Disney for the time being after an argument. However, he did not remain idle and worked in the next few years for Warner Bros. Animation Studio, Fleischer Studios and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, among others. There he spoke, among other things, Gabby in Gulliver's Travels and Popeye's rival Bluto. In 1941 Colvig returned to Disney.

In total, Colvig has been used as a voice actor in well over 100 films. He remained true to this work until 1965 - two years before his death.

Bozo the clown

From 1946 Colvig was known as " Bozo the Clown ". The Bozo at the Circus series was initially conceived as a book or cassette series. Colvig not only spoke Bozo, but up to eight other voices. The series became an unexpectedly big success, which led to the fact that there was soon a TV series with Bozo as the main character. The series was named Bozo's Circus and was broadcast on KTTV (later CBS ) from 1949 . Here, too, Colvig played Bozo . In the role of the popular clown, he also appeared several times on the radio and also in persona in shows across the country.

During this time, however, the death of Colvig's wife Margaret Bourke, who died in 1950, also fell.

1956 Colvig was replaced in the role of Bozo by Larry Harmon . In 1959, Colvig's son, Vance Colvig Jr., became Bozo's third actor.

Colvig was one of the first to advocate for warnings on packets of cigarettes warning of the risk of cancer.

Pinto Colvig died of lung cancer on October 3, 1967 . In 1993 he was honored as a " Disney Legend " by the Walt Disney Company . On May 28, 2004 Colvig was inducted into the "Clown Hall of Fame" for his portrayal of Bozo, the clown .

Synchronized work

  • 1925: Buster Be Good
  • 1930: The Chain Gang as Pluto
  • 1932: The Klondike Kid as Goofy
  • 1932: Mickey's Revue as Dippy Dawg (later Goofy)
  • 1933: Three Little Pigs as Practical Pig
  • 1933: Ye Olden Days as Goofy
  • 1934: The Big Bad Wolf as Practical Wolf
  • 1934: The children's performance (Orphan's Benefit) as Goofy
  • 1934: The Wise Little Hen (The Wise Little Hen) as Peter Pig
  • 1935: On Ice as Goofy
  • 1935: Mickey's Fire Brigade as Goofy
  • 1936: Alpine Climbers as Pluto
  • 1936: Three Little Wolves as Practical Pig
  • 1937: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) as Sleepy and Grumpy
  • 1937: Clock Cleaners as Goofy
  • 1938: The Fox Hunt as Goofy
  • 1938: Boat Builders as Goofy
  • 1939: Gulliver 's Travels as Gabby
  • 1939: The Wizard of Oz as Munchkin
  • 1940: Busy Bakers as a baker
  • 1940: Shakespearean Spinach as Bluto
  • 1941: It's A Hap-Hap-Happy Day as Gabby
  • 1941: Gabby Goes Fishing as Gabby
  • 1942: The Army Mascot as Pluto
  • 1942: Symphony Hour as Goofy
  • 1943: Pluto and the Armadillo as Pluto
  • 1943: Saludos Amigos as Goofy
  • 1944: The Three Caballeros as Aracuan Bird
  • 1945: Hockey Homicide as Goofy
  • 1945: African Diary as Goofy
  • 1946: Frank Duck Brings' em Back Alive as Goofy
  • 1946: Make Mine Music (animal sounds)
  • 1947: Foul Hunting as Goofy
  • 1947: Clown of the Jungle as Aracuan Bird
  • 1948: Melody Time as Aracuan Bird
  • 1948: The Big Wash as Goofy
  • 1949: Goofy Gymnastics as Goofy
  • 1949: Tennis Racquet as Goofy
  • 1951: Tomorrow We Diet! as goofy
  • 1952: Man's Best Friend as Goofy
  • 1952: Father's Lion as Goofy
  • 1953: How to Sleep as Goofy
  • 1953: Father's Day Off as Goofy
  • 1956: Popeye as Bluto
  • 1958: Yogi Bär ( The Yogi Bear Show ) as a chopper
  • 1959: Sleeping Beauty as Maleficent's goon
  • 1959–1962: Matty's Funday Funnies
  • 1961: The Leisure Captain (Aquamania) as Goofy
  • 1965: Goofy's Freeway Troubles as Goofy
  • 1965: Freeway Phobia as Goofy

Other work

  • 1927: Better Days (Author)
  • 1931: The Bandmaster (Animator)
  • 1933: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? ( Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?; Co-composer)
  • 1937: Mickey's Amateurs (Director)
  • 1941: Two for the Zoo (Author)
  • 1942: The Raven (Author)
  • 1948: Bill and Coo (role as singer)
  • 1959–1962: Matty's Funday Funnies (Author)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Colvig, Pinto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Colvig, Vance DeBar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor, illustrator, animator, writer and voice actor
DATE OF BIRTH September 11, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Jacksonville , Oregon
DATE OF DEATH 3rd October 1967
Place of death Woodland Hills , California