Mel Blanc

Mel Blanc
Publicity photo (1959)
Born	Melvin Jerome Blank (1908-05-30)May 30, 1908 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	July 10, 1989(1989-07-10) (aged 81) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart disease Emphysema
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Nationality	American
Other names	"The Man of 1000 Voices"
Alma mater	Lincoln High School
Occupation	Voice actor actor radio comedian recording artist
Years active	1927–1989
Known for	Looney Tunes The Jack Benny Program
Spouse(s)	Estelle Rosenbaum (m. 1933–1989; his death)
Children	Noel Blanc

Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc (May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor, actor, radio comedian, and recording artist. He began his 60-plus-year career performing in radio, but is best remembered for his work in animation as the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, the Tasmanian Devil, and many of the other characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons during the golden age of American animation. He was, in fact, the voice for all of the major male Warner Bros. cartoon characters except for Elmer Fudd, whose voice was provided by fellow radio actor Arthur Q. Bryan (although Blanc later voiced Fudd, as well, after Bryan's death).

He later worked for Hanna-Barbera's television cartoons, most notably as the voices of Barney Rubble on The Flintstones and Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons. Blanc was also the original voice of Woody Woodpecker for Universal Pictures, and provided vocal effects for the Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Chuck Jones for MGM. Furthermore, during the golden age of radio, Blanc was a frequent performer on the radio programs of famous comedians from the era, including Jack Benny, Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen, and Judy Canova.