Disney Voice Character Deaths

[G2-4T]

We all know the voice, from movies to rides... He passed away this Sunday at 91 - the story has been making the news rounds this morning.

[Club33Hopeful]

So sad. At least he lived a long full life. It will not be the same without Tony the Tiger!

[jkm8113]

I had not heard this, thanks for posting. Hope he went peacefully.

[Lion Sleeps Tonight]

That's sad. At least he'll live in immortality as a popular Disney icon, and breakfast cereal icon.

[js3901]

that sucks. CNN.com says he died of prostate cancer at age 91. he's been the voice of Tony the Tiger since the 50s.

I'm sure Extinct Attractions will do a special tribute to him at some point here...

[js3901]

wow, I just checked my email and sure enough, an email came out about Thurl. I'll post it here for people who don't get the Extinct Attractions newsletter.

Hello Friends,

I wanted to share with you the passing of a great man. Thurl Ravenscroft.
He was 91. Thurl did so many great voices in his lifetime, (Tony the tiger,
The Grinch, and of course many voices in Disneyland, including:

The Haunted Mansion Bust
Fritz in the Tiki Room
The voice of the Train Conductor
The Tree in the Tiki Room waiting area
Max the Buffalo in Country Bears

Thurl was so nice when three of us went out to see him last November at his home in Fullerton California. He spoke with us and shared stories for a few hours. He was a very sweet man. He really made the Haunted Mansion Documentary amazing for us.

He did not own a DVD player, so when we met him we brought him one, and I spent some time hooking it up with my friend Joe and we taught
him how to work the controls. He was very excited since he wanted to see his grinch DVD. He was only able to see the VHS before. So we hooked it up and taught him to use the remote.... His assistant later sent me a letter thanking us and telling us that he really enjoyed the DVDs.

When we finished the Mansion DVD we sent it to his home and I called a few weeks later, and spoke very briefly to Thurl about the video. He said he loved seeing all the people he knew again and he thanked us for the
work.

Then a month later, we decided to make a tribute to Thurl Ravenscroft. And we did. we made a little over an hour of the story of Thurl's life, from his start in show biz to him fighting the Nazis in WWII. We spoke
about the grinch, Tony the tiger, and all of the voice work In Disneyland.
Thurl was the first voice over the loud speaker at Disneyland's opening day. We used all of our interview with Thurl to make this DVD, Rolly Crump is in the video as well.

We wanted to do something, so we are going to donate all the sales of the
Tribute to Thurl Ravenscroft DVD and Haunted Mansion Vol 1 DVD to Thurl's favorite charity.

The links for these two DVD's are found at:

Tribute To Thurl Ravenscroft:
http://www.extinct-attractions-club.com ... etail&p=94

Haunted
Mansion #1
http://www.extinct-attractions-club.com ... etail&p=34

If you would like to send cards or letters, Thurl's address is

Thurl Ravenscroft
2527 Br ea Blvd. suite 116
Fullerton Ca 92835


Thank you again Thurl,
for all your amazing and inspiring work....
we all miss
you

Dave



Thurl Ravenscroft of Fullerton, Calif., whose voice was known worldwide through his work in movies, TV and at Disneyland, died Sunday from
prostate cancer. He was 91.

Tony the Tiger?

That was
Ravenscroft.

Disneyland? Too many voices to mention, but Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion and the Enchanted Tiki Room were all graced by
Ravenscroft's pliable, unique voice.

Movies? How about "Cinderella," "Dumbo" and "Lady and the Tramp"?

"Disneyland wouldn't have been, and wouldn't be the same without him," said former park President Jack Lindquist. "It's all part of the experience. You can't go home with a ride, but you can go home with a memory, and part of that is the audio - the sound part of it. His voice was one of the things that made it all come alive."

Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft was born Feb. 6, 1914, in Norfolk, Neb. He moved to California in 1933 to study interior design at the Otis College of Art and Design. While in school he was encouraged to go into show business and auditioned at Paramount studios to be a singer.

By the mid-1930s, he was appearing regularly on radio, first on a program titled "Goose Creek Parson." In the late 1930s, he appeared on the "The Kraft Music Hall" with Bing Crosby, singing backup in a group called the Paul Taylor Choristers. That group eventually became the
Sportsmen Quartette.

After military service during World War II, he returned to Hollywood, later becoming involved in the Mellomen singing group, and began a career in radio, movies, television and commercials. The group could sing anything from rock `n' roll to bebop to barbershop, and it performed with a list of stars including Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra and Elvis
Presley.

In 1952, Ravenscroft achieved a measure of immortality, thanks to a TV commercial.

"I'm the only man in the world that has made a career with one word: Grrrrreeeeat!" Ravenscroft roared in a 1996 interview with The Orange County Register. "When Kellogg's brought up the idea of the tiger, they sent me a caricature of Tony to see if I could create something for them.
After messing around for some time I came up with the `Great!' roar, and that's how it's been since then."

Ravenscroft's involvement with Disneyland goes back to opening day in 1955, when he was the announcer for many of the ceremonies and events. His voice has been heard on numerous Disneyland attractions and rides, including Adventure Through Inner Space (1967-1986). He was the original narrator on Submarine Voyage.

In 1966, Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones teamed up to do "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" for CBS. Ravenscroft recalled the Grinch fondly, saying, "That was my chance to prove I could really sing." The success of the Grinch led to other projects with Dr. Seuss, including "Horton Hears a Who" and "The Cat in the Hat."

His singing career continued into the 1970s. As a member of the Johnny Mann Singers, he sang on 28 albums, appeared on television for three seasons and performed for President Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev at the White House.

One of Ravenscroft's biggest local claims to fame undeniably was his narration of Laguna Beach's Pageant of the Masters, a job that began in 1973 and lasted for two decades. He told the Register upon his retirement that it was his favorite gig of all time.

"I've learned more about art doing the Pageant than I ever did in art school," he said.

Pageant scriptwriter Dan Duling remembered working with Ravenscroft as "a wonderful collaboration.

"He was a gentleman who was beloved, and is still beloved, at the pageant," Duling said. "He was considered the grandpa of the pageant. Everyone backstage adored him."

Ravenscroft possessed, said Duling, "one of the great basso voices, so distinctive. For me, it was like writing music for an instrument that has a few tones that are absolutely unmistakable. It was so distinctive that you
had to play to its strengths. He could bring a kind of deep, resonant reverence to something that deserved proper respect. Also, in his folksy manner, he could be the grandpa that everybody loved," Duling said.


"(Ravenscroft) is one of the busts in the Haunted Mansion," Weisssaid. "He's uncredited, as so
many cast members at the park are, but it's his face and voice. It's unusual. You actually SEE him in that attraction, a man whose voice you're heard a thousand times."

June, Ravenscroft's wife of 53 years, died in 1999 at age 80. He is survived by two children, Ron and Nancy, and four grandchildren. Services are pending.

[AlexLoup]

It's really sad he went... luckily we have many roles to remember him by. (I hope that's right.)

[eagle4life69]

Paul Winchell, voice of Tigger, among many other characters, passed away on Friday June, 24th. He was 82 years old and will be missed.

[Fantasrick]

Thanks Eagle 4Life69 for the re-post.

[G2-4T]

Will be missed is an understatement - so many legends with so much age... Too many are getting up there in years...