DALLAS McKENNON
(July 19, 1919-July 14, 2009)
Notable Roles: Buzz Buzzard, Inspector Willoughby,
Tony the Tiger, Gumby, Pokey, Q.T. Hush, Dr. Blaney, Courageous Cat, Minute
Mouse, Tintin, Professor Calculus, Sinbad Jr., Salty, Pokey, Archie Andrews, Mr.
Weatherbee, Hot Dog, Frank Hardy, Chubby Morton, Pete Jones, Cincinnatus, Salem
Saberhagen
Born Raymond Dallas “Dal” McKennon, he grew up on a farm
where he would come to practice making animal voices. In high school, he became
a DJ for a local radio station where he would perform various voices for the
sponsors’ commercials. After serving in WWII, McKennon started a
business recording and “cutting” records on acetate before Portland’s KGW hired him to be Mr. Buttons, the host of a
children’s radio show. McKennon got into acting with his first role in the 1952
film Bend of the River,
where he befriended Jimmy
Stewart. Stewart invited McKennon out to Los Angeles to become part of his
radio program, The Six Shooter.
Once in California, McKennon landed the lead role in Captain Jet, a local
kid’s space-themed program, which allowed him to segue into voice acting. He
worked for Walter
Lantz Productions voicing Buzz Buzzard in
Woody Woodpecker shorts
and the lead in Inspector
Willoughby. He also became the first voice of Tony the Tiger
for Kellogg’s Frosted
Flakes cereal commercials; however, his tenure was short-lived as he would
be replaced the following year by Thurl
Ravenscroft. McKennon would forge a long relationship with Disney, providing voices in many of their
films beginning with Lady
and the Tramp, as well as recording 16 LPs retelling movie stories. One
of McKennon’s best-known roles would be that of the Claymation character Gumby,
which he first assumed in 1957 and then several times after. He soon took over
voicing Gumby’s best friend Pokey, as well as various other characters in the series.
During this time, he was still acting on camera as well. McKennon’s most
prominent live-action role was as innkeeper Cincinnatus on Daniel Boone from 1964-70.
In 1968, he began another long studio relationship, this time with Filmation Associates as the
voice of Archie
Andrews and other characters in various shows based on Archie comics.
After moving to Oregon, McKennon became involved with a local theater and took
up writing music and scripts, many for plays and shows about Oregon history.
His first song, Critters
in the Woods, was performed on Daniel Boone. For the
bi-centennial, he helped leaders in Portland organize a pageant called In
God We Trust, for which he served as a narrator. He travelled to various
schools as a character called Skinny Bones Jones engaging students with
fanciful facts, and developed the show Vox Box to teach people how to
make voices. One of McKennon’s lasting contributions was a crazy laugh first
used for the hyena in Lady and the Tramp that would be recycled for use
in the films Tourist
Trap and Elf,
the show Totally
Spies! and several Crash Bandicoot games
for the character of Ripper Roo. He died of natural causes in 2009 at the age
of 89.
Saturday Credits:
The Gumby Show
Sinbad Jr. and his Magic Belt
The Archie Show
Archie’s Funhouse
The Archie Comedy Hour
The Hardy Boys
Groovie Goolies
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1969)
Archie’s TV Funnies
The Barkleys
U.S. of Archie
Sabrina, Super Witch
Space Academy
The New Archie/Sabrina Hour
Archie’s Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show
Goof Troop
The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat
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