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6 actors you didn't know voiced Looney Tunes characters
You may have heard these famous actors in a Looney Tunes short and didn't even know it!
Image: LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI
When Looney Tunes comes to mind, we think Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and so many others. Mel Blanc was known for voicing all of these characters and countless more for the cartoon shorts.
Though Blanc was such an integral part of the cartoons, he actually didn't voice every single character for every short film, though with his skill set, he probably could have!
While Blanc was known for his voice acting, there were several live-action actors who got behind the microphone for Looney Tunes characters, too.
Here are six actors you've likely seen on classic television who also voiced Looney Tunes characters.
Did you know these actors voiced these characters?
1. Hal Smith - Elmer Fudd
It's hard to imagine Hal Smith in a role that isn't Otis Campbell from The Andy Griffith Show. Smith is known on screen as Mayberry's day-to-day inmate, causing trouble for Sheriff Andy and Deputy Fife. However, Smith has over 100 voice acting credits to his name, per IMDb. Included in that list are a few very quiet appearances as Elmer Fudd! Smith first voiced the character in the 1960 short Dog Gone People. He's also voiced other characters including Owl in Winnie the Pooh and Tex Flintstone in The Flintstones.
Image: LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI
2. Roy Rogers - Elmer Fudd
We're going way back for this one! Known as the "King of Cowboys," Roy Rogers worked steadily and frequently in Western films in the late Thirties and early Forties. In the midst of all the Westerns, Rogers worked behind the camera in a 1938 short called A Feud There Was, in which he voices Elmer Fudd! The Elmer Fudd in this short isn't the archenemy of Bugs Bunny we've come to know over the years, but a very early version with "The Peacemaker" as his nickname. This was only the fourth appearance of this early version of Elmer.
Image: The Everett Collection / LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI
3. Sheldon Leonard - Dodsworth
You might know the name Sheldon Leonard from his roles in several Forties films and his classic television guest star appearances in the decades that followed. You might know the name Sheldon Leonard as the co-creator of The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., but do you know Sheldon Leonard as the Looney Tunes character Dodsworth? If you don't know him by his portrayal of this cartoon, you're not alone! Dodsworth appeared in the 1952 short Kiddin' the Kitten and the 1953 short A Peck O'Trouble as a relatively small character. This sleepy, lazy and clumsy cat didn't last long, only seen in the aforementioned shorts before disappearing.
Image: LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI
4. Larry Storch - Cool Cat
You might recognize Larry Storch, who passed away in July of 2022, for his time as Cpl. Randolph Agarn in F-Troop, who appeared in all 65 episodes of the Western spoof. Storch was the voice behind Cool Cat, a cross-country traveling tiger who spoke with a touch of beatnik slang. Typically seen in a green tie and matching beret, Cool Cat is mellow and seemlessly fends off big game hunter Colonel Rimfire. This character was featured in six shorts including Cool Cat and Big Game Haunt. Did you know Storch was the voice behind this Cool Cat?
Image: The Everett Collection / LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI
5. Bea Benaderet - Several characters
Bea Benaderet is arguably best known for her role as Kate Bradley, a mother of three daughters who is in charge of the Shady Rest Hotel in Petticoat Junction. She's also famously known as the voice behind Betty Rubble on The Flintstones. Several years prior to both of those shows, Benaderet voiced a number of small roles for Looney Tunes in several short films. Most noteably, Benaderet voiced the characters of Granny and Gertrude (pictured).
Image: LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI
6. Frank Gorshin - Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn & Daffy Duck
Most know Frank Gorshin for his high-pitch laugh that went so well with the green suit on Batman. His portrayal of The Riddler is arguably the most impactful character on the series. Gorshin appeared on screen with several roles on several classic television shows throughout his career, including Star Trek, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and many more. He even voiced some of the best known Looney Tunes characters. He portrayed Yosemite Sam in 1997's From Hare to Eternity and played both Foghorn Leghorn and Daffy Duck in Superior Duck!
Image: LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are ™ of & © WBEI
SEE MORE: Bugs Bunny is an Emmy winner! Current voice actor Eric Bauza wins ''Best Voice Performance'' Award
Bauza didn't hold back when thanking everyone who helped him win the award, including the original voice of Bugs, Mel Blanc.
Image: The Everett Collection
50 Comments
CLYDE S ASSISTANT.
but a for super Christmas present to me - Me Tv
how about showing Benny Hill?
thanks for the info
Did Andy know about this!? Interesting!
And of course in "The Mouse That Jack Built", Mel Blanc is joined by several of the Jack Benny performers playing themselves: Jack himself, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Mary Livingstone and Don Wilson.
As for Frank Gorshin, keep in mind that despite his talents, he was still copying voices originated by Blanc, *not* originating them...
Roy Rogers (according to the Looney tunes Wicki) "...provided Elmer Fudd's singing voice in "A Feud There Was" and provided yodels in "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" as heard in "The Isle of Pingo Pongo"... so he didn't *really* do Elmer... but you wouldn't expect the MeTV writing staff to do their homework now, would you?
Besides Granny, Bea Benadaret also voiced Witch Hazel - both of those characters were later voiced by June Foray!
