You Don't Know You Know Me But You Do

Living with Mr. Ears (that is, my husband the sound geek recording engineer) I have learned many things. I already knew who Mel Blanc was when I married the Spouse, but there were other names I didn't know: Mae Questal, Arthur Q. Bryan, Sterling Holloway, Don Messick, June Foray, and Daws Butler. Daws Butler, in particular. He was the go-to-guy for voices at Hanna Barbera: Quick Draw McGraw, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Elroy Jetson. He was the voice of Snap (of the Rice Krispie commercials) and Capn' Crunch. He was Cecil to Stan Freberg's Beany, and worked with Freberg on his comedy albums ("St. George and the Dragonet" is my fave--a pitch perfect "Dragnet" parody done as fairy tale). He worked with Jay Ward (in the "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Aesop and Son").

In other words, you knew him, you just don't know that you did. He died in 1988. Today is his birthday. I like to think that he and Mel Blanc are up in the Heavenly Green Room playing "can you top this" with voices and having a hell of a time.