One of the things I love most about voice acting is how often great actors disappear into their roles, no matter how disparate. In Disney, many renowned actors and voice actors take on roles in many of their theme park attractions, TV shows, and movies. And because of Disney's clout, they garner thespians of all varieties to participate, and it often yields wonderful results. But as if we're playing a fun game of "six degrees of separation", let's see what famous actors and actresses you may be familiar with from other projects as well as famous actors who have been in Disney projects.
1. Mel Blanc
The Man of a Thousand Voices is forever known as the man who gave us the Looney Tunes their iconic voices. You name them: Bugs, Daffy, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester...the list goes on. But his three roles for Disney are all very unique.
During production of Pinocchio, Mel Blanc was offered a role as Gideon, the drunken cat, assistant to Honest John, the fox. However, after Blanc provided his vocals, it was decided to make Gideon mute. Why? The popularity of Dopey in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs led to the executive decision to silence the character in the hopes of making Gideon the next Dopey. All that remains of Blanc's hard work is a single hiccup. Not even joking.
So we missed out on the great Blanc in a Disney cartoon. But in the sixties, the man popped up in a classic Disney attraction. Anyone recognize this line?
No privacy is all around this place!
If you fought the impulse to retort "Sorry Orville", then congratulations, you have ridden the Carousel of Progress!
Blanc passed away in 1989. One of his last projects was to voice the Looney Tunes Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny in 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
2. Sterling Holloway
While this humble red-haired Georgian gained fame in the thirties as an onscreen actor, he didn't become renowned until Walt Disney picked him up for a few projects. Originally Walt wanted Sterling to play Sleepy in his first feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but when the role went to Pinto Colvig (See later down this list), Walt didn't give up. In 1941, his fourth movie Dumbo, his premiere character, Mister Stork, was a caricature of the affable Holloway.
As time went on, Holloway's unique, soft-spoken vocals won Walt over enough to give him a number of roles. He narrated cartoon shorts like The Little House, Susie the Little Blue Coupe, The Pelican and the Snipe, Lambert the Sheepish Lion, and Goliath II. But his best known roles were in Disney's full-length features, like The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, The Aristocats (As Roquefort mouse), Bambi (Flower), The Jungle Book (Kaa), Alice in Wonderland (Cheshire Cat). But Holloway's most famous and most beloved character just might have to be Winnie the Pooh from 1966 to 1977.
But did you know he appeared in three episodes of George Reeves' Adventures of Superman show as Professor Oscar Quinn?
But as for me, I'll always thoroughly enjoy The Twilight Zone episode "What's in the Box" where Holloway played a TV repairman with an unearthly agenda. There's something eerily satisfying about hearing a cuddly-looking with an equally cuddly voice muttering haunting, ironic phrases.
Doo doo-doo-doo, doo doo-doo-doo...
3. Christian Bale
This one gets pointed out a lot, but it's still a fun reminder how "Before they were famous" can be incredibly polar. Of course we know Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Gravel-Voiced Batman from the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, as well as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. He's definitely done some un-Disney-like work.
But at one point he was known for sellin' papes. In 1992, he danced and spun like a pro in the musical Newsies as Jack Kelley. But did you know he was also in a Disney cartoon? In 1995, the Welsh actor flexed a British accent as Thomas, the red-haired colonist who befriends John Smith in Pocahontas.
How adorable!
4. Paul Frees
Paul Frees is renowned in Disney circles for being not just the classic Disney character of professor Ludwig von Drake, but also immortalized into two of Disney's most beloved rides. Should you hear the Ghost Host beckon "welcome foolish mortals" to your cadaverous pallor at the Haunted Mansion, that's Mr. Frees. And should you hear a pirate captain not spongin' for rum, but GOLD, then you have spotted him as the auctioneer at, you guessed it, Pirates of the Caribbean!
But his credentials are for more reaching, even famous than those.
If you're the type to binge-watch Rankin-Bass Christmas specials every holiday season, then he has plagued your DVD/Blu-ray player like pine needles in the backseat of your SUV. In Frosty the Snowman, he took on the ticket-taker, the traffic cop, and Santa Claus! In The Little Drummer Boy, he's pretty much every man who isn't the boy or Ben Haramed, the bad guy. Rudolph's Shiny New Year or Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July? Santa, Jack Frost, Winterbolt, General Ticker, and among others. But I'll always love him and remember him best as Burger Meister Meisterburger and Grimsby from Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
And that's FAR from all! For a while, he was the voice of both Toucan Sam and the Pillsbury Doughboy. He provided the voice-over narration for Jerry in the infamous Tom and Jerry cartoon Blue Cat Blues. And if you liked watching the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, his thick accent was put to work as Boris Badenov and Inspector Fenwick to Dudley Do-Right. These are just a few of his 353 credits on IMDB!
5. Thurl Ravenscroft
And speaking of Christmas specials...I'd have to be an appalling dump heap, overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable, mangled up in tangled-up knots if I failed to mention this guy, already usually overshadowed by Boris Karloff. Every year, we watch Chuck Jones' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and titter at the flowery, over-the-top lyrics that do nothing but reiterate what a nasty creature the Grinch is. While Karloff narrated and voiced the Grinch, this guy, Thurl Ravenscroft applied his rich, deep vocals to the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". Oh, and like Frees, Ravenscroft is also known for peddling cereal, as Tony the Tiger: "They're Grrrrrrrreat!"
But the bassist for the Mellomen has done more than a few jobs for Disney, and like Frees, many are in classic Disney attractions like the Country Bear Jamboree (Buff the Buffalo), The Enchanted Tiki Room (Fritz the German parrot), Pirates of the Caribbean (as one of the trio of singers as the town is burning), the Haunted Mansion (the mustachioed, decapitated bust singing "Grim Grinning Ghosts", so, no, it's not Walt), and even the guy who calls out "Mark Twain!" on the Mark Twain and Liberty Belle riverboats in California and Florida.
He's done numerous animated projects in cartoons, such as The Brave Little Toaster (Kirby the vacuum), The Aristocats (the Russian Cat), The Small One (the Potter), The Sword in the Stone (Black Bart), 101 Dalmatians (Captain the horse), Noah's Ark (Ham, Shem, and Japeth), The Story of Anyburg, U.S.A. (Cyrus P. Sliderule), Alice in Wonderland (a card painting the roses red), and most notably, Paul Bunyan.
That's deep, man.
6. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
In this 1963 film, a cluster of greedy folks hear of a large sum of cash - $350,000, to be exact - buried under a big "W". In their madcap dash across the country, numerous familiar comedy legends appear: Jimmy Durante, Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Jonathon Winters, the three stooges, even Buster Keaton. But there's a handful of actors who have appeared in various Disney projects. Like Don Knotts, who popped up in various live action screwball comedies like The Unidentified Flying Oddball and Herbie Goes Monte Carlo, and Mayor Turkey in 2005's Chicken Little. Or Stan Freberg, as the Deputy Sheriff, who was the Beaver in Lady and the Tramp. Or Sterling Holloway as the Fire Chief (See entry number two). But it doesn't stop there. If you're a fan of 1973's Robin Hood, you may perk up when the sheriff of Crockett County or the British plant guy, played by Andy Devine and Terry-Thomas, respectively. Better known as Friar Tuck and Sir Hiss. And don't forget Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett and Benjy and Ding. I know them better as Tod the fox and Scuttle the seagull.
But my favorite appearance is the poor migrant trucker who gets run off the road. He only gets one line. Why him? Well, that's Nicodemus 'Nick' Stewart...the voice of Song of the South AND Splash Mountain's Br'er Bear.
7. June Foray
This lady makes Betty White look like a pre-Captain America Steve Rogers. At 99 years old, the woman not only voiced classic Looney Tunes characters like Granny and Witch Hazel, but has done lots of other classic characters, like Natasha Badenov in Rocky and Bullwinkle as well as the titular flying squirrel. Also Cindy Lou Who (Not the live action one). Also Talky Tina from the "Living Doll" episode of The Twilight Zone. And Jokey Smurf. And Grandmother in Mulan. Among many. many. many others. We're talking this many. Seriously, you can't not know something she's in.
But since I grew up on the Disney Afternoon in the early nineties, I watched The Adventures of the Gummi Bears and DuckTales. The gruff, no-nonsense tone she brought gave life to Grammi Gummi and Ma Beagle, as well as the Eastern European accent of the sorceress Magica DeSpell. She, alongside Alan Young, who was also in his nineties, returned in 2013 as their characters in the remastered version of the DuckTales video game.
Hail to the Queen.
8. Pinto Colvig
Vance DeBar "Pinto" Colvig was a storyman at Disney, responsible for fleshing out story ideas and gags for short cartoons for Disney. But at times when certain vocal effects are needed and it's too expensive, it's not uncommon for spare staff to fill in for sounds like, say, Pluto panting or barking. That often landed in the lap of Mr. Colvig. In 1932, with the release of Mickey's Revue, a certain audience member delighted moviegoers with his raucous, hiccupy laugh.
Colvig officially became the first voice of Goofy. And in 1933, came in the release of one of Disney's earliest hits, The Three Little Pigs, where he became the voice of the Practical Pig, lecturing his two frivolous brothers the dangers of playing when there's a wolf about. In 1937, he appeared in yet another Disney film: Walt's first. When Walt wasn't able to acquire Sterling Holloway for Sleepy, Pinto Colvig filled the role. He was also the voice of Grumpy, Disney Parks' most popular character on merchandise.
But don't take him too seriously. After all, he was the very first Bozo the Clown from 1946 to 1956.
9. Alan Young
No other death in 2016 hit me harder than this one. Not Bowie, not Fisher, not Prince, not Baker, not Michael, not Reynolds, but this man. I grew up in the late eighties, early nineties, right in the heyday of the Disney Afternoon, of course I watched DuckTales fervently. Young played Scrooge with pitch-perfect warmth and curmudgeonly gruffness. That rich Glasgow accent is like a warm hug to me. He'd been the voice of Scrooge since 1983 in Mickey's Christmas Carol, picked up DuckTales in 1987, and continued being the voice of Scrooge until his death in 2016, and that's hardly an exaggeration. In 2013, he and June Foray (Both in their late nineites) returned as Scrooge and Magica DeSpell in the DuckTales: Remastered video game. In 2015, Young provided a few more lines for the Mickey Mouse cartoons Goofy's First Love and No. By 2016, John Kassir (Tales from the Crypt) took over, and David Tennant (Doctor Who, Jessica Jones) is set to take on the role in the new, rebooted series.
But Young was a popular figure long before DuckTales. Young co-starred alongside the fussy horse Mr. Ed in...well, Mister Ed.
10. Guest stars on Phineas and Ferb
Right up there with DuckTales, my other favorite Disney animted TV series is Phineas and Ferb. It was funny, it was smart, and it was one of the few truly entertaining shows that wasn't patronizing or dumbed down. I was immensely grateful for it.
What helped was its plethora of big-name stars that came in, sometimes as themselves. Like heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield, choreographer Kenny Ortega, director George A. Romero, journalist Geraldo Rivera, Guitarist Slash, Chefs Gordon Ramsay, Guy Fieri and Jamie Oliver, and singers Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Sheena Easton, and Chaka Khan. For actors, they've featured Malcolm McDowell, John Larroquette, Lorenzo lamas, Cloris Leachman, Judd Nelson, Ming-Na Wen, Ben Stiller, Kevin Smith, Seth Macfarlane, Erik Estrada, Tina Fey, Jane Lynch, Vicki Lawrence, Joan Cusack, Michael Douglas, Michael J. Fox, Anna Paquin, Richard Kind, George Takei, Jeff Foxworthy, Christian Slater, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Green, Ray Liotta, Wayne Brady, Kelly Osbourne, Stan Lee, Goldie Hawn, Leah Remini, Patrick Dempsey, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Wallace Shawn, Josh Gad, and Gary Cole. (If you don't know at least five of these names, I'm severely disappointed in you.)
Richard O'Brien played the boys' father, Lawrence Fletcher. He was the composer and screenwriter for the cult hit Rocky Horror Picture Show, which allowed him to get Barry Bostwick and Tim Curry to appear in various episodes. Let's do the time warp-inator again!
11. Pat Buttram
This may not be a name you recognize, I'll bet, but his voice certainly stands out. With his rural twang, this Alabama native flaunted his hokey accent that radiated charm. So much so that after several westerns, Buttram's first Disney appearance was the authoritative hound Napoleon in The Aristocats. Not long afterward, he landed three more roles as The Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood, Luke the muskrat in The Rescuers, and Chief in The Fox and the Hound. Cramp a-nitley, Nutsy!
However, he didn't just co-star alongside Eva Gabor in Aristocats or Rescuers...he was also one of the main stars in her sitcom, Green Acres. But let's assume you're not a big sixties TV fan. You might have seen these three pardners nursin' their sarsaparillas and makin' fun of them strange desperadoes a-wanderin' into the saloon in Back to the Future III.
That's right! From right to left, that's Dub Taylor, Harry Carey Jr, and Pat Buttram. These gents were chosen specifically for their roles as colorful characters in their previous western films. But while Buttram's film legacy will forever be tied to the Old West, the last role he ever did was also a Disney animated character: the old attendant at Lester's Possum Park in A Goofy Movie. It came out a year after he passed away.
12. Clint Howard
Clint, the younger brother of esteemed director Ron Howard, has been acting since he was a very young child. One of his first appearances was on an original-series Star Trek episode as the child Balok. The man reprised this very role in The Roast of William Shatner...forty years later.
But if you want a more familiar image of the man, he's made small appearances in numerous movies, many of which were in his brother's movies, probably most notably Whobris in 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But remember how I said he was also a child actor? Because remember this cute little pachyderm in The Jungle Book? Yep. Clint Howard.
Also, in Pooh's first Disney cartoons, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree and Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Clint played precocious little Roo. Right alongside Bruce Reitherman, better known as Mowgli and the first voice of Christopher Robin.
13. George C. Scott
The tough and tenacious Scott will most assuredly be best known as America's most recognized military leader, General Patton, plus General Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove, but he took a brief turn taking on a Disney villain. In 1990, Disney released The Rescuers Down Under, a movie that tanked at the box office but still is credited as the first digital movie of Hollywood due to the advanced CAPS system, and an all-around good movie, if severely underrated. George C. Scott ate every scene as the cunning Percival C. McLeach. But that's not all! If you grew up in the late eighties, early nineties like I did, you may remember a time when Michelangelo, baby Kermit, Alf, Alvin, Winnie the Pooh, Bugs Bunny, and Garfield told us that drugs are bad, mmkay?
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue was all things awesome and hokey, right down to getting that song stuck in your head. But the bad guy was Smoke, a gravelly-voiced anthropomorphized cloud of toxicity who kept urging young Michael to keep getting high. Guess who? By today's standards, the cartoon's kind of dumb, has no educational value, yet is still pretty cool. Scott's Smoke is one of the most entertaining parts of the whole thing, and they couldn't have picked a better actor. You magnificent bastard. I read your book!
14. Frank Welker
While Blanc and Foray unquestionably titans of the industry, Welker is not far behind. He's been voice acting since the late sixties. At the time of writing this, his IMDB credits list him at 787 projects. That's insane!
How does he do it? Well, Welker's wheelhouse is doing sounds, especially animals. You'll find many of his credits are of him grunting, snarling, barking, and even roaring. His most prolific project for Disney is chattering and screeching as Abu the monkey in the Aladdin series. But he's gained serious clout as both grunting and speaking the lines for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit; Walt Disney's original creation and the co-star of the now-discontinued Epic Mickey video game series. He's also the Cave of Wonders in Aladdin, Bigtime Beagle and Bubba the caveduck in DuckTales, Zipper in Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Bronx in Gargoyles, baby Kermit in Muppet Babies, and Bigfoot in A Goofy Movie, just to name a few.
But if you want to know what he's best known for, check this out: he's been doing the same character since 1969: Fred Jones of the Scooby-Doo franchise. He's still doing it to this day (A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and the live action versions were the only versions where he didn't voice the character) and if that's not enough, he's been the voice of Scooby himself since the late nineties, after the passing of the original voice, Don Messick, in 1997. But for you eighties babies, He's also Inspector Gadget's Dr. Claw, Transformer's Megatron, Slimer from The Real Ghostbusters, Nibbler from Futurama, and half a dozen characters on Animaniacs.
15. Jim Cummings
Much like Welker, Jim Cummings has been a huge part of your childhood, whether you realize it or not. He got his start playing Lionel the Lion in the series Dumbo's Circus. But that was only the beginning. He ended taking on roles in all your favorite Disney Afternoon shows: Zummi Gummi (In the later seasons of The Adventures of the Gummi Bears when Paul Winchell wasn't able to finish the role.), El Capitan (DuckTales in the premiere, Treasure of the Golden Suns), Fat Cat, Professor Nimnul, and Monterey Jack (Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers), Don Karnage and Louie (TaleSpin), Darkwing Duck and NegaDuck (Darkwing Duck), Pete (Goof Troop, a role he continues to portray.), Bonkers and Lucky (Bonkers), Dingo (Gargoyles), and Maurice the gorilla (Marsupilami). And even though he's been listed in some official Disney animated films as "various voices", he's also Rasoul in Aladdin, Ed the hyena in The Lion King (As well as Scar's singing voice after Jeremy Irons blew out his vocal chords.), Nessuss the centaur in Hercules, and Ray the firefly in The Princess and the Frog. But without a doubt, he's best known as the voice of Winnie the Pooh since the mid-eighties and the voice of Tigger since 2000's The Tigger Movie, after Paul Winchell's retirement. Whew!
Outside of Disney, he's not quite as prolific, but still hard at work: Shocker in the nineties' cartoon of Spider-Man, the recurring voice of the Tasmanian Devil, Cat from CatDog, Steele in Balto, Rasputin's singing voice in Anastasia, Robotnik is Sonic Sat/AM, Fuzzy Lumpkins in The Powerpuff Girls, Ultra Lord from Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and Hondo ohnaka from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
16. David Ogden Stiers
If this guy looks even vaguely familiar, you can probably guess where. After the departure of Frank Burns in season five of the critically acclaimed series M*A*S*H, his role as surgeon and executive officer was replaced my Major Charles Emerson Winchester III, with all the pomp and aloof "Most unorthodox!" sputterings of a British caricature...even though he's from Peoria, Illinois.
Still, it must have inspired someone, because it was the same voice he used as Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, while he used his real voice as the narrator in the prologue. He took on the role of a villain in Pocahontas as Governor James Ratcliffe as well as his effeminate manservant Wiggins. He later provided bit roles as the Archdeacon in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mr. Harcourt in Atlantis: The Lost Empire. But he came back in a big way as evil genius Dr. Jumba Jookiba in Lilo and Stitch as well as the spinoff series and movies, excluding the Japanese version, Stitch!
17. BD Wong
Though the man has many acting credits to his name, he's best known on screen as Dr. Wu from Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, Hugo Strange in Gotham, as well as Dr. Huang in Law and Order: SVU.
But he can also be pretty tough as well as smart. Captain Li Shang from Mulan? Yep, this guy. And you thought Ming-Na Wen (Mulan herself) as Agent May from Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. was cool.
Let's get down to business.
18. Leonard Nimoy
Since 1966, the series Star Trek has produced a lasting legacy in science fiction. The actors have since gone on to make names for themselves in their own rights as thespians and mouthpieces for causes. William Shatner would appear as the villainous Kazar in The Wild. Nichele Nichols would pop up in several episodes of the TV series Gargoyles (More on that later). George Takei even became an ancestor in Mulan. But Nimoy, best known and loved as Spock, used his aloof and astute mannerisms as king Kashekim Nedakh, father of Kida and king of Atlantis in 2001's Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
But his most surprising appearance he did for Disney was in, of all things, a video game franchise. Kingdom Hearts is the series about a boy who uses a giant key to attack shadow creatures of hate, teams up with Donald Duck and Goofy as they travel through various Disney worlds. There's a lot more to it than that, but that's the gist. In any case, after dealing with a series of bad guys who are copies of other bad guys who are teams of other bad guys who know other bad guys (It's pretty convoluted.), eventually in the sixth game, Birth by Sleep, and the seventh game, Dream Drop Distance, Sora finally sees the man responsible for all the trouble caused: Xehanort. Voiced by Spock himself.
However, there's still at least one more game in the series yet to be released, the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts III, and while Xehanort is confirmed to return, Nimoy's passing in 2015 will likely mean someone else will take over.
19. Rick Moranis
The dweeby glasses. The wry smirk. The mussy hair. The simpering demeanor. Rick Moranis became Hollywood's go-to guy for the nerd archetype, and we loved it. Seymour Krelborn in Little Shop of Horrors, Lord Dark Helmet in Spaceballs, Louis Tully in Ghostbusters, Barney Rubble in 1994's The Flintstones, and Wayne Szalinski in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise, Moranis became our favorite dork.
But prior to going to movies, Moranis was a regular on SCTV, the Canadian sketch comedy show. Alongside buddy Dave Thomas, the two created the characters brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie, who were the epitome of Canadian stereotypes. These two performed similar roles when they were cast in 2003's Brother Bear. As - what else? - Canadian moose brothers named Rutt and Tuke.
Moranis' presence is noteworthy particularly pleasant since...well, his situation is unique. Moranis' wife, Ann Belsky, passed away from breast cancer in 1991, leaving him with two children. Although Moranis continued acting, he also had to take care of his kids. By 1997, Moranis had grown increasingly disenchanted with Hollywood and he had to take care of his family. He unceremoniously retired from acting, save for the occasional voice acting gig or reunion for SCTV. He even reprised his role in the direct to video sequel, Brother Bear 2.
That's pretty cool for a dweeb.
20. Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Junior of course has been in a Disney movie, you say. He's freaking Iron Man! He initiated the whole MCU!
What we forget, though is that because his father was a director, Downey's been acting since 1970. His turbulent drug problems in the late nineties, early 2000's caused studios to be wary of his actions. In 2003, Downey pledged to get his life together thanks to an insurance bond paid for by Mel Gibson. It took a short while for Downey to get back up and running, but before long, he wound up taking on the role of a villain in the latest in Disney's pursuit of remaking their 50's/60's comedies with modern effects. 2006's The Shaggy Dog, starring Tim Allen.
Now, far be it from me to mock an actor's work as he's getting his life together from such a cataclysmal state. But on the other hand...we watch a baby (40-year-old) RDJ bounce through a courtroom to chase a baliff's nightstick like a dog and bark excitedly. It's the most un-Tony Stank like behavior any of us have ever seen.
21. Peter Cullen
No. I swear to all that is holy, if you utter the phrase "sparkly vampire", I will strike you down.
Peter Cullen is the personification of awesome. Why? He's Optimus freaking Prime. In the eighties cartoon AND the Michael Bay movies.
But he's had an equally lengthy legacy as a classic Disney character. He may not be "awesome", but he certainly personifies "depressed".
After Ralph Wright, the original voice of Eeyore from 1966 to 1983, passed away, Cullen took over. He played the gloomy, sawdust-filled donkey through 2009, where Pixar artist Bud Luckey took on the role for the 2011 movie. But doesn't your brain rattle a bit when you realize Optimus Prime is Eeyore...or Eeyore is Optimus Prime?
22. Daws Butler
Much like Mel Blanc, Butler is renowned for doing a multitude of cartoon characters from another studio: Hannah-Barbera. Huckleberry Hound, Augie Doggie, Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey, Elroy Jetson, Hokey Wolf, Peter Potamus, Snagglepuss, Wally Gator...and the irrepressible Yogi Bear.
And just like Blanc, he has almost no Disney credits. Except for one, and it's one of Disney's best: Mary Poppins. Though only a few lines, Butler provided the voices of a turtle ("Our pleasure, Mary Poppins!") and one of the penguins. While not huge roles, it's still nice to see someone of Butler's caliber doing at least one Disney project, right?
23. Christopher Meloni
CLUNG CLUNG! Meloni is renowned as the stern and gruff Elliot Stabler on Law and Order: SVU. But what you may not know is that Meloni is a legitimately funny guy and has done various comedic roles, despite being known for his glowery stare at criminals in the bowels of New York City. If you doubt me, watch the Scrubs episode "My White Whale" where he plays doll-loving pediatrician Dr. Dave Norris.
OR...watch the Jim Henson series Dinosaurs.
This is Spike. In the prehistoric sitcom, Robbie Sinclair was often the source of rebellion in dinosaur society, often haunting his conservative father and backwards-thinking authorities with his progressive ideals. Not every idea worked, of course, and sometimes the rebellious ankylosaurus in the leather jacket with the ever-so-obvious name would egg him on. Once in a while, Spike would be helping out and help Robbie when he was in a jam. But it's hilarious to see that once a silly-looking dino delinquent grew up to be a cop hunting down perverts in NYC. And let's not forget that Baby Sinclair was voiced by Kevin Clash, AKA...
24. The Cast of Gargoyles
This Disney Afternoon show was awesome in so many ways. In fact, I seem to recall writing a whole article about it. But there was a ton of talent behind the microphone. Keith David, the voice of Goliath, is not just known as Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog, but also King in Platoon and Childs in John Carpenter's The Thing. Bill Fagerbakke, who played Broadway, is better known these days as Patrick Star in Spongebob Squarepants. Ed Asner, who played Hudson, is better known as Lou Grant from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Carl Fredrickson in Pixar's Up. Thomas Wilson played Elisa's partner Matt Bluestone, but also played Biff Tannen in Back to the Future. John Rhys-Davies is MacBeth, though he's better known as Sallah from Indiana Jones and Gimli from Lord of the Rings. Clancy Brown played Hakon the viking, as well as Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants and Lex Luthor from most every animated Superman project. Cree Summer (Tiny Toon Adventures), Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek), James Avery (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air), Tony Jay (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Jim Belushi (According to Jim), Tony Shalhoub (Monk), Roddy McDowall (Planet of the Apes), Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show), David Warner (TRON) all had at least one guest spot on the show.
But a ton of attention was paid to the fact that the series picked up several of the onscreen talent that was seen on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jonathon Frakes (William Riker) played Xanatos, Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) played Demona, Brent Spiner (Data) played Puck, Michael Dorn (Worf) played Coldstone, and LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge) played Anansi. Patrick Stewart was asked to be on the show, creator Greg Weisman confessed at one point, but Stewart declined. He even humored the thought of asking his co-stars to persuade him, but reconsidered it and declared it "unfair". Still, it made an amazing show that I'm glad is part of the Disney legacy.
25. Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell wasn't just an actor: aside from being a ventiloquist, he also the first to ever build and patent an artificial heart. So...mad respect, man.
But he had his own show on NBC that ran for four years, from 1950 to 1954, and guest starred on multiple ones throughout the sixties. In animation, he played the main characters of "Green Eggs and Ham" in Dr. Seuss on the Loose, Mr. Owl in the famous Tootsie Pop commercial, Gargamel in The Smurfs, and also from Hannah-Barbera, Dick Dastardly. For Disney, He was the original voice of Zummi Gummi for the first five season of The Adventures of the Gummi Bears, the siamese cat in The Aristocats, and Boomer the woodpecker in The Fox and the Hound. But if his deep, slightly scratchy vocals with the slightest of lisps sounds familiar, then you've earned your stripes!
You betcha! The man who also made a life-saving medical device, hosted his own shows, starred in one of the most famous vintage television ads of all time, AND was a ventriloquist...is also best known and quite possibly the best-loved Winnie the Pooh character of all time. He performed Tigger's bombastic shouts and chortles from his premiere in 1968 in the Oscar-winning Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day all the way through 1999, with a few TV movies and the Walt Disney World ride in Florida, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
After all, he's the only one.
Well, did you like this list? There's lots more where that came from, so if you want to see more, just let me know, and I can bring another 25 more for ya! T-T-F-N, ta ta for now!