Historical Figure
Mel Blanc
d. 1989
American voice actor and radio personality (1908–1989)
Talk to Mel Blanc
Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI
Biography
Melvin Jerome Blanc was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over sixty years. Referred to as "The Man of a Thousand Voices", he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential voice actors of all time. Blanc is best known for providing voices for Looney Tunes cartoons by Warner Bros. during the golden age of American animation.
Timeline
The story of Mel Blanc, told in moments.
Born Melvin Jerome Blank in San Francisco. Changed the spelling to Blanc because a teacher told him he'd amount to nothing, like his name. His mother wouldn't let him keep pets, so he learned to mimic their sounds instead.
Joins the Leon Schlesinger studio that produces cartoons for Warner Bros. His first major role: a drunken bull in a Porky Pig cartoon. Within a year he's voicing Porky himself. Then Daffy Duck. Then Bugs Bunny. Then everyone.
Records 'What's up, doc?' for the first time in A Wild Hare. He creates the voice by mixing Brooklyn and Bronx accents. He chews actual carrots for the crunching sound, then spits them into a wastebasket between takes because he hates carrots.
Nearly dies in a car crash on Sunset Boulevard. He's in a coma for three weeks. A doctor tries calling him 'Bugs' and asking what's up. Blanc answers in character. His family says the cartoon voices came back before his own personality did.
Dies of heart disease and emphysema in Los Angeles at 81. He voiced over 1,500 characters across six decades. Bugs Bunny. Daffy Duck. Tweety Bird. Sylvester. Foghorn Leghorn. Barney Rubble. Speed Buggy. His tombstone reads: 'That's All Folks.'
More from the Late 20th Century
Explore what happened on the days that shaped Mel Blanc's life. Today In History connects historical figures with the events, births, and deaths that defined their era. Browse all historical figures or explore today's events.