Stan Freberg is a voice actor, comedian,
and advertising creative.
He began as a voice actor in a number of old-time
radio shows. During 1950-1955, he and frequent collaborator
Daws Butler provided voices on Time for Beany, an early
puppet version of characters created by Bob Clampett
who are better known in their later animated incarnation,
Beany and Cecil.
Throughout the 1950s he made a name for himself writing
and performing both original songs ("Television")
and parodies of popular tunes ("The Yellow Rose
of Texas", "Day-O", "Heartbreak
Hotel") and radio shows (John and Marsha, St.
George and the Dragon-Net, the latter with Butler).
Freberg's popularity landed him his own program,
The Stan Freberg Show, on CBS Radio in 1957. The show
failed to attract a sponsor, however, at least in part
because Freberg did not want to be associated with
the tobacco companies who had sponsored Jack Benny,
whose time slot he inherited. In lieu of actual advertisements,
Freberg mocked commercials in general by "advertising" such
products as "Puffed Grass" ("It's good
for Bossie, it's good for me and you!"), "Food" ("If
you haven't any teeth you can gum your food with your
gum, gum, gummy-gum gum"), and himself ("Freberg — the
foaming comedian! Bobba bobba bom bom bom" — a
parody of a well-known Ajax laundry detergent commercial).
The lack of sponsorship forced the cancellation of
the show after a run of only fifteen episodes.
The radio show is most famous for a bit in which,
through the magic of sound effects, Freberg drained
Lake Michigan and refilled it with hot chocolate, whipped
cream, and a cherry, saying, "Let's see them do
that on television!"
In addition to his work in radio and advertising,
Freberg has also voiced a number of animated cartoon
characters over the years. He often found himself paired
off with other talents such as Mel Blanc at studios
like Warner Bros., where the two men performed such
pairs as the Goofy Gophers, Hubie and Bertie, and Spike
the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier. He has also worked
with Walt Disney Studios on movies, such as Lady and
the Tramp, and television projects, such as The Wuzzles. |
