Thurl Ravenscroft

Thurl Ravenscroft
Ravenscroft's 1970 gospel album Great Hymns in Story and Song
Born	Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft February 6, 1914(1914-02-06) Norfolk, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	May 22, 2005(2005-05-22) (aged 91) Fullerton, California, U.S.
Occupation	Voice artist/Singer
Years active	1940–2005

Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft (pronounced /ˈθɜrl ˈreɪvənzkrɒft/; February 6, 1914 – May 22, 2005) was an American voice actor and singer best known as the deep voice behind Tony the Tiger's "They're grrreat!" in Frosted Flakes television commercials for more than five decades. Ravenscroft was also known, however uncredited, as the vocalist for the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from the classic Christmas television special, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. His voice acting career began in 1940 and lasted until his death in 2005 at age 91.

Biography and career

Ravenscroft left his native Norfolk, Nebraska, for California in 1933. He achieved early success as part of a singing group called The Mellomen. The Mellomen can be heard on many popular recordings of the Big Band Era, including backup for Bing Crosby, Frankie Laine, Spike Jones, Jo Stafford and Rosemary Clooney. Their earliest contribution to a Disney film was for Pinocchio (1940), to which they contributed the song "Honest John." This was deleted from the film but can still be heard in the supplements on the 2009 DVD. They also contributed to other Disney films, such as Alice in Wonderland and Lady and the Tramp. The group appeared on camera in a few episodes of the Disney anthology television series, in one instance recording a canine chorus for Lady and the Tramp, and on another occasion playing a barbershop quartet that reminds Walt Disney of the name of the young newspaper reporter Gallegher.

During World War II, Ravenscroft served as a civilian navigator contracted to the U.S. Air Transport Command, spending five years flying courier missions across the north and south Atlantic. Among the notables carried on board his flights were Winston Churchill and Bob Hope.

Ravenscroft sang bass on Rosemary Clooney's "This Ole House" which went to No. 1 in both the U.S. and Britain in 1954. He sang on the soundtrack for Ken Clark as "Stewpot" in South Pacific, one of the top-selling albums of the 1950s. His distinctive bass can also be heard as part of the chorus on 28 albums of The Johnny Mann Singers that were released during the 1960s and 1970s. Andy Williams' recording of "The 12 Days of Christmas" features him as well. In the 1980s and 1990s, Ravenscroft was narrator for the annual Pageant of the Masters art show at the Laguna Beach, California Festival of the Arts.

His voice is heard during the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as well as the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland as Uncle Theodore, the lead vocalist of the singing busts in the cemetery near the end of the ride. Ravenscroft is also heard in the Enchanted Tiki Room as the voice of Fritz the Animatronics parrot.

One of Ravenscroft's best known uncredited works is as the vocalist for the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." His name was accidentally left out of the credits, leading many to believe (erroneously) that the cartoon's narrator, Boris Karloff, sang the song while others cited Tennessee Ernie Ford as the song's signature voice.

Ravenscroft also sang "No Dogs Allowed" in the Peanuts animated motion picture Snoopy, Come Home and I Was a Teenaged Brain Surgeon for Spike Jones.

For more than 50 years, he was the uncredited voice of Tony the Tiger for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. His booming bass gave the cereal's tiger mascot a voice with the catchphrase, "They're grrrreat!"

Ravenscroft's voice can also be heard in the Unreal Tournament 2003 Demo, This was later changed because it sounded exactly like Tony the Tiger.

Various record companies also released singles by Ravenscroft, often in duets with little-known female vocalists, in an attempt to turn the bass-voiced veteran into a pop singer. These efforts were commercially unsuccessful, if often quite interesting. The Mellomen released some doo-wop records under the name Big John & the Buzzards, a name apparently given to them by the rock-and-roll-hating Mitch Miller.

Death

Ravenscroft died in his home on May 22, 2005 from prostate cancer. He was buried at the Memorial Gardens at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.

In the June 6, 2005, issue of the ad-industry journal Advertising Age, Kellogg's ran an ad commemorating Ravenscroft. The headline read: "Behind every great character is an even greater man." After his death, Lee Marshall replaced him as the voice of Tony the Tiger in the Kellogg's commercials.

Filmography

• Pinocchio - Monstro the Whale
• Dumbo – Singer of "Look Out For Mr. Stork" and "Pink Elephants on Parade"
• Bambi – Choir singer
• Cinderella – Singer
• Alice in Wonderland – Card Painter
• Jack and the Beanstalk – Singing voices of two villagers
• Peter Pan – Singer, Pirates
• Rose Marie – Medicine Man
• Lady and the Tramp – Al the Alligator, dog sounds
• Sleeping Beauty – Singer
• One Hundred and One Dalmatians – Captain
• Gay Purr-ee – Hench Cat (singing voice)
• The Sword in the Stone – Black Bart
• Mary Poppins – Pig, animal sounds
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks – Singing voice of vendor, various cartoon animal voices
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas! – Singer of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (uncredited)
• Superior Duck – The Narrator
• The Jungle Book – Singing Elephant
• The Aristocats – Russian Cat
• The Phantom Tollbooth – Lethargians
• Horton Hears a Who! – Wickersham Brother
• The Cat in the Hat – Thing One
• Snoopy, Come Home – Singer of "No Dogs Allowed"
• The Lorax – Singer
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Singer, Black Honeypot
• The Hobbit – Goblins
• Halloween Is Grinch Night – Singer, Monsters
• The Small One – Potter
• The Fox and the Hound – Dog sounds (uncredited)
• Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater – Penguin Rock Musician
• The Brave Little Toaster – Kirby
• The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars – Kirby
• The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue – Kirby
• Lilo & Stitch: The Series – Singer of "Aloha, E Komo Mai"

External links

• All Things Thurl (an authorized fan site, to which Ravenscroft contributed)
• Thurl Ravenscroft at the Internet Movie Database
• Thurl Ravenscroft at Find a Grave
• THURL'S GRRRRRRR-EAT! A Conversation With Thurl Ravenscroft