Billy Bletcher
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Billy Bletcher | |
---|---|
Born | William Bletcher September 24, 1894 |
Died | January 5, 1979 | (aged 84)
Occupation(s) | Actor, voice actor, comedian |
Years active | 1914–1971 |
Known for | Voice of Pete (1932–1944, 1952–1954) |
Spouse |
Arlyn H. Roberts
(m. 1915–1979) |
Children | 1[1] |
William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979)[1][2] was an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is mostly well known for his role for voicing Pete in the Mickey Mouse short films from 1932 to 1954.
Career
Bletcher appeared on-screen in films and later television from the 1910s to the 1970s, including appearances in several Our Gang and The Three Stooges comedies.
He was most active as a voice actor. His voice was a deep, strong and booming baritone. Bletcher provided the voices of various characters for Walt Disney Animation Studios (Black Pete, Short Ghost and the Big Bad Wolf in Three Little Pigs and its spin-offs).[3] He auditioned to play one of the dwarfs in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. However, Walt Disney disapproved for fear that people would recognize Bletcher from the studio's Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck short subjects.[3]
His booming voice can also be heard as "Dom Del Oro" the Yacqi Indian god in the 1939 Republic serial, Zorro's Fighting Legion. He also provided voice work for Ub Iwerks as the Pincushion man in the 1935 animated short Balloon Land, as well as Owl Jolson's disciplinarian violinist father in the 1936 Warner Bros. short subject based on the song I Love to Singa and the menacing spider in Bingo Crosbyana.
In 1939, Billy Bletcher and Pinto Colvig were hired to perform ADR work for the Emerald City munchkins in The Wizard of Oz.[3] In MGM films, he voiced Spike the Bulldog and on some occasions even Tom and Jerry, in Tom and Jerry, and in Warner Bros. many characters, most notably the Papa Bear of Chuck Jones' The Three Bears. He portrayed the villainous wolf in Little Red Riding Rabbit.
Bletcher did voice acting for the 1944 Private Snafu World War II training film "Gas", where Bletcher plays the villainous Gas Cloud. Bletcher also played The Captain in Captain and the Kids with MGM cartoons.
In 1950, he played several characters on The Lone Ranger radio program as well as appearing in episode 27 of the TV series.
In 1971, Bletcher played one of his final roles, Pappy Yokum in a television adaptation of Lil Abner. In 1978, he was originally hired to voice the Weed on The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, but had to drop out due to illness.[4]
On January 5, 1979, Billy Bletcher passed away at the age of 84.
Selected filmography
- A Sticky Affair (1916) - Professor Perkins
- One Too Many (1916) - Unhappy Boarder
- The Serenade (1916) - Schmitte
- The Battle Royal (1916) - Grandpa Runt
- The Brave Ones (1916) - The Sheriff
- Aunt Bill (1916) - Bogus Aunt
- A Roman Scandal (1919)
- A Bashful Bigamist (1921)
- Turn To The Right (1922)
- Cornered (1924) - The Groom
- The Bar-C Mystery (1926)
- The Patent Leather Kid (1927)
- Daredevil's Reward (1928)
- The Terrible People (1928) - Proody
- The Texas Ranger (1931) - Tubby
- Branded Men (1931) - Half-A-rod
- Night World (1932)
- Bridge Wives (1932) - Radio announcer
- The Dentist (1932) - Bearded patient (uncredited)
- The Mad Doctor (1933) - The Mad Doctor
- The Midnight Patrol (1933) - voice of the Radio dispatcher
- Bedtime Worries (1933) - Radio Voice
- The Three Little Pigs (1933) - Wolf
- The First Round-Up (1934) - Wally's father
- Punch Drunks (1934)
- Babes in Toyland (1934) - Chief of Police
- Service With a Smile (1934)
- The Dognapper (1934) - Pete
- The Lost City (1935) - Gorzo
- The Golden Touch (1935) - King Midas
- Balloon Land (1935) - Pincushion Man
- I Haven't Got a Hat (1935) - Beans, Ex
- Divot Diggers (1936) - Bill, golfer
- Milk and Money (1936) - Mr. Viper
- Pigs Is Pigs (1937)
- Can This Be Dixie? (1937) - John P. Smith Peachtree
- Egghead Rides Again (1937)
- The Case of the Stuttering Pig (1937)
- Lonesome Ghosts (1937) - Short Ghost
- The Lone Ranger (1938) - voice of The Lone Ranger
- Hide and Shriek (1938) - Haunted-house ghouls
- The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939) - voice of The Lone Ranger
- The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Mayor/Lollipop Guild (voice) (uncredited)
- The Autograph Hound (1939) - Security Guard
- Officer Duck (1939) - Tiny Tom
- Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (1940) - Pete
- Dumbo (1941) - Clown
- Dog Trouble (1942) - Bulldog (Spike) (uncredited)
- Little Gravel Voice (1942) - Wolf (uncredited)
- Who Killed Who? (1943) - Police Officer (uncredited)
- War Dogs (1943) - Spike (uncredited)
- Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944) - Wolf (uncredited)
- The Bodyguard (1944) - Spike and Tom (uncredited)
- Puttin' on the Dog (1944) - Spike and Tom (uncredited)
- Mouse in Manhattan (1945) - Jerry (uncredited)
- Tee For Two (1945) - Tom (uncredited)
- Quiet Please! (1945) - Spike (uncredited)
- Solid Serenade (1946) - Killer (Spike) and Tom (uncredited)
- Cat Fishin' (1947) - Killer (Spike) (uncredited)
- Down to Earth (1947) - Conductor (uncredited)
- The Invisible Mouse (1947) - Spike (uncredited)
- The Truce Hurts (1948) - Spike the bulldog "Butch Cat" (uncredited)
- Rabbit Punch (1948) - The Champ (uncredited)
- Mississippi Hare (1949) - Colonel Shuffle (uncredited)
- Heavenly Puss (1949) - Devil Dog (uncredited)
- Bowery Bugs (1949) - Steve Brodie (uncredited)
- Jerry and the Lion (1950) - Tom (uncredited)
- Two-Gun Goofy (1952) - Pete (uncredited)
- How to Be a Detective (1952) - Al Muldoon
- Houdini (1953) - Italian Basso (uncredited)
- Canvas Back Duck (1953) - Pee Wee Pete (uncredited)
- Destry (1954) - Townsman (uncredited)
- The Nutty Professor (1963) - Plumber (uncredited)
- The Patsy (1964) - Table Captain #3 (uncredited)
- Surf-Bored Cat (1967) - Shark (uncredited)
- Get a Horse! (2013) - Peg-Leg Pete (archival audio)
References
- ^ a b "Overview for Billy Bletcher". Tcm.com. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
- ^ "Billy Bletcher". Behind The Voice Actors. 1979-01-05. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
- ^ a b c "Interview with Billy Bletcher, by Michael Barrier and Milton Gray". Funnyworld. 1978. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
- ^ "Today's Video Link" by Mark Evanier. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
External links
- 1894 births
- 1979 deaths
- American male film actors
- American male silent film actors
- American male television actors
- American male voice actors
- American male radio actors
- Male actors from Pennsylvania
- Actors from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
- Warner Bros. Cartoons people
- 20th-century American male actors
- Walt Disney Animation Studios people