Voice actors: The one thing almost everyone can agree on that Hanna-Barbera got right. Even people who can't stand any of their cartoons will say that they knocked it out of the park when it came to casting actors. Part of the reason so many of their characters are fondly remembered is the brilliant acting of the actors and actresses who voiced them. Even in their later years, as their quality began to wane, they continued to find and foster amazing actors. Frank Welker is arguably the best voice actor alive, and we'd never have him if it wasn't for Hanna-Barbera.
Throughout the years, Hanna-Barbera employed many voice actors, but who were the best? Join me as I count down my personal picks for the ten best classic Hanna-Barbera actors. I have only two rules for this list. First, they had to work for the company during its golden years, which for me was 1957-1969. Anyone who works past this will not be included. Additionally, I'm only looking at an actor's contributions to the works of Hanna-Barbera. Almost all these actors voiced characters for other animation studios, but I'm only considering their Hanna-Barbera characters. Yes, these rules are complicated and arbitrary, but it's my blog! Now, let's take a few to salute those who gave life to the funtastic world of Hanna-Barbera.
10. Doug Young
Starting this list off is the most obscure actor here, and easily the most underrated. Young (pictured above on the right) was one of the first actors hired by the studio alongside Daws Butler and Don Messick, but unlike them, he only stuck with the studio for a few years. He portrayed characters like Doggie Daddy and was often heard as minor characters in series like The Flintstones. While he isn't as fondly remembered as Butler and Messick are, Young was an invaluable part of Hanna-Barbera's early years. Between that and the many voices he did, both big and small, it felt right to put him on this list.
9. John Stephenson
Unlike others on this list, Stephenson never voiced the lead of a series. That being said, he made up for it in the sheer amount of characters he voiced. He was the man who gave life to Mr. Slate, Fancy Fancy, Dr. Quest (at least initially), and a truly staggering amount of minor characters. If you've ever watched a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, no matter the era, you've heard Stephenson's voice more than a few times. He was every bit as important to the studio as someone like Daws Butler or Frank Welker and deserves more credit than he's given.
8. Arnold Stang
Contrary to popular belief, you don't necessarily need a thousand voices under your belt to be a great voice actor. Sometimes, one's enough, and Arnold Stang was proof of that. Stang didn't appear in a lot of cartoons over his long career in show business, but he nailed it with his most remembered character, Top Cat. Top Cat in general had a great cast, but it was Stang who stole the show. While his performance began as a parody of Phil Silvers, Stang made the character more his own as the show progressed. His voice is a big reason the character is still so beloved, and it's hard to imagine anyone else as the character.
7. Howard Morris
Morris might be best remembered for his onscreen roles, but that doesn't mean he was a slouch in his animated roles. Howard Morris voiced many characters for Hanna-Barbera over the course of their forty-year history, but my favorites would have to be two characters he voiced in The Jetsons: Jet Screamer and Grandpa Jetson. Both of these roles showed that Morris could take even the smallest of roles and transform them into something memorable. In the hands of someone else, Jet could've easily been a cliche 60s rock singer, but with Morris' vocals, he became one of the most celebrated characters in the show. He could take anything and turn it into pure gold. That's a skill all the great comedians have, and Morris had that both in live-action and animation.
6. Alan Reed
Keith Scott (author of the exceptional Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age) stated on Greg Ehrbar's Hanna-Barbera podcast that there may never have been a better match of actor and character in animation than Alan Reed and Fred Flintstone. Honestly, I can't disagree with him. People often think that voice acting is simply doing funny voices, but that's not at all what Reed did. He approached the role of Fred Flintstone as if he were a character in a live-action sitcom, and clearly, that was the right choice. I don't think we'd be talking about The Flintstones today if it weren't for Alan Reed. Whether it was a serious moment or something comical, Alan Reed always brought his A-Game. So next time you hear someone talk about how voice acting is nothing more than silly voices, tell 'em about Alan Reed!
5. Jean Vander Pyl
The first recurring voice actress Hanna-Barbera employed, Jean Vander Pyl played many characters, with no two being the same: The prehistoric housewife Wilma, baby Pebbles, robotic housemaid Rosie, and many more. Even for bit roles, she constantly made an effort to differentiate them from each other. Beyond a great vocal range, she gave Wilma as much depth as Reed had given Fred. It was really the two of them that took the characters from being funny cartoons to being characters that people were genuinely invested in. And this was something she accomplished with most of her characters. Rosie only appeared in two of the original Jetsons episodes but is one of the most popular characters from it. Jean's voice is a big reason for that. She really was one of their best actors and one of the best classic voice actresses in general.
4. Janet Waldo
While Jean Vander Pyl was the first voice actress, none were more prolific than Judy Jetson herself, Janet Waldo. Like Jean, she had great range. She could play characters young and old, good and evil, whatever the call, she'd answer it. I ultimately gave her the edge over Miss Vander Pyl because she had more instances to show her abilities. She got several starring roles in shows like Penelope Pitstop and Josie and the Pussycats, which Jean did not. She also appeared in a lot more projects, further allowing her to demonstrate her range. Besides being a talented artist, Waldo was also a kindhearted human being. After her controversial dismissal from the 1990 Jetsons feature, she held no ill will towards the folks at Hanna-Barbera, despite being upset with the decision. She was a real class act, and while that could be said for most on this list, I think none fit that bill better than her.
3. Mel Blanc
Yes, yes, I can hear your complaints already. How could the man of a thousand voices only be at number three on this list? Remember, I'm only judging these actors based on their Hanna-Barbera work. If we were looking at his entire body of work, he'd easily take the top spot. Just off his Hanna-Barbera roles though, there are two who beat him. But I'm not saying Blanc phoned in any of these roles. Whether it was Barney Rubble or Mr. Spacely, he was nothing short of a pleasure to hear. Even in later productions, when the stories and animation had obviously declined, Blanc remained at the top of his game. Captain Caveman is one of the studios' more fondly remembered seventies series, and a big reason for that is Blanc's performance. He could take even the most mundane roles or lines, and make them funny. Mel Blanc loved what he did, and did it until he passed away in 1989. While his HB characters aren't quite as iconic as those he created at Warner Brothers, Blanc was a trailblazer in the art of voice acting. If it weren't for him, this list probably wouldn't even exist!
2. Don Messick
My personal favorite actor on this list, Don Messick truly does not get enough love. The list of characters he voiced isn't only impressive, but just from their names, you get a sense of his range: Boo Boo, Ranger Smith, Astro, Scooby, Muttley, Bandit, Dr. Quest, Bamm-Bamm, I could go on and on. I think the best thing I could say about Messick's talent is that, despite playing a fair amount of canines, they always sounded remarkably different. Most would say that Scooby-Doo and Astro sound the same, and many of the later voice actors certainly play them that way, but not Messick. Astro was energetic and outgoing, just like you'd expect from the family dog. Meanwhile, Scooby was paranoid and unsure of himself, which fits the character perfectly. He was also amazing at creating sounds for creatures, whether they be of this world or another. In that regard, he was kind of like the Frank Welker of his time. An actor who could bring life to just about any animated character and a class act, Messick was a titan in the voice-acting world. There's a reason practically the entire animation industry showed up to his retirement party.
1. Daws Butler
Yeah, you probably saw this coming, but who else would it be? As Bill Hanna said himself, there probably wouldn't have even been a Hanna-Barbera without Daws! From Yogi to Huckleberry Hound, from Mr. Jinks to Snagglepuss, Butler and Messick were almost like the glue that held Hanna-Barbera together in its early years. Daws worked for the studio for three decades, and even in his later years, as both his health began to decline and the studio's output faltered, he gave each role and every cartoon his all. Even today, despite having left us over thirty years ago, Butler remains an important figure in the history of voice acting. His characters have endured, he inspired future voice actors, and trained many of them in his workshops. Many of today's voice-acting veterans, like Corey Burton, Nancy Cartwright, and Bill Farmer, came directly from those studies. He was a great mentor, and always made it clear that it's voice acting. The acting should always come first, and that's something that I think many, especially viewers, forget when watching animation. It's more than doing voices behind a mic for twenty minutes, and all of these actors understood that. Like I said at the beginning of this list, Hanna-Barbera hired a whole lot of voice actors over the years. However, there's only one you could say built the company into what we know it as. That man was Daws Butler.
And that's my list. Of course, this is only my opinion, and there were more than a few that would have made the list if I looked at all their animation credits (June Foray for example). If you'd like me to talk about more voice actors, check out this post I made last year discussing their most underrated actors. There is some slight crossover with this list, but for the most part, the picks are very different. And let me know who are your favorites in the comments below!
