Tonight, I'm going to discuss the man who gave his voice to Yakky Doodle, Jimmy Weldon. Unfortunately, I wish it was under better circumstances.
As I am sure you have heard by now, Jimmy Weldon passed away this past Thursday at the age of 99 in Paso Robles, California. The news broke early this afternoon and was reported on by many entertainment news outlets, like Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. I, like a lot of you reading this, was devastated by the news. I have only ever heard kind things about Weldon from those who interacted with him, and with him no longer with us, we have lost another one of the few voice actors left from Hanna-Barbera's early years. But as the saying goes, "Don't be sad it's over, be glad it happened." So I thought I'd write up a biography on Mr. Weldon, and share some great links for those who want to learn even more about him.
Jimmy Weldon was born in Dale, Texas on September 23rd, 1923. Born Ivy Laverne Shinn, Jimmy Weldon had quite a varied career over the years, and that would be putting it mildly. He started his days in the entertainment world as a disc jockey, not long after serving in the Second World War. When the fifties began, Weldon made the jump from radio to television, becoming the host of a series titled The Webster Webfoot Show. It was through this series that Jimmy was really able to show his ventriloquism skills, and much like fellow ventriloquist Don Messick, it would not be long before Weldon joined Hanna-Barbera's small but growing ranks of voice actors.
The first ever voice Jimmy Weldon did for HB was also his most famous: Yakky Doodle. He initially portrayed the character in the original Yogi Bear cartoons but would go on to voice him several more times over the following decades, including later Yogi Bear specials and promos for the Cartoon Network. Weldon also provided many minor voices for other various Hanna-Barbera shows, such as Fred Flintstone and Friends, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Superfriends, and Popeye and Son. As far as I am aware, Weldon's last performance for the studio was performing a couple of additional voices for a 1992 episode of Tom & Jerry Kids. He ultimately worked for the studio for over three decades, which is quite a run if you ask me!
Of course, Weldon had a great television career beyond his work for Hanna-Barbera. He appeared in many classic shows, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Diff'rent Strokes, and Dallas. Rather interestingly, he did a voice-over role as recently as 2015 for an episode of the Disney XD animated series The 7D, his last performance. Weldon still was able to do voices for cartoons even into his nineties, which isn't something you see every day.
Though Weldon is no longer with us, he lives on in the memories he made, the characters he created, and all of the stories he shared. There is no shortage of great resources for those who want to learn more about Jimmy Weldon. He has his own website, complete with interviews and a section detailing the history of Webster Webfoot. There is also Go Get 'Em Tiger, an autobiography released back in 2007. Lastly, there are plenty of great written and video interviews with Weldon covering all facets of his life. I'll share one below that was posted back in 2017 that features him doing the voice of Yakky. Even at 93, Weldon still had the chops!
Rest in peace, Jimmy Weldon, and thank you for all the laughs. My thoughts go out to his family and friends in this difficult time.
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