As weird as it sounds, for the past twenty or so years, the primary source of new Flintstones media has come from TV commercials. While the majority of these appearances come from Fruity Pebbles ads, there have also been many for other products. One I only learned of this week was this 2005 commercial for Midas, featuring Fred and Barney coming into the shop to get some brake work done. Probably the most interesting thing about this ad is the fact that this is one of the first, if not the first, Flintstones productions to feature James Arnold Taylor as the voice of Fred. He began playing the character in most of his advertisement-based appearances after Henry Corden, Fred's second voice, passed away earlier that year. Voicing Barney is the legendary Frank Welker, who was still regularly voicing the character at this time. Check out the commercial below!
And, before I wrap up this week's posts, here's some neat trivia regarding how James Arnold Taylor got the part of Fred Flintstone. In the 2013 documentary I Know That Voice, Taylor says he was by far the shortest person out of anyone who was auditioning for the part. So short in fact that the individual who called up each actor for their audition practically looked over him. Only after Henry Corden interjected and asked they give him a shot was Taylor able to actually audition. Thus, James Arnold Taylor joined the ranks of the great voice actors who have given life to Freddy Flintstone!
This actually isnt too unusual. Alan Reed said he made his real money as Fred Flintstone in commercials, not in the actual series.
ReplyDeleteNow that part definitely doesn't shock me, especially considering Jean Vander Pyl only earned around 250 per episode. I think it's more odd in the fact that's where the characters have primarily appeared since the new millenium began.
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