We're fast approaching what would have been Daws Butler's 108th birthday, and just like last year, I'm celebrating it with a week of posts dedicated to Hanna-Barbera's most influential voice actor. To start things off, here is a thirty-seven-minute interview between Butler and Paul Maher. Maher was lucky enough to talk to a lot of the greats behind many of the cartoons for studios like Warners, Disney, Fleischer, and beyond. His website has an archive of many video and radio interviews (which you can find here), including three with Daws Butler. This first one, which I believe was recorded sometime in the 1970s, does a great job covering Butler's voiceover career, from his relationship with actors like Stan Freberg and Don Messick to his many voices at Hanna-Barbera. Take a listen right here!
Of course, this is only just the beginning of this celebration of all things Daws. Come back tomorrow as I countdown my five favorite voices Butler did for Hanna-Barbera.
Keep up the good work, Noah.
ReplyDeleteThere are some excellent interviews with Daws out there. I think you've linked to one where he wasn't altogether pleased with Mr. Freberg for giving him less credit than he deserved. It's a shame because they worked so well together.
Daws was the glue that held the studio together in the earliest days. It was either Bill Hanna or Joe Barbera who said the same thing in later years.
I don't think I can pick a favourite voice. There are many I like, going back to the Ronald Colman fox at MGM.
Thank you so much for the feedback. And yes, I believe it was Hanna who was on record saying "without Daws, there wouldn't have been a Hanna-Barbera". I think that comes directly from the Daws Butler documentary from the late eighties.
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