Noel Blanc

Noel Barton Blanc (born October 19, 1938) is an American commercial producer, retired voice actor, and the son of the late cartoon voice actor Mel Blanc.

Early life and career

Blanc was born on October 19, 1938, in Los Angeles, California. He is the only child of voice actor Mel Blanc, and throughout Noel's childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, he worked with his father on the Looney Tunes voices so that when Mel Blanc eventually retired or died, Noel could take over for his father. In 1961, Noel performed some of Mel's voices, uncredited, when Mel was injured in a car crash. Following his father's death, Noel voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd (a character that was originally Arthur Q. Bryan's role that Mel inherited after Bryan's death and occasionally during Bryan's lifetime), The Tasmanian Devil, Porky Pig and other characters in Tiny Toon Adventures and a series of You Rang? answering machine messages; he was one of several successors to his father in the immediate aftermath of Mel's death, with others including Jeff Bergman, Joe Alaskey, Greg Burson and Billy West. Warner Bros. had been splitting up the various voice-acting roles to prevent any one of them from being a singular successor. He later contributed voice work to Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.

On January 29, 1962, Noel and his father Mel formed Blanc Communications Corporation, a media company which remains in operation. Together, they produced over 5,000 public service announcements and commercials, appearing with Kirk Douglas, Lucille Ball, Vincent Price, Phyllis Diller, Liberace, and The Who. Kirk Douglas' son, Joel, served as one of the executives at Blanc Communications Corporation and helped to develop and produce commercials until the late 1980s.

Personal life

Relationships and marriages

Blanc has been married three times; he first married Larraine Zax in 1967; they divorced in 1972. Blanc then married actress Martha Smith in 1977; the marriage lasted for nine years until they divorced in 1986. Blanc married his third wife, Katherine Hushaw, at the Warner Bros. Studios on June 3, 1998.

Helicopter incident

In February 1991, Blanc was injured in his personal helicopter when the aircraft collided with a small plane above Santa Paula Airport. Two other people were also injured, including Kirk Douglas, and two people in the plane were killed. Blanc suffered multiple fractures to his right leg, five broken ribs, a bruised lung, and a bruised kidney. He was taken to the intensive care unit at Santa Paula Hospital.

Filmography

Television and film

Documentaries

• This Is Your Life – Himself
• Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toontown – Himself
• 50 Years of Bugs Bunny in 3¹/₂ Minutes – Himself, Porky Pig
• Happy Birthday, Bugs!: 50 Looney Years – Himself, Porky Pig
• What's Up Doc? A Salute to Bugs Bunny – Himself
• Entertaining the Troops – Himself
• Behind the Tunes – Himself
• 100 Greatest Cartoons – Himself
• The Chuck Woolery Show – Himself
• Vicki! – Himself
• Friz on Film – Himself
• Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices – Himself
• King-Size Comedy: Tex Avery and the Looney Tunes Revolution – Himself
• I Know That Voice – Himself

Theme park attractions

• Tomorrowland – Radio personalities
• Carousel of Progress – Radio personalities

References

External links

• Noel Blanc at IMDb