MEL BLANC: THE MAN OF A THOUSAND VOICES (ebook)
2013 Best Book of the Year - Classic Images
Mel Blanc needs no introduction to cartoon and radio fans. He was The Master of the funny voice. For the first time ever, here is the ultimate biography, encompassing Noel Blanc's unpublished biography, with an introduction by Bugs Bunny, plus a complete (and Huge) credit list and discography. Over 700 pages. Indexed.
http://martingrams.blogspot.com/2020/05/mel-blanc-man-of-thousand-voices.html
"Ben gives us a 700 plus page deep dive into all things Mel Blanc. For a refresher, Blanc was the voice of most of the Warner Brothers cartoon characters including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Sylvester and Tweety bird, Yosemite Sam and all the other favorites you probably remember from your childhood. Beyond the Warner Brothers canon, Blanc occasionally did the Woody Woodpecker laugh, and voiced Barney Rubble and Dino for The Flintstones. Add in countless characters for radio and television, including a lot of work with his friend Jack Benny, and it’s easy to understand how a serious cataloguing of his legacy would end up in a hefty sized book.
"Naturally, the book is chock-full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes revealing how Blanc came up with all those voices. For example, Blanc didn’t like carrots so he kept a bucket handy whenever he had to do Bugs Bunny chopping on carrots. Apparently, no other vegetable could duplicate the sound so Blanc would do his chomping and then spit out the remains in the bucket. In the ‘60s, Blanc was surprised to find his characters singing Beatles and Rolling Stones songs as in Yosemite Sam doing “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
"We get a considerable amount of insight into Blanc’s personal life, especially as one principal source for the book was his son, Noel. I doubt few readers can read the account of Blanc’s recovery from a near fatal car crash and not be affected by just how resilient Blanc was in getting back to work while still being laid up. In fact, few readers will put down this book without feeling a sense of admiration for the man, his talent, his values, the whole package.
"If you’re like me and missed this volume when it first came out, it’s never too late to appreciate the life and legacy of a major contributor to many of our childhood hours watching TV and laughing at all those immortal characters Mel Blanc helped bring to life."
- Bookpleasures.com