Kevin Readdean – Voice Talent

Smarter than the Average Bear

On this day in 1961, that fun-loving bear from Jellystone National Park sprang from his supporting role on The Huckleberry Hound Show , to become the star of his own animated series, The Yogi Bear Show. This classic Hanna & Barbera cartoon featured the legendary Daws Butler voicing Yogi Bear, in a nod to Art Carney’s Ed Norton character from The Honeymooners, Don Messick providing the voice of both Ranger Smith and Boo Boo Bear, and Julie Bennett voicing Cindy Bear.

The television series was sponsored by Kellogg’s Cereals. Here’s a classic Kellogg’s commercial featuring Yogi. Note how Yogi corrects the voice-over announcer’s pronunciation of the word “crispier.” Could he be “smarter than the average voice-over arrtist” too?

Can’t get enough of Yogi Bear? He’s coming to the big screen in December 2010 in a live-action 3D movie. For this one, Dan Aykroyd steps up to the picnic basket as Yogi with Justin Timberlake tagging along as Boo Boo. This film should be an enjoyable flashback to the classic.

Sources: Toontracker, Wikipedia

A few more links: Saturday Morning Blog, Gordon and the Whale