Dallas McKennon

Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American film, television and voice actor, who had a career lasting over 50 years.[1]

Dallas McKennon
McKennon c. 1965
Born
Dallas Raymond McKennon

(1919-07-19)July 19, 1919
La Grande, Oregon, U.S.
DiedJuly 14, 2009(2009-07-14) (aged 89)
Raymond, Washington, U.S.
Other namesDal McKennon
Charles Farrington
OccupationActor
Years active1940–1996
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Spouse
Betty Warner
​
(m. 1942)​
Children8

Career

Born near La Grande, Oregon, Mckennon served during World War II in the Army Signal Corps in Alaska.[2]

McKennon's best-known voice roles were Gumby for Art Clokey, Archie Andrews in several different Archie series for Filmation, and the primary voice of Buzz Buzzard in the Woody Woodpecker cartoons.[1] In the early 1950s, McKennon created and hosted his own daily kids TV wraparound show, Space Funnies/Capt. Jet, which was aired weekday mornings on KNXT (KCBS-TV) TV Ch. 2 in Los Angeles. It was the first Los Angeles-based kids show to air reruns of The Little Rascals and Laurel & Hardy shorts. He was also the primary voice actor for the 1960 cartoon series Q.T. Hush. McKennon was also the voice of the Hardy Boys' sidekick, Chet Morton, in the 1969 animated mystery series.

McKennon also sang and provided many character voices, mainly for Walt Disney Animation. He voiced characters in Pinocchio, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks;[3][4] his laughter as a hyena in Lady and the Tramp was later recycled as a stock sound effect for the voice of Ripper Roo in the Crash Bandicoot video game series.[5] He also provided the voices for many Disney attractions such as the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad safety announcement, a pair of laughing hyenas in the Africa Room portion of It's a Small World, Benjamin Franklin's voice in Epcot's The American Adventure, Epcot's WorldKey information kiosks, and Zeke in the Country Bear Jamboree.[6][3]

McKennon's best-known live action role is the innkeeper Cincinnatus in Daniel Boone.[1][7][3] He also had a bit part as a diner cook in The Birds and as a gas station attendant in Clambake. His final movie was Gumby: The Movie under the pseudonym Charles Farrington. He voiced Gumby, Fatbuckle, Lucky Claybert, and Professor Kapp.

McKennon was an avid Oregon Trail historian. He visited schools around the Northwest lecturing children about Oregon history and worked at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center giving instructional speeches, and put together plays, skits, songs, stories, and informational documents leading up to the Oregon Trail's sesquicentennial (150th anniversary).

He also worked with Oregon Public Broadcasting creating The Pappenheimers, an instructional video series to help teach children German. His character lived in a Volkswagen Type 2 and would tell stories about relatives in Germany.

Personal life

In 1942, McKennon married his childhood love interest, Betty Warner, in Portland, Oregon.[1][4] The couple had six daughters and two sons.[1][4] They lived in California until 1968, when they moved to Cannon Beach, Oregon, from where McKennon commuted for voice acting and voiceover roles.[1][7]

Death

McKennon died from natural causes aged 89 on July 14, 2009, at the Willapa Harbor Care Center in Raymond, Washington, five days shy of his 90th birthday.[1][7][3][4]

Filmography

Live-action

Animation

Video games

Theme park attractions

Albums
  • Donald Duck and His Friends – Scrooge McDuck
  • Wee Sing Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies (1985) – Narrator / Crooked old man
  • Wee Sing America (1987) – Various voices
  • Wee Sing Silly Songs (1988 re-recording) – Various voices
  • Wee Sing: Fun n Folk (1989) – Various voices
  • Wee Sing Around the Campfire (1990 re-recording) – Various voices
  • Wee Sing Dinosaurs (1991) – Various voices
  • Wee Sing Animals Animals Animals (1999) – Various voices
  • Centerpoint: Poetry & Music for Christmas – Featured reader

References
  1. Noland, Claire (July 18, 2009). "Dallas McKennon dies at 89; voice actor gave voice to many animated characters". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  2. "Dallas McKennon dies at 89; voice actor gave voice to many animated characters". Los Angeles Times. 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  3. "Dallas McKennon | Character voice actor, 89". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  4. "Dallas McKennon". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  5. Loveridge, Sam (September 9, 2016). "20 things you didn't know about Crash Bandicoot". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  6. "StartedByAMouse.com Features - Dallas McKennon by Steve Burns". 2004-05-17. Archived from the original on 2004-05-17. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  7. NEWSPAPERS, Claire Noland, TRIBUNE (20 July 2009). "DALLAS MCKENNON: 1919-2009". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-08-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. www.veoh.com
  9. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Bucky and Pepito Episode Guide -Trans-Artists Prods @ BCDB". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 8 August 2019.
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