The Icons

Toon Talk Special: The 101 Greatest Disney Voice Artists - Part 2 of 2 Page 8 of 9

The Icons These are the men and women who have left an indelible imprint on the landscape of Disney entertainment. They are true legends, and their contributions to Disney films, television and theme parks are irreplaceable. Their bodies of work speak for themselves.

Sterling Holloway A man of many personalities, if one takes into account his varied roles. Embodying a wide range of characters that include a confused stork (Mr. Stork in Dumbo), a lovesick skunk (the adult Flower in Bambi), a mischievous cat (Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland), two resourceful mice (Amos in Ben & Me, Roquefort in The Aristocats) and a hypnotically wicked python (Kaa in The Jungle Book).

Of course, Holloway is best known as the original voice of that silly ol' bear in the first three Pooh shorts, Winnie the Pooh & the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh & the Blustery Day and Winnie the Pooh & Tigger Too (all combined into the theatrical feature The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh). His vocal inflections of the world famous "cuddly little cubby all stuffed with fluff" have delighted children of all ages.

Holloway also had quite a career as the Narrator of several Disney shorts, including The Cold Blooded Penguin (featured in The Three Caballeros), Peter & the Wolf (featured in Make Mine Music), Lambert the Sheepish Lion, Susie the Little Blue Coupe and Goliath II.

Eleanor Audley Audley.JPG (8306 bytes) Maleficent - (c) Disney

While I'm sure Miss Audley was a very nice lady in real life, she did voice two of the most tyrannically evil Disney villainesses of all time: Lady Tremaine, the wicked stepmother of Cinderella, and Maleficent, the black hearted fairy of Sleeping Beauty. In both roles she was coldly calculating, sending a shiver down your spine with nary a raise in her voice.

Years later, Audley provided the sinister dialogue for another mysterious figure, the disembodied head of the all-seeing Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

Verna Felton A Disney voice favorite for years, she could play both naughty (The Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, Aunt Sarah in Lady & the Tramp) and nice (The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Flora in Sleeping Beauty). And Disney voice casters apparently thought she sounded a lot like an Elephant, for she did it twice, in Dumbo and The Jungle Book, her last film role.

In her sole scene, Felton's characterization in Cinderella left us all wishing we had our own fairy godmother.

Sebastian Cabot While he voiced Bagheera in The Jungle Book and Sir Ector in The Sword in the Stone, Cabot will always be remembered for his soothing readings as the Narrator of AA Milne's beloved Winnie the Pooh stories.

This, coupled with his warm hearted Mr. French on TV's Family Affair, made him the unofficial storyteller for a generation.

Phil Harris His vocal characterizations never varied from role to role, making him the John Wayne of voice actors. But Harris nevertheless created a trio of memorable vagabonds: Thomas O'Malley in The Aristocats, Little John in Robin Hood and, especially, Baloo in The Jungle Book.

And could this guy sing: "The Bare Necessities", "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat", "The Phony King of England" ... not to mention his infamous "scat challenge" with Louis Prima (King Louie) during the recording of "I Wanna Be Like You" for The Jungle Book.

Pat Buttram Best known for his role as Mr. Haney on the TV Land classic Green Acres, Buttram's folksy vocal rhythms brought to life the bloodhounds Napoleon in The Aristocats and Chief in The Fox & the Hound, the nasty Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood and the moonshine swilling Luke in The Rescuers.

He also was heard in cameos as a Bullet in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and as the Possum Park Emcee in A Goofy Movie, his last film role.

J. Pat O'Malley A military minded sheepdog (The Colonel in 101 Dalmatians) led to a military minded elephant (Colonel Hathi in The Jungle Book). O'Malley's versatility was apparent in his quadruple role in Alice in Wonderland, as both Tweedles Dee and Dum and the subjects of their story, the Walrus and the Carpenter.

He also provided the voice of the dimwitted Jasper Badun in 101 Dalmatians, Otto the blacksmith in Robin Hood, the Horseman in Mary Poppins and Cyril Proudbottom, Toad's horse in The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad.

Pinto Colvig Yes, he was the original voice of Goofy (from 1932 to 1965, including the features The Reluctant Dragon, Saludos Amigos and Fun & Fancy Free), but he was also the man behind many voices of the early shorts, including Pluto, Practical Pig in The Three Little Pigs and the Grasshopper in The Grasshopper & the Ants, in which he sang "The World Owes Me a Livin'", which soon became Goofy's theme song.

And it doesn't end with the shorts. Colvig's feature work includes both Grumpy and Sleepy in Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, the Aracuan Bird in The Three Caballeros and Melody Time and bit parts in Make Mine Music and Sleeping Beauty.

Bill Thompson One of the unsung talents in Disney history, Thompson played the White Rabbit and the Dodo in Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Smee in Peter Pan, Professor Owl in Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom, King Hubert in Sleeping Beauty and the drunken goose Uncle Waldo in The Aristocats. His tour de force was five different roles in Lady & the Tramp: the Scottie Jock, dog pound mutts Bull and Dachsie, Tony's chef Joe and the Policeman at the zoo.

In shorts and on television, he voiced Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore of Brownstone National Park. He was also the first voice of Uncle Scrooge McDuck in the short, Scrooge McDuck & Money.