Melvin Jerome Blanc - The Man with a Thousand Voices and a Freemason

 

Bro Melvin Jerome Blanc, born Blank on the 30th May 1908 in San Francisco, California USA, was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy radio programs.

Bro Blanc was referred to as “The Man with a Thousand Voices” was the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, the Tasmanian Devil, and numerous other characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons. 

Blanc also voiced the Looney Tunes characters Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd along with the voice of Hanna-Barbera's television cartoons, including Barney Rubble and Dino on The Flintstones, Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons, Secret Squirrel on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, the title character of Speed Buggy, and Captain Caveman on Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels and The Flintstone Kids.

Bro Blanc joined Mid-Day Lodge No.188 in Portland USA in 1931 and enjoyed an active career in Freemasonry, twenty years later joining the Scottish Rite Valley of Los Angeles and Two weeks later, he joined Al Malaikah Shrine Temple.  In his autobiography, he wrote, “When I was a teenager, I used to pass by the Portland Shrine Hospital located not far from my parent’s home.  Hearing about the work they did with crippled children was what initially piqued my interest in the fellowship and prompted me to seek admission.”

Bro Blanc passed away on the 10th July 1989 at the age of 81 years old and is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.