Dallas McKennon Biography

Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 " July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American actor, with extensive work as a voice actor, in a career lasting over 50 years.

Career

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

McKennon also sang, and provided many character voices for Disney. His distinctive voice can be heard in movies such as Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. He also provided the voices for many Disney Attractions such as the famous Big Thunder Mountain Railroad safety spiel (It's A Small World After All) Laughing Hyenas, Ben Franklin's voice in Epcot's The American Adventure and the voice of Zeke in the Country Bear Jamboree.

McKennon's best-known live action role is that of the innkeeper, Cincinnatus, in the Daniel Boone TV series starring Fess Parker. He also had a bit part as a chef in the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds and a gas station attendant in the Elvis Presley film Clambake. His last movie was Gumby: The Movie, under the pseudonym of Charles Farrington, voicing Gumby, Fatbuckle, Lucky Claybert and Professor Kapp.

McKennon was an avid Oregon Trail historian. He worked at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center giving instructional speeches. He also put together songs, stories and informational documents leading up the Oregon Trail's sesquicentennial (150th anniversary).

Dallas also worked with OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) creating "The Pappenheimers", an instructional video series to help teach children German. His character lived in Volkswagen Bus and would tell stories about relatives in Germany. Many of the episodes had clips of Germany as well as cartoons.

He is also known for his recording of an insane laugh, used for the Hyena character in Lady and the Tramp, and later the villain, Ripper Roo in the Crash Bandicoot viedo games.

Death

McKennon died of natural causes on July 14, 2009 at the Willapa Harbor Care Center in Raymond, Washington five days before his 90th birthday.

Personal life

McKennon married childhood sweetheart Betty in 1942, a marriage lasting until his death. The couple had a total of six daughters and two sons. He was also a devout born-again Christian.

Notable characters/voices

• Gumby / Henry (original voice) / Denali / Rodgy (re-dubbed voice) - Art Clokey
• Captain Jet - Space Funnies
• Inspector Willoughby - series of shorts for Walter Lantz
• Joe Hardy/Chubby Morton - The Hardy Boys (1969 cartoon series)
• Archie Andrews - Archie cartoon series
• Q.T. Hush/Shamus - Q.T. Hush series
• Buzz Buzzard - Woody Woodpecker series
• Tintin / Professor Calculus - Hergé's Adventures of Tintin
• Toughy, Pedro, Professor, and Hyena - Lady and the Tramp
• The Owl - Sleeping Beauty'*'
• Several characters - One Hundred and One Dalmatians
• Detective Hutchins - The Misadventures of Merlin Jones
• Max - How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Jim Smiley - The Adventures of Mark Twain
• Fox, Penguin #2, Hunting Horse, Merry-Go-Round Operator - Mary Poppins
• Falsetto - Tom and Jerry short, Cat and Dupli-cat
• Bear - Bedknobs and Broomsticks
• Cincinnatus - Daniel Boone
• Sam the Chef - The Birds
• Benjamin Franklin - The American Adventure
• Gas station attendant - Clambake
• Narrator/Crooked old man - Wee Sing: Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies
• Crooked old man - Wee Sing: King Cole's Party
• Charles Farrington - Gumby: The Movie
• Ripper Roo (laugh only) - Crash Bandicoot & Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
• Suitcase Monster (laugh only) - Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse
• Omby Amby - Journey Back to Oz
• Deaf Old Man - The Haunted Mansion