Voice
The role of Yosemite Sam was originated by the Warners' principal voiceman, Mel Blanc. In his autobiography, Blanc said he had a difficult time coming up with the voice. He tried giving Sam a small voice, but didn't feel that it worked. One day, he decided to simply yell at the top of his voice, which was inspired by a fit of road rage he had that day. It fit perfectly with the blustery character, but also took a toll on Mel. He always made it a point to record Sam's lines at the end of a recording session so he wouldn't have to play other characters with a hoarse voice. In his final years, it was simply too much, and he passed along the role of Sam (and of Foghorn Leghorn, whose voice is similar) to others (most notably Joe Alaskey in Who Framed Roger Rabbit while Blanc did most of the other Looney Tunes roles in that movie). This makes Sam (and Leghorn) one of the few voices created by Blanc to be voiced by someone else during his lifetime. Blanc used a voice similar to Yosemite Sam's for Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons.
In recent years, Sam has been voiced by Jeff Bergman, Frank Gorshin, Jim Cummings, Maurice LaMarche and Jeff Bennett. His current portrayers are Jeff Bennett and Maurice LaMarche.
Read more about this topic: Yosemite Sam
Famous quotes containing the word voice:
“Lap me in soft Lydian airs,
Married to immortal verse,
Such as the meeting soul may pierce
In notes with many a winding bout
Of linked sweetness long drawn out,
With wanton heed and giddy cunning,
The melting voice through mazes running,
Untwisting all the chains that tie
The hidden soul of harmony;”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“Living by basic good-mothering guidelines enables a mom to blend the responsibilities of parenthood with its joys; to know when to stand her ground and when to be flexible; and to absorb the lessons of the parenting gurus while also trusting her inner voice when it reasons that another cookie isn’t worth fighting over, or that her child won’t suffer irreparable trauma if, once in a while, Mom puts her own needs first.”
—Sue Woodman (20th century)
“That woman’s days were spent
In ignorant good-will,
Her nights in argument
Until her voice grew shrill.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)