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Jimmy MacDonald

 
Actor: James MacDonald
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: 1906 in Dundee, Scotland
  • Died: Feb 01, 1991 in Glendale, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '50s, '70s
  • Major Genres: Children's/Family, Fantasy
  • Career Highlights: The Black Hole
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Black Hole (1979)

Biography

James MacDonald made an enormous contribution to Walt Disney studios by creating the largest, most complete library of sound effects in cinema. Such effects included blowing and growling through the glass chimney of a kerosene lamp to create grizzly bear noises to using dried peas in a barrel to emulate a heavy downpour. Though not the first to use coconuts to mimic the sound of moving horses, he was one of the few to insure that Disney horses always had four beats per gallop instead of the three typically heard in other less meticulously made films. MacDonald was discovered by Walt Disney while working as a drummer aboard a cruise ship. In addition to providing sound effects, MacDonald was also a talented voice artist and in 1946 became the voice of Mickey Mouse. In the early '80s, MacDonald selected Wayne Allwine to be his successor. Though he passed away in 1991, MacDonald can still be seen performing his fascinating craft via video displays at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Jimmy MacDonald (sound effects artist)
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Jimmy MacDonald
Born May 19, 1906(1906-05-19)
Dundee, Scotland
Died February 1, 1991 (aged 84)
Glendale, California
Occupation animator, Voice artist and head of Disney sound effects department

John James "Jimmy" MacDonald (May 19, 1906 - February 1, 1991) was a Scottish voice actor and the original head of the Disney sound effects department, and the voice of Mickey Mouse from 1947 to 1977.

In addition to directing sounds for animated shorts as aurally complicated as Mickey's Trailer (1938), he developed many original inventions and contraptions to achieve expressive sounds for characters like Casey Jr., the circus train engine from Dumbo (1941); Evinrude the dragonfly from The Rescuers (1977); the bees in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree; and Buzz-buzz (later called "Spike"), the bee who gets the best of Donald Duck in his 1950s short films.

MacDonald also added voice effects, like on-screen humming for Kirk Douglas in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), and chipmunk chatter from various Chip & Dale cartoons, starting with 1943's Private Pluto.

In 1947, Walt Disney was getting too busy and too hoarse from smoking to continue voicing Mickey Mouse, so he passed the torch to MacDonald, starting with the film Fun and Fancy Free. MacDonald voiced the mouse on a regular basis until 1953, and a recurring one until 1977, until passing the torch to young Disney sound effects man Wayne Allwine for Mickey's Christmas Carol.

MacDonald also provided the voice of Jaq and Gus and Bruno the dog in Cinderella. He also appeared in the feature film Toby Tyler as the Circus Band Drummer, but was uncredited.

MacDonald died of heart failure in 1991. He was buried in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.

Some of his SFX can be heard in non-Disney cartoons like Rocko's Modern Life and Spongebob Squarepants.

References

  • The Disney Channel's "Disney Family Album: James MacDonald", circa 1985
  • Some of his SFX can be heard in non-Disney cartoons like Rocko's Modern Life, Ed Edd n Eddy, and Spongebob Squarepants.

External links


Preceded by
Walt Disney		 Voice of Mickey Mouse
1947-1977		 Succeeded by
Wayne Allwine


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Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jimmy MacDonald (sound effects artist)".  Read more