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Thurl Ravenscroft

 
Artist: Thurl Ravenscroft
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Don Knotts, The Chipmunks, Henry Mancini & His Orchestra & Chorus, Spike Jones, Boris Karloff, Hans Conried
  • Born: February 06, 1914, Norfolk, NE
  • Died: May 22, 2005
  • Active: '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Vocal Music
  • Instrument: Vocals

Biography

Despite a singing career that spanned from the 1930s to the 1970s, Thurl Ravenscroft is undoubtedly best known for applying his deep, rich vocal skills in a different professional pursuit -- specifically, for over half a century he was the inimitable voice of Kellogg's Corn Flakes icon Tony the Tiger. According to the exhaustive website All Things Thurl, Ravenscroft was born February 6, 1914, in Norfolk, NE, relocating to California at age 19 to study interior design at the Otis Art Institute. Colleagues in his church choir suggested that he audition as a studio singer at Paramount, and he soon became one of the most sought-after vocalists in Hollywood; by the mid-'30s, Ravenscroft was also a radio staple, co-starring on the program Goose Creek Parson before graduating to Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall as a member of the Paul Taylor Choristers. In 1938 Ravenscroft joined fellow Taylor Choristers Bill Days and Max Smith in the Sportsmen, who quickly became one of the busiest vocal groups in radio -- at one point they were appearing on 14 different concurring programs, among Jack Benny's The Jell-O Radio Show, Rudy Vallée's The Sealtest Village Store, and The Burns and Allen Show. In 1942 Ravenscroft left the group to enlist in the Air Transport Command, serving five years as a navigator. Upon returning to Hollywood in 1947 he attempted to rejoin the Sportsmen, but the wife of his replacement, Gurney Bell, threatened a lawsuit if Bell was dismissed from the lineup; when Smith left the group the following year, he and Ravenscroft simply formed a new combo, the Mellomen. As a member of the Mellomen and as a solo gun-for-hire, Ravenscroft backed many of the most successful artists of the 1950s, including Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Peggy Lee, and Tennessee Ernie Ford; he is prominently featured on Rosemary Clooney's 1954 classic "This Old House," cut a handful of duets with Roberta Lee and was spotlighted on the Spike Jones & His City Slickers efforts Bottoms Up and Dinner Music for People Who Aren't Very Hungry. The Mellomen also were at the heart of the famed Norman Luboff Choir, but the group was even more successful in their voice-over work for television, film, and commercials. For Disney, they recorded the themes for the TV hits Davy Crockett, Zorro, The Mickey Mouse Club, and The Wonderful World of Color in addition to appearing on literally hundreds of the studio's children's recordings. Beginning in 1952, Ravenscroft was the voice of Tony the Tiger, coining the character's trademark tag line, "They're gr-r-r-r-r-r-reat!" In 1963, the Mellomen appeared opposite Elvis Presley in It Happened at the World's Fair, and three years later Ravenscroft was cast for the animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a project highlighted by his immortal vocal turn on the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"; he subsequently was cast in Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat, and The Lorax. Ravenscroft's career as a solo artist was far more limited -- in 1955, he cut his first solo single, "Mad, Baby, Mad," followed a year later by "Dr. Geek." In conjunction with the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, he also released the single "Big Paul Bunyan." The Thurl Ravenscroft Singers were credited for the LP 12 Great Hits, and in 1970 he issued perhaps his most successful solo recording, the Light Records release Great Hymns in Story and Song. Customcraft later released another Christian project, God's Plan for You. In later years Ravenscroft backed artists ranging from Jim Nabors to Arlo Guthrie and was an active member of the Johnny Mann Singers. He eased into retirement during the 1980s but continued serving as the voice of Tony the Tiger well into the 21st century. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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Thurl Ravenscroft

Ravenscroft's 1970 gospel album Great Hymns in Story and Song
Born Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft
February 6, 1914(1914-02-06)
Norfolk, Nebraska, U.S.
Died May 22, 2005 (aged 91)
Fullerton, California, U.S.
Occupation Voice artist/Singer
Years active 1940–2005

Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft (February 6, 1914 – May 22, 2005) was an American voice actor and singer known for his deep, booming voice. For 53 years, he was best-known as the voice of Tony the Tiger in more than 500 television commercials for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.

Ravenscroft was the vocalist of the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in the Christmas television special based on the Dr. Seuss classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. His name was accidentally left out of the credits, however, leading many to believe (erroneously) that the cartoon's narrator, Boris Karloff, sang the song. Ravenscroft also sang "No Dogs Allowed" in the Peanuts animated motion picture Snoopy, Come Home and I Was a Teenaged Brain Surgeon for Spike Jones.

Contents

Disney work

Ravenscroft's voice has been heard in many Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions, past and present. He is the voice of "Buff," the buffalo head in the Country Bear Jamboree; lead vocalist on the theme song Grim Grinning Ghosts in the Haunted Mansion and Phantom Manor (his face is on the singing bust that many people have mistaken for Walt Disney); both "Fritz," the German-accented parrot, and one of the Polynesian god totems in the Enchanted Tiki Room; Narrator on the Disneyland Railroad (not the voice that announces the train boarding or departing); the original voice of the First Mate on the Mark Twain Riverboat; several singing (and drunk) pirates in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction; the singer of the theme song for "The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure", the Hardy Boys serial from the Mickey Mouse Club TV show; the singing frogs in Splash Mountain and one of the bass voices in the chorus of "it's a small world". He is sometimes mistaken for Paul Frees, who provides the 'Ghost Host' narration for the Haunted Mansion attraction, due to the fact that Ravenscroft was the narrator on Disney's The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion vinyl record. He also provided narration on the original Pirates of the Caribbean vinyl recording, as well as singing several pirate-themed songs.

One of the computer-animated singing busts in the 2003 film The Haunted Mansion was modeled after his features; another was made to resemble Paul Frees.

Ravenscroft also provided the voice of Kirby in The Brave Little Toaster, the voice of Paul Bunyan in the animated short of the same name, and voiced the animated pig in the "Jolly Holiday" sequence of Mary Poppins. He can be heard in many Disney features, including One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, and The Aristocats, as well as on the soundtracks for Dumbo, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, and The Jungle Book (singing in Colonel Hathi's March, but not providing the singing voice for Shere Khan at the end of That's What Friends Are For). While many people make the mistake of crediting Thurl for singing this line, George Sanders, who was an accomplished singer, did both the speaking and singing for the character of Shere Khan. He also sang a cover version of Bing Crosby's song about the headless horseman from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (in a similar fashon to Louis Prima singing a cover of Phil Harris' song from Robin Hood).

He did the dog sounds for Lady and the Tramp & The Fox and the Hound.

Ravenscroft was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1995 for his work in Disney animation.

Music career and personal history

Ravenscroft left his native Norfolk, Nebraska, for California in 1933. He achieved early success as part of a singing group called The Mellomen. The Mellomen can be heard on many popular recordings of the Big Band Era, including backup for Bing Crosby, Frankie Laine, Spike Jones, Jo Stafford and Rosemary Clooney. Their earliest contribution to a Disney film was for Pinocchio (1940), to which they contributed the song "Honest John." This was deleted from the film but can still be heard in the supplements on the 2009 DVD. They also contributed to other Disney films, such as Alice in Wonderland and Lady and the Tramp. The group appeared on camera in a few episodes of the Disney anthology television series, in one instance recording a canine chorus for Lady and the Tramp, and on another occasion playing a barbershop quartet that reminds Walt Disney of the name of the young newspaper reporter Gallegher.

During World War II, Ravenscroft served as a civilian navigator contracted to the U.S. Air Transport Command, spending five years flying courier missions across the north and south Atlantic. Among the notables carried on board his flights were Winston Churchill and Bob Hope.

Ravenscroft sang on the soundtrack for Ken Clark as "Stewpot" in South Pacific, one of the top-selling albums of the 1950s. His distinctive bass can also be heard as part of the chorus on 28 albums of The Johnny Mann Singers that were released during the 1960s and 1970s. Andy Williams' recording of "The 12 Days of Christmas" features him as well. In the 1980s and 1990s, Ravenscroft was narrator for the annual Pageant of the Masters art show at the Laguna Beach, California Festival of the Arts. Ravenscroft's best known work is claimed by some[who?] to be "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch."

Various record companies[which?] also released singles by Ravenscroft, often in duets with little-known female vocalists, in an attempt to turn the bass-voiced veteran into a pop singer. These efforts were commercially unsuccessful, if often quite interesting. The Mellomen released some doo-wop records under the name Big John & the Buzzards, a name apparently given to them by the rock-and-roll-hating Mitch Miller.

He died in his home on May 22, 2005 from prostate cancer. He was buried at the Memorial Gardens at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.

In the June 6, 2005, issue of the ad-industry journal Advertising Age, Kellogg's ran an ad commemorating Ravenscroft. The headline read: "Behind every great character is an even greater man." After his death, Lee Marshall replaced him as the voice of Tony the Tiger in the Kellogg's commercials.

Filmography

External links


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