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That's Not All Folks!
The legendary cartoon and radio voice man offers a behind-the-scenes chronicle of his many-voiced career, detailing his creation of world-famous voices and his work with the best-loved cartoon characters and radio personalities
275 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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365 people want to read
About the author
Mel Blanc
14 books5 followersMelvin (Mel) Jerome Blanc was a prolific American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio and television commercials, Blanc is best known for his work with Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American animation (and later for Hanna-Barbera television productions) as the voice of such iconic characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Barney Rubble, Mr. Spacely, and hundreds of others. Having earned the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Voices", Blanc is regarded as one of the most gifted and influential persons in his field.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 12, 2017
This book has been in my possession since it was first published decades ago. I wanted to read something that would educate and entertain, and also a book I could carry easily while traveling. It is wildly entertaining. Mel's quips were laugh-out-loud funny. I was surprised Mel was not a New Yorker because his humor and voices always seemed so, especially since his most famous voice, that of Bugs Bunny, was a parody of Bronx and Brooklyn accents. His book takes us from his Vaudeville roots to his early jobs in radio in Seattle and Los Angeles that eventually lead to him establishing his mark at Warner Brothers, along with the writers, cartoonists and technicians who made the best cartoons probably ever produced. One of Mels grade school teachers told him he'd amount to nothing scolding him for running up and down the corridors making sounds. That sound eventually became Woody the Woodpecker. Mel gives us an insight into how some cartoon characters evolved into the ones we know and love. Termite Terrace sounded like a fabulous place to work. I worked in the same industry first, inking and painting cels as part of a summer job and later joining the Screen Cartoonists local 841 for my first full time job after college. My background made it easy to visualize the work Mel describes and, like practically everyone I know, I'm forever indebted to him and the artists and writers who brought us so much joy. There isn't an index but it's easy to scan the book for the titles Mel discusses and extend the experience by watching them again and again with his invaluable insight.
September 26, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir from the Man of a Thousand Voices. Perhaps best known for his Looney Tunes voice work, Blanc was also a very well-known radio actor in his day, and even transitioned to television. His is a unique perspective on the history of entertainment, as he saw the evolution from vaudeville, to motion pictures (silent and talkies), to radio, and finally to TV, pretty much over the course of fifty years. He acknowledges his luck over the course of his career, but also the sheer persistence that it took to break into the voice-man business. If not for one editor dropping dead and Treg Brown sitting at his desk one day, who knows if we ever would've had the wonderful animated films from Warner Brothers, with their distinctive characters and voices?
I also really enjoyed his insights into his radio work, especially as I've been listening to the old radio shows on SiriusXM RadioClassics. He dishes a little bit of dirt on his castmates, which was interesting, though of course most of what he has to say is pretty much in glowing terms. Blanc was also an accomplished musician, playing several instruments in several orchestras and bringing a bit of special insight into his character Professor LeBlanc from the Jack Benny Program, as Jack's much-harassed violin instructor.
I also really enjoyed his insights into his radio work, especially as I've been listening to the old radio shows on SiriusXM RadioClassics. He dishes a little bit of dirt on his castmates, which was interesting, though of course most of what he has to say is pretty much in glowing terms. Blanc was also an accomplished musician, playing several instruments in several orchestras and bringing a bit of special insight into his character Professor LeBlanc from the Jack Benny Program, as Jack's much-harassed violin instructor.
January 31, 2016
When bored by his studies at Kansas City's Benton School, Mel sketched pictures of animals in his schoolbooks' margins, then flipped the pages with his thumb so that the illustrations appeared to move. "I always got a kick out of that story because it reminds me of how I accidentally discovered Woody Woodpecker's voice in a high school hallway. Obviously, adolescent boredom has its practical applications."
"My Pinnocchio dialogue was recorded in sixteen days at fifty bucks per. After I collected my right hundred dollars, I waited like everyone else for the film to open. When it finally did, in 1940, to my great surprise, Gideon was mute. Between the time I'd been taped and the picture was released, Disney edited out every utterance; except one hiccup. At eight hundred dollars, it undoubtedly remains the most expensive glottal spasm in the annals of the pictures."
"By the late 1940s, I had such a considerable inventory of voices that many Warner Bros. theatrical shorts feature only me. The most characters I ever played in a single production, I believe, was fourteen. For these one man recording sessions I stood alone at a microphone, with just an engineer and the director looking on from the control room. All I needed was a pitcher of water, a wastebasket and my script, which I either held or propped on a music stand."
" 'What's up, Doc?' became the most famous ad lib of my career. It was incomplete, however, without the sound of the rabbit nibbling on a carrot, which presented problems. First of all, I don't especially like carrots, at least not raw. And second, I found it impossible to chew, swallow and be ready to say my next line. We tried substituting other vegetables, including Apple's and celery, but with unsatisfactory results. The solution was to stop recording so I could spit out the carrot into a wastebaske and then proceed with the script. In the course of a recording session I usually went through enough carrots to fill several."
"With the mighty Lockheed Aircraft plant located close to his Burbank office, the Warner's vice president had his set painters inscribe a 20 foot arrow on a sound stage roof. And painted in giant block letters was 'Lockheed That-Away' for the benefit of an incoming Japanese pilots."
Jack encounters the Little Mexican at the train station and asks,
Excuse me, sir, are you waiting for this train?
Si.
You're meeting someone on the train?
Si.
A relative?
Si.
What's your name?
Sy.
Sy?
Si.
This relative you're waiting for - is it a woman?
Si?
Your sister?
Si.
What's her name?
Sue.
Sue?
Si.
Does she work?
Si.
She has a regular job?
Si.
What does she do?
Sew.
Sew?
Si.
"My Pinnocchio dialogue was recorded in sixteen days at fifty bucks per. After I collected my right hundred dollars, I waited like everyone else for the film to open. When it finally did, in 1940, to my great surprise, Gideon was mute. Between the time I'd been taped and the picture was released, Disney edited out every utterance; except one hiccup. At eight hundred dollars, it undoubtedly remains the most expensive glottal spasm in the annals of the pictures."
"By the late 1940s, I had such a considerable inventory of voices that many Warner Bros. theatrical shorts feature only me. The most characters I ever played in a single production, I believe, was fourteen. For these one man recording sessions I stood alone at a microphone, with just an engineer and the director looking on from the control room. All I needed was a pitcher of water, a wastebasket and my script, which I either held or propped on a music stand."
" 'What's up, Doc?' became the most famous ad lib of my career. It was incomplete, however, without the sound of the rabbit nibbling on a carrot, which presented problems. First of all, I don't especially like carrots, at least not raw. And second, I found it impossible to chew, swallow and be ready to say my next line. We tried substituting other vegetables, including Apple's and celery, but with unsatisfactory results. The solution was to stop recording so I could spit out the carrot into a wastebaske and then proceed with the script. In the course of a recording session I usually went through enough carrots to fill several."
"With the mighty Lockheed Aircraft plant located close to his Burbank office, the Warner's vice president had his set painters inscribe a 20 foot arrow on a sound stage roof. And painted in giant block letters was 'Lockheed That-Away' for the benefit of an incoming Japanese pilots."
Jack encounters the Little Mexican at the train station and asks,
Excuse me, sir, are you waiting for this train?
Si.
You're meeting someone on the train?
Si.
A relative?
Si.
What's your name?
Sy.
Sy?
Si.
This relative you're waiting for - is it a woman?
Si?
Your sister?
Si.
What's her name?
Sue.
Sue?
Si.
Does she work?
Si.
She has a regular job?
Si.
What does she do?
Sew.
Sew?
Si.
December 23, 2023
A delightful autobiography about the man who voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and many, many others radio and TV personalities. This is a very funny book. The chapter about his days with jack Benny had me in tears.
May 1, 2012
Everyone knows the voices of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. "What's up, Doc?" and "You're dethpicable!" echo through the modern cultural landscape--along with the unmistakable voices of Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, and other cartoon stars--thanks to the incredible voice talents of Mel Blanc. This book is Blanc's autobiography, ably co-written with Philip Bashe, who channels Blanc's lively personality with spirited and descriptive prose. It's particularly appropriate that the foreword is by comic impersonator Rich Little.
Blanc began his career as a multi-character voice actor on radio in the late 1920's. He relocated to Los Angeles and in 1936 went to work for Leon Schlesinger Productions, the company that created the cartoons for Warner Brothers' studios in a facility on the studio lot. Blanc's tenure at Warners' gained him lasting fame, and those years are highlighted in his book's title, which is a variation on the iconic ending of early Warner cartoons wherein a smiling Porky Pig bursts on the screen with a wave and says "That's All, Folks!"
As one would expect from the autobiography of a man in such a unique profession, the book is studded with anecdotes and surprising bits of history. For example, as a youth in Portland, Oregon, Blanc went to vaudeville stage shows, a venue that would later provide the movies and television with some of their biggest stars.
"By far my favorite was a one-man act called 'Fiddle Funology,' which I caught as often as I could when it came to town. Its blue-eyed star was in his late 20's and labored under the stage moniker Ben K. Benny. Brandishing a violin, he'd walk out from the behind the curtain and greet the audience pleasantly. Then he would ask the orchestra leader in the pit below how the show had been progressing thus far.
"Just fine."
"Well," he'd snap. "I'LL fix that."
[…] Little did I know at the time that this comedian from Waukegan, Illinois, would one day become my employer and dear friend: the great Jack Benny."
In writing a review of a book like this one is tempted is to repeat its unique and entertaining stories, its unlikely and hilarious anecdotes. But there are so many of them that I wouldn't know where to begin. Besides, the stories that had the greatest impact upon me are two that nearly defy belief, stories that could not pass as fiction because they would seem too implausible to be true.
One of these accounts centers on Lou Costello, of the comedy team Abbot and Costello. Mel Blanc, present with the duo in the studio one day for both the rehearsal and subsequent performance of a live radio program, witnessed Costello's amazing response to utterly devastating news that reached the comedian during rehearsal. Over the years I've occasionally re-read this page, and it is always as poignant as the first time I read it.
The other account appears in the next to last chapter, titled "The Accident". As you may infer from the title, Blanc fell victim to a serious accident, a really horrible one that nearly cost him his life. But someone came to his rescue in the most incredible fashion, and thereafter Mel Blanc always credited this person with saving his life. You will never guess who it was so, of course, you must read the book to find out.
"That's Not All, Folks!" is an entertaining, funny, and engrossing account of the life of the man whose voice may be the best known voice of the 20th century. Blanc's vocal creations gave life and personality to almost all of the Warner Brothers cartoon stars of the golden era, to The Flintstone's Barney Rubble, The Jetson's Mr. Spacely, et. al. And, in giving voice to animated characters, Mel Blanc brought laughter to all of us.
Mel Blanc died in 1989, only a year after the first printing of his autobiography. He must have known that his end was drawing near, and yet he was hopeful for what was yet to come. On the last page of the book, below a photo of Blanc and his adult son, is the caption:
"In the future my characters' voices will live on through Noel, who has learned them all so well, I could sue him."
Blanc began his career as a multi-character voice actor on radio in the late 1920's. He relocated to Los Angeles and in 1936 went to work for Leon Schlesinger Productions, the company that created the cartoons for Warner Brothers' studios in a facility on the studio lot. Blanc's tenure at Warners' gained him lasting fame, and those years are highlighted in his book's title, which is a variation on the iconic ending of early Warner cartoons wherein a smiling Porky Pig bursts on the screen with a wave and says "That's All, Folks!"
As one would expect from the autobiography of a man in such a unique profession, the book is studded with anecdotes and surprising bits of history. For example, as a youth in Portland, Oregon, Blanc went to vaudeville stage shows, a venue that would later provide the movies and television with some of their biggest stars.
"By far my favorite was a one-man act called 'Fiddle Funology,' which I caught as often as I could when it came to town. Its blue-eyed star was in his late 20's and labored under the stage moniker Ben K. Benny. Brandishing a violin, he'd walk out from the behind the curtain and greet the audience pleasantly. Then he would ask the orchestra leader in the pit below how the show had been progressing thus far.
"Just fine."
"Well," he'd snap. "I'LL fix that."
[…] Little did I know at the time that this comedian from Waukegan, Illinois, would one day become my employer and dear friend: the great Jack Benny."
In writing a review of a book like this one is tempted is to repeat its unique and entertaining stories, its unlikely and hilarious anecdotes. But there are so many of them that I wouldn't know where to begin. Besides, the stories that had the greatest impact upon me are two that nearly defy belief, stories that could not pass as fiction because they would seem too implausible to be true.
One of these accounts centers on Lou Costello, of the comedy team Abbot and Costello. Mel Blanc, present with the duo in the studio one day for both the rehearsal and subsequent performance of a live radio program, witnessed Costello's amazing response to utterly devastating news that reached the comedian during rehearsal. Over the years I've occasionally re-read this page, and it is always as poignant as the first time I read it.
The other account appears in the next to last chapter, titled "The Accident". As you may infer from the title, Blanc fell victim to a serious accident, a really horrible one that nearly cost him his life. But someone came to his rescue in the most incredible fashion, and thereafter Mel Blanc always credited this person with saving his life. You will never guess who it was so, of course, you must read the book to find out.
"That's Not All, Folks!" is an entertaining, funny, and engrossing account of the life of the man whose voice may be the best known voice of the 20th century. Blanc's vocal creations gave life and personality to almost all of the Warner Brothers cartoon stars of the golden era, to The Flintstone's Barney Rubble, The Jetson's Mr. Spacely, et. al. And, in giving voice to animated characters, Mel Blanc brought laughter to all of us.
Mel Blanc died in 1989, only a year after the first printing of his autobiography. He must have known that his end was drawing near, and yet he was hopeful for what was yet to come. On the last page of the book, below a photo of Blanc and his adult son, is the caption:
"In the future my characters' voices will live on through Noel, who has learned them all so well, I could sue him."
May 2, 2010
In That's Not All Folks! we learn about the face and person behind Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and hundreds of other Looney Tunes voices - Mel Blanc.
Mel Blanc (1908-1989) was a comedic genius who truly did work hard to secure himself a Hollywood career with his amazing talent. This biography is his story about who and what inspired his many voices, in addition to the steep ladder he had to to climb to fulfill his dreams. I know this sounds like the synopsis for any celebrity and their given biography, but given the time period, this story truly is inspiring.
Two main components make That's Not All Folks extremely worthwhile. They are 1) The book's pictures and 2) Mel Blanc's story of establishing his career. Mel Blanc is so charismatic and happy in all of the pictures, which tells me he loved his life and loved his work. I'm positive after reading his biography that he would have been one of my favorite comedians if I had lived within the time-frame he was at his best. Career-wise, Mel Blanc did not get an easy Hollywood break. He starved, worked hard, and just kept on trying and trying to establish himself.
I did find large chunks of the book a little boring; mainly because of the excessive name-dropping (which may have been his way of paying a tribute to those people) and minute details about some of the cartoon plots.
Overall, I feel more wholesome having read That's Not All Folks and truly hope more people will have the opportunity to read this out-of-print title!
Read more book reviews by DreamSE22 at http://dreamworldbooks.com.
Mel Blanc (1908-1989) was a comedic genius who truly did work hard to secure himself a Hollywood career with his amazing talent. This biography is his story about who and what inspired his many voices, in addition to the steep ladder he had to to climb to fulfill his dreams. I know this sounds like the synopsis for any celebrity and their given biography, but given the time period, this story truly is inspiring.
Two main components make That's Not All Folks extremely worthwhile. They are 1) The book's pictures and 2) Mel Blanc's story of establishing his career. Mel Blanc is so charismatic and happy in all of the pictures, which tells me he loved his life and loved his work. I'm positive after reading his biography that he would have been one of my favorite comedians if I had lived within the time-frame he was at his best. Career-wise, Mel Blanc did not get an easy Hollywood break. He starved, worked hard, and just kept on trying and trying to establish himself.
I did find large chunks of the book a little boring; mainly because of the excessive name-dropping (which may have been his way of paying a tribute to those people) and minute details about some of the cartoon plots.
Overall, I feel more wholesome having read That's Not All Folks and truly hope more people will have the opportunity to read this out-of-print title!
Read more book reviews by DreamSE22 at http://dreamworldbooks.com.
January 5, 2018
This was AI-suggested based on something I read and a quick look over on Open Library...voilà! For a Bugs Bunny nut, this was a wonderful read. Charming, candid, accessible...Blanc was an icon.
He talks about his early life, the years breaking into the voice acting business, and the shrewdness of his self-marketing. Lots of behind the scenes stories. Lots of insight ("The real challenge for any animated-film sound-effects man wasn't to simulate realism but to defy it.")
He had access to quite a number of people in Hollywood, radio and television, and they loved him for what he did. And he has a great sense of humor - nearly dying from a head-on collision only made it better. One story he tells about Marilyn Monroe:
Great story. Note: on the Open Library PDF scan, the last page is missing.
He talks about his early life, the years breaking into the voice acting business, and the shrewdness of his self-marketing. Lots of behind the scenes stories. Lots of insight ("The real challenge for any animated-film sound-effects man wasn't to simulate realism but to defy it.")
He had access to quite a number of people in Hollywood, radio and television, and they loved him for what he did. And he has a great sense of humor - nearly dying from a head-on collision only made it better. One story he tells about Marilyn Monroe:
An amusing anecdote about Marilyn, whom I met for the first time at an awards dinner. It goes without saying that she was stunning; I don't think there was a pair of male eyes not glued to her as she moved through the banquet hall. The two of us were standing around chatting - she in breathy bursts, just like in her films - when a man interrupted us, steering her away by the elbow. "I want you to sit at my table and meet someone," he said. It seemed more like an order than a request.And there were other sides not generally known... He loved cars, but he also collected timepieces. One was a 1510 piece that he got at a great price from a guy in need of cash, only to find out later how valuable it was. and half a lifetime later, he had collected more than four hundred (including one of Bugs, and even one of himself!)
"I can't," she squealed.
"Why the hell not?"
"Because," she said, glaring at him, "I can't sit down. I'm sewn into this dress."
Great story. Note: on the Open Library PDF scan, the last page is missing.
July 30, 2019
Very well organized and informative. I loved the historical info about Vaudeville, Radio, Film, and TV—the transitions and comparisons between them, the processes involved in making/recording them, info about the many shows & their various crew members, and scripted examples from many of the programs.
The text had a bit more language than I’d like to have seen in a book related to children’s cartoons (-1 star), but it was otherwise a very interesting read—an autobiography about a passionate voice artist; his family, friends and colleagues; and his many endeavors during (and after) the “golden era” of entertainment. It gave a great glimpse into the time period.
It would have been really cool to have met Mr. Blanc and his associates, and to be an audience member of their radio and TV shows.
The text had a bit more language than I’d like to have seen in a book related to children’s cartoons (-1 star), but it was otherwise a very interesting read—an autobiography about a passionate voice artist; his family, friends and colleagues; and his many endeavors during (and after) the “golden era” of entertainment. It gave a great glimpse into the time period.
It would have been really cool to have met Mr. Blanc and his associates, and to be an audience member of their radio and TV shows.
January 26, 2020
Looney Tunes cartoons bring me so much happiness. Anytime I see one I can’t help but laugh from beginning to end. In a world gone so wrong, it’s good to see something that can still make me smile so much.
Mel Blanc is a huge part of that joy. His voices are some of the greatest creations in the entertainment industry. Reading his story was just as fascinating as it seems like it would be. He talks about the creation of all of his most famous characters and his time with some of the biggest names in radio and television. His memories of Jack Benny are especially great.
It’s not as good as Chuck Jones’s Chuck Amuck our Harpo Marx’s Harpo Speaks, but is a lot of fun and worth the read. It made me want to revisit all of the old films, so that’s good enough for me!
Mel Blanc is a huge part of that joy. His voices are some of the greatest creations in the entertainment industry. Reading his story was just as fascinating as it seems like it would be. He talks about the creation of all of his most famous characters and his time with some of the biggest names in radio and television. His memories of Jack Benny are especially great.
It’s not as good as Chuck Jones’s Chuck Amuck our Harpo Marx’s Harpo Speaks, but is a lot of fun and worth the read. It made me want to revisit all of the old films, so that’s good enough for me!
February 25, 2021
I wish that Mr. Blanc had told us more about his life, such as what it is like to be a father instead of just telling is how proud he is of his son. There is only a little about fatherhood and any number of other important things, and most of what he does say about his son involves going into business together. I'd forgive this more easily if his son, wife, and others are barely mentioned. After his early life is covered, Blanc concentrates on his career. The book tells the career story well and the personal story poorly. Few will care, for what a great career. His feelings are revealed when it comes to his work, his colleagues, and his successes. Blanc is also honest about his failures. On balance, there is a little that disappoints but much, much, very much that delights in this book.
June 6, 2023
I got this book at Christmas of 1988. It’s so entertaining too read, about his life in radio and television . Those grand cartons of Warner Brothers, and others you used to watch on Saturday morning back in the 1970s. Mel’s right , cartoons now days have gotten bad, too much commercialism in them. The 60s through the 80s had the best cartoons . A man with a thousand voices either cartoon or radio made smiles everywhere .
August 7, 2022
Great stories and history from the incomparable Mel Blanc. An enjoyable read that was a bit meta from two perspectives. First the book from the Glendale, California library just a few miles from the Warner Brother’s lot where Mel recorded many of the Looney Tunes voices. Second, I was reading it in Rancho Cuc-amongst, Mel’s frequent running gag in the Jack Benny Show.
January 10, 2024
Delightful. A pleasant autobiography by a nice guy that everyone loved. Very interesting to learn that Gale Gordon (Mr. Mooney) was kind of a prick!
Ultimately more about radio than cartoons, but Mel spent a lot of more of his life on live radio than he did recording Warner shorts. Made me want to read a Jack Benny biography.
Ultimately more about radio than cartoons, but Mel spent a lot of more of his life on live radio than he did recording Warner shorts. Made me want to read a Jack Benny biography.
June 21, 2024
I grew up watching Bugs Bunny and Friends and the Flintstones with my Dad and watched them with my kids. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mel’s biography, gaining insight not only into all his characters but so many of the people he had the pleasure of working with over the years. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys cartoons or old radio programs.
August 10, 2023
What a wonderful book about Mel Blanc! He writes about his time voicing cartoon characters, also his life on radio, films and on television! He also talks about his wife and son and also how show business affected his life. Highly recommended!
November 29, 2023
3.5 ⭐️. Mel Blanc is the absolute master of voice acting and with so many beloved characters to his name. Such a great insight into his career and the people he worked and cared about. My only issue with this book is that it is really slow in a handful of places- hence the rating.
July 12, 2020
If you're a fan of Mel Blanc and his career, this autobiography is the book for you!
January 15, 2021
A funny and talented man but a story filled with little insight as to the great Golden Age of Radio and Animation. Still, some fun facts and personal tales.
September 4, 2023
Read as part of a summer reading challenge at my local library. This was for the category, Biography.
December 31, 2023
This was an easy read and enjoyable to learn about his Portland roots and how cartoons were made. I saw him speak when I was in college. I admired his tenacity at pursuing his craft and recovering from a debilitating accident. A part of the culture of the 20th century both onscreen and via radio.
March 3, 2024
Such a beautiful life, inspiring to see the pioneer of voice acting
January 13, 2025
The OG of voices. Refreshing, funny and a wonderful look into the birth and creation of todays voice acting.
February 7, 2025
This is a fantastic book. I don’t know why it took me six years to finish it! 😂
October 19, 2015
This isn't the type of book I normally read. I'm very much a fiction gal, and I'm drawn particularly toward that most uniquely fictional of all fiction genres -- fantasy. Yet Hollywood's golden age and animated cartoons have always fascinated me. The Warner Brothers shorts hold a special place in my heart, one of the brightest spots on the wallpaper of my childhood and funnier now than they ever were then. I've admired Mel Blanc's work for most of my life, so when I spotted his autobiography at a used bookstore, I picked it up as something fun to read if I should ever need a break from fantasy.
The book is delightful, offering a detailed look into the world and the work of the "voice man" in both cartoons and radio in Hollywood's golden age. We get a number of memorable portraits, Jack Benny dominating a couple of chapters, and in a welcome departure from the usual tell-all fare, Blanc's descriptions of his fellow performers are nearly always positive; his narrative is good-natured as well as funny. We also get insights into cartoon and cartoon-character creation. And of course, since this is an autobiography, we learn a bit about Blanc's family. Despite the chauvinism to which he admits (he didn't want his wife to work when the family was strapped), it's very clear that Blanc has always loved and respected his wife, Estelle, and the brief but memorable description of their courtship should make many a reader smile. We get to know her as a sweet, smart, funny woman.
Of course this is Blanc telling his own story. Is he a reliable narrator? Was he really the "conceited little jerk" his "The Flinstones" co-star Alan Reed once thought? Don't tell me! I don't want to know. This book gives me the Blanc I choose to believe in, and I'm sticking to it.
The book is delightful, offering a detailed look into the world and the work of the "voice man" in both cartoons and radio in Hollywood's golden age. We get a number of memorable portraits, Jack Benny dominating a couple of chapters, and in a welcome departure from the usual tell-all fare, Blanc's descriptions of his fellow performers are nearly always positive; his narrative is good-natured as well as funny. We also get insights into cartoon and cartoon-character creation. And of course, since this is an autobiography, we learn a bit about Blanc's family. Despite the chauvinism to which he admits (he didn't want his wife to work when the family was strapped), it's very clear that Blanc has always loved and respected his wife, Estelle, and the brief but memorable description of their courtship should make many a reader smile. We get to know her as a sweet, smart, funny woman.
Of course this is Blanc telling his own story. Is he a reliable narrator? Was he really the "conceited little jerk" his "The Flinstones" co-star Alan Reed once thought? Don't tell me! I don't want to know. This book gives me the Blanc I choose to believe in, and I'm sticking to it.
September 3, 2010
Non-Fiction - Biography
Mel Blanc was the voice behind hundreds of Warner Bros. cartoon characters and a big star in the days of radio, and later TV.
I especially enjoyed his stories about my favorite childhood TV cartoon characters -- Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety & Grandma, Foghorn Leghorn, and on and on and on!
I thought Mel Blanc created all these characters, too -- but Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig were created by someone else. Blanc took over their voices from someone else. There may be other characters created by others, but those are the two I recall. I enjoyed seeing the earlier drawings of Bugs and Porky and seeing how they evolved over the years.
Blanc tells his entire life story, which is pretty interesting. Younger readers may be unfamiliar with many of the stars he worked with in the days of radio, TV and cartoons. I vaguely recall some of the names from times watching TV with my grandparents and parents (Jack Benny, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Abbott & Costello). He has interesting stories if you like radio/TV history or "the Golden Age".
Mel Blanc was the voice behind hundreds of Warner Bros. cartoon characters and a big star in the days of radio, and later TV.
I especially enjoyed his stories about my favorite childhood TV cartoon characters -- Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety & Grandma, Foghorn Leghorn, and on and on and on!
I thought Mel Blanc created all these characters, too -- but Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig were created by someone else. Blanc took over their voices from someone else. There may be other characters created by others, but those are the two I recall. I enjoyed seeing the earlier drawings of Bugs and Porky and seeing how they evolved over the years.
Blanc tells his entire life story, which is pretty interesting. Younger readers may be unfamiliar with many of the stars he worked with in the days of radio, TV and cartoons. I vaguely recall some of the names from times watching TV with my grandparents and parents (Jack Benny, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Abbott & Costello). He has interesting stories if you like radio/TV history or "the Golden Age".
May 14, 2014
Wow what great autobi....autobiogl....autobiogra.....memoir!!!!
Believe it or not Mel Blanc for years has been idol of mine. As a kid I remember my dad & grandfather renting me the looney tunes VHS'. just like Mel I always like to leave a good "impression" on people.
I did find the radio chapters a little slow but loved animated chapters. And I so amazed with the story of his near fatal accident and how Bugs Bunny saved his life.
from reading this he sounded like such a nice guy it's a shame he died a year after this book was released (when I was only 7 years old) he is somebody I would've love to have met (along with Walt Disney). However Mel's the only person who can makes us laugh death in the face (his epitaph reads "that's all folks")
This book is a must for any Mel Blanc or looney tunes fan. As for my review....
Th-th-th- that's all folks!!!
Believe it or not Mel Blanc for years has been idol of mine. As a kid I remember my dad & grandfather renting me the looney tunes VHS'. just like Mel I always like to leave a good "impression" on people.
I did find the radio chapters a little slow but loved animated chapters. And I so amazed with the story of his near fatal accident and how Bugs Bunny saved his life.
from reading this he sounded like such a nice guy it's a shame he died a year after this book was released (when I was only 7 years old) he is somebody I would've love to have met (along with Walt Disney). However Mel's the only person who can makes us laugh death in the face (his epitaph reads "that's all folks")
This book is a must for any Mel Blanc or looney tunes fan. As for my review....
Th-th-th- that's all folks!!!
July 23, 2016
In these times it's important to laugh, and Mel Blanc's delightful memoir provides countless opportunities to do exactly that. At the same time, this heartwarming story doesn't shy away from serious issues of the twentieth century in which Mel Blanc lived. For me, as I'm sure for most other readers, Blanc's story, especially his accounts of famous Warner Bros. characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, Yosemite Sam, and many others, is an uplifting nostalgia trip back to perhaps better times. If you've forgotten how to laugh, read this!
October 21, 2013
I loved this autobiography by one of my favorite heroes, Mel Blanc. Filled with wonderful anecdotes from his career as well as his observations on animation, radio and television, the narration is warm, truthful and humble. A truly rare individual, Mel exhibits not only why he deserves the moniker, "Man of a 1000 Voices", but also demonstrates that world needs more like him. We can always use more humor, personality and generosity, like that of Mel's, not just in Hollywood, but also the world.
December 7, 2013
My mom gave me this book a few Christmas' ago. I'm a big Loony Tones/Merry Melodies fan, so this book should have been consumed quickly! But alas, it kind of took me awhile to get into it. Blanc's storytelling is less actual story telling and pretty straightforward. But I pushed through and really enjoyed learning all about the different businesses he got himself into over the years.
June 19, 2015
Now 25-year-old autobiography of the voice of Bugs Bunny, Barney Rubble and countless other cartoon characters tells about Mel Blanc's determined early life, entry into show business, creation of the cartoons that made him famous, near deadly car accident and work late into life. Tone of the book makes readers believe Bugs' "dad" might have been a good guy to get to know.
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