Happy Birthday, Stan Freberg

[filkertom]

Eighty and goin' strong.

What's your favorite Freberg bit? I love a lot of his stuff, but it's hard to top "Elderly Man River" for both wickedly slashing satire and gut-busting laughs.

Thanks to Mark Evanier for the heads-up.

Comments

[random314.livejournal.com]

Columbus Day.

[jss]

We going out on that joke?

[random314.livejournal.com]

:^)

"What was that?"

"French horns"

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

No, we do reprise of song. That help.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

...but not very much.

[jss]

Not much, no.

[jss]

I've always been partial to his The United States of America, Volume 1. (Volume 2 just doesn't grab me the same way.) And "Green Christmas" was one of my Dad's favorites.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

Of course I've always loved him for his voice-work.

I'll always hold a great amount of respect for Stan Freberg, the entertainer...

But when I heard about what he allowed his second wife to do to the memory of his first wife and his relationship with his children and closest friends...

I can't say I respect Stan Freberg, the man, as much as I used to.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

ONE?? Just ONE??

Geez..

I've always liked his commercial work. The "Ray Bradbury Prune Commercial" and later the Ann Miller "Great American Soup Company" commercial "Why do you always have to make such a big productions out of everything?"

Ack.. so many good bits. I just listened to his rendition of "Heartbreak Hotel", had me laughing.

So here's to you, Stan, Long May You Wave!

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

He will be honored with the Governor's Award at the 58th Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards this Saturday, for his life's work in television, from Looney Tunes voice acting to cult classic comedy commercials.

[poltr1]

I have particular fondness for "Little Blue Riding Hood" and "St. George and the Dragonet", mostly because my parents had a 45 RPM record of it, which ended up in my collection.

No wonder I'm Demented. :-}

BTW, did you know he was the (uncredited) voice of Pete the Puma in the Warner Bros. short "Rabbit's Kin"?

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I did indeed. "No, thanks -- I'll help m'self!"

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Heck, on Freakazoid!

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure Freberg actually did any voice work on R&B. I don't recall any and it isn't listed at imdb. Many people who worked with Freberg, like Daws Butler and June Foray, of course, were R&B staples.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

I sit corrected. I had thought he had done R&B work, I twas mistaken.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Actually, Dave, I think you're correct. I'm almost positive he did some stuff in the Fractured Fairy Tales. But I'm having trouble finding credits. Let me investigate a bit.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Dammit, I've only got Season One of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends. I doesn't appear that Freberg's name is in the credits, but I know I've seen it. In the Broadway marquis up-in-lights credits. You know.

At least, I think I've seen it.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

One name that you did see in the marquee is "Al Shean, Jr.," who was the son of Al Shean of "Gallagher and Shean" fame and the first cousin to the Marx Brothers (his aunt was Minnie Schoenberg Marx)

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

He certainly worked closely with some of the same voice talent, like Daws Butler and June Foray. Some credit "St. George and the Dragonet" as serving as inspiration for "Fractured Fairy Tales." But I have not yet found any credible source that confirms that he ever worked directly for Jay Ward. Shrug. Some very non-credible ones that tried to claim that he voiced Bullwinkle, who was actually voiced by Bill Scott [as if any of your flist didn't already know that!] Shrug again.

[poltr1]

*voiced inhale a la Pete's laugh*

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Too many to choose from, although I have a fondness for his Encyclopedia Britannica ads.

A few years ago, I not only acquired "A Tip of the Freberg," but also a complete run of "The Stan Freberg Show."

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

And the kid in the EB ads is one of his sons.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Yup. Donovan Freberg, who also did voice work on the Zork video game series.

[lukeski.livejournal.com]

"Sh-Boom" is one of my all time favorites. WHich reminds me, I have a tribute song/sketch to work on...

You all must get "The Tip Of The Freberg" box set. And the "USA" Vol 1 & 2 sets. And the radio shows. Which, I believe, encompasses everything he ever did.

Do you think the movie "Crazy People" was inspired by his commercial work?

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

"Sh-boom" is good (Daws Butler's voice is magnificent for the song), but I think it is slightly edged by "Elderly Man River."

[greenlantern-oa.livejournal.com]

"Tip of the Freberg" was one of my favorite Christmas presents of all time!!
I have to listen to it at least once a month all the way through at sometime or another!!

[rook543.livejournal.com]

My favs would have to be 'Banana Boat' and St. George & The Dragon-net

Also the ads with his son...the kid who had a "Report due on SPACE!"

-R

[lukeski.livejournal.com]

DUDE! Tom, you and I should perform "Elderly Man River" together sometime. I'll play Tweedly, you play yourself (Stan) trying to do the song. I could try to find some kind of hand-held buzzer. (This would be perfect for the MarsCon 2007 Dementia Smackdown!)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Interesting thought, although actually you and Duryea could do it -- he can do smarm really well. Half the audience would want to punch him in the gut by the end of the first minute.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

I have a good hand-held buzzer if you want to do it at Windycon...

[smallship1.livejournal.com]

Most of this stuff I have never heard. We had short animated films on telly of "Banana Boat" and "Yellow Rose of Texas" (performed by bendy Warner Bros character toys, and I was fond of those. I'm still prone to say, at appropriate moments, "In the immortal words of the poet Freberg...he sent me over here."

One that no-one seems to have mentioned is "Rock Island Line," which was a parody of Lonnie Donegan's version, once again interruptus by officialdom. "You sure you don't want the pig iron part?"

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

"Banana Boat" is one of the funniest parodies ever, but I do have a great love for "Yellow Rose". :)

[old-fortissimo.livejournal.com]

When there were still cigarette advertisements on television, Lark cigarettes ran some with a jingle that used the William Tell Overture as its tune.

Freberg subsequently did a Jeno's Pizza roll commercial that used the same tune.

At the end of it, a man with a cigarette package covered by his hand (but you could see that it was the same color red that Lark used) strolls onto the set and says: "I want to talk to you about that tune you're using."

At that moment, a gloved hand in a baby-blue sleeve grasps his shoulder from behind and a gorgeous baritone voice says: "That's funny. I've been meaning to talk to you people about the same thing."

The camera pans back...

and Clayton Moore (in Freberg's own words when he discussed this on The Tonight Show, "with muscles of rippling steel....") and Jay Silverheels are there in full Lone Ranger and Tonto regalia, with Silverheels saying, "Have-um Pizza Roll, Kemo Sabe?"

They switch to a close up of the Jeno's Pizza roll box...and a silver cartridge. To the final strains of the William Tell Overture, there is a final momentary gleam on the silver bullet. End of commercial.

And that's my favorite Freberg.