Mel Blanc was known as “the man of 1,000 voices,” but, to hear his son tell it, the actual number was closer to 1,500. Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Barney Rubble, Woody Woodpecker, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn — all Mel. These characters made him one of the most beloved men in the United States.
In this episode from 2012, Mel Blanc’s son Noel tells Producer Sean Cole how his father’s entire body would transform to bring life to these characters. But on a fateful day of 1961, after a crash left Mel in a lengcoma, it was the characters who brought life to him.
Episode Credits:
Reported by Sean Cole
Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!
Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.
Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org
Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Forests on Forests
The First Radiolab
The 11th: A Letter From George
Darkode
Worst. Year. Ever.
Flop Off
Vanishing Words
Return of Alpha Gal
Animal Minds
Mixtape: Help?
Mixtape: Cassetternet
Mixtape: The Wandering Soul
Mixtape: Jack and Bing
Mixtape: Dakou
Of Bombs and Butterflies
Oliver Sipple
HEAVY METAL
In the Running
60 Words, 20 Years
The Unsilencing
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Science Vs
Planet Money
Hidden Brain
The Moth
This American Life