# Greg Burson

Gregory Lewis Burson (June 29, 1949 – July 22, 2008) was an American voice actor. He was best known for being one of the many successors to voice actors Daws Butler (who was also Burson's mentor) and Mel Blanc following their deaths in 1988 and 1989 respectively.

## Career

One of Burson's earliest jobs, which did not pay well but got him lots of attention, was doing the voiceover for a Dianetics commercial for Scientology. He was trained by Daws Butler, who was his acting mentor and one of his influences. Following Butler's death, Burson inherited most of his characters, starting with Yogi Bear on The New Yogi Bear Show and many other characters in Hanna-Barbera-related shows. He also inherited the role of Mr. Magoo in the animated segments of the live action feature film of the same name in 1997 (after Jim Backus died in 1989).
Burson was also one of the successors to Mel Blanc, and voiced many of his characters as well, including Bugs Bunny, for whom he was given the responsibility of voicing in 1995's Carrotblanca, a well-received 8-minute Looney Tunes cartoon originally shown in cinemas alongside The Amazing Panda Adventure (USA and Canada) and The Pebble and the Penguin (non-US). It has since then released on video, packaged with older Looney Tunes cartoons, and was even included in the special edition DVD release of Casablanca, of which it is both a parody and a homage.
Burson also voiced Bugs in the 1997 short From Hare to Eternity, which is notable for being dedicated to Friz Freleng (who had died in 1995). It was also notable for being the final Looney Tunes cartoon that Chuck Jones had directed before his death in 2002. Burson also provided Bugs' voice in new animation for Bugs 'n' Daffy, which ran on Kids' WB from 1995 to 1998. Alternating with Jeff Bergman, Bob Bergen, Joe Alaskey, Jim Cummings, Maurice LaMarche, and Billy West, he also voiced several other Looney Tunes characters including Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Sylvester, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, Tasmanian Devil, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, and Foghorn Leghorn on various Warner Bros. animated television series, films, toys, and video games.
His other voice work includes shows such as CatDog, Batman: The Animated Series, All-New Dennis the Menace, Mother Goose and Grimm, The Angry Beavers, Johnny Bravo, Samurai Jack, The Smurfs, Super Friends, The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat and Garfield and Friends, the feature film Jurassic Park and the three Star Wars video games The Phantom Menace, Jedi Power Battles, and The Gungan Frontier.
In 1995, at the height of the popularity of R. L. Stine's Goosebumps book and television series, though not known at the time, and his only performance in it, he was also the voice behind one version of the commercial that promoted the "Goosebumps Fan Club" in some of the old VHS tapes of the television show of the same name, while Tony Jay recorded a second version of the same promo. Burson also lent his voice to several promos for Fox Kids.

## Legal issues

In May 2004, Burson was arrested by detectives after barricading himself inside his home in Tujunga for six hours before surrendering. Initial reports claimed that an armed S.W.A.T. team had responded to a call from two of his female roommates that he was drunk, armed and holding a third female roommate hostage. Officers later discovered that he had a collection of guns in his home. Burson also screamed a stream of nonsensical words at the police when they were alerted to his home; one officer said, "He was so drunk, we couldn't tell if he was trying to do one of his voices or was just slurring his words." Officer Rudy Villarreal confirmed that all three women involved in the incident lived with Burson, but none of them were harmed. The incident resulted in Burson being blacklisted for the rest of his life.

## Death

After losing voice-over work, Burson struggled with depression and alcoholism. On July 22, 2008, he died at the age of 59 due to complications from diabetes and arteriosclerosis.

## Filmography
### Film

List of voice performances in feature and direct-to-video films :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1989 | Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland | Flap and Nemo's Father | |
| 1989 | Asterix and the Big Fight | Chief Bombastix, Franksinatrix, Sergeant Noodles | English American dub |
| 1989 | D.A.R.E. Bear Yogi | Yogi Bear, Doggie Daddy, Captain Caveman | Public service announcement |
| 1991 | Yakety Yak, Take It Back | Bugs Bunny | Music video |
| 1991 | Rappin' N' Rhymin' | Yogi Bear | |
| 1992 | Tom and Jerry: The Movie | Moving Man | |
| 1993 | Jurassic Park | Mr. DNA | |
| 1993 | I Yabba-Dabba Do! | Additional Voices | Television film |
| 1993 | The D.A.R.E. Report: The Land of Decisions and Choices | Tommy's Grandfather, Puppy, Iggy, Joint, Additional Voices | |
| 1994 | Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights | Yogi Bear and Royal Chef | Television film |
| 1994 | Yogi the Easter Bear | Yogi Bear | Television film |
| 1995 | Carrotblanca | Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepé Le Pew and Airport PA Announcer | |
| 1996 | Space Jam | Elmer Fudd (two scenes) and Foghorn Leghorn (some lines) | Uncredited |
| 1997 | From Hare to Eternity | Bugs Bunny | |
| 1997 | Mr. Magoo | Mr. Quincy Magoo (animated form) | |
| 2003 | Looney Tunes: Stranger than Fiction | Foghorn Leghorn, Barnyard Dawg, and Pepé Le Pew | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | Looney Tunes: Reality Check | Foghorn Leghorn | Direct-to-video |
| 2004 | My Generation G...G... Gap | Security Guard | Final role appearance |

### Television

List of voice performances in television shows :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | The Smurfs | Additional Voices | 1 episode |
| 1987–1990 | The Real Ghostbusters | Dib Devlin, Casey Jones, Gorgar | 3 episodes |
| 1988 | The New Yogi Bear Show | Yogi Bear | |
| 1988–1990 | Fantastic Max | Additional Voices | |
| 1989 | A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration: 50 Years of Hanna-Barbera | Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Snuffles, Snagglepuss | Television special |
| 1990 | Wake, Rattle, and Roll | Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss | |
| 1990–1992 | Tiny Toon Adventures | Elmer Fudd, Pepé Le Pew, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tasmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn | |
| 1991–1992 | Mother Goose and Grimm | Attila | |
| 1991 | Yo Yogi! | Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Officer Smith, Mr. Jinks, Loopy De Loop, Lippy the Lion, Peter Potamus, Uncle Undercover | |
| 1991 | Tom & Jerry Kids | Nefarious Wolf, Chase School Teacher | 1 episode |
| 1992–1994 | Garfield and Friends | Additional Voices | 12 episodes |
| 1993 | All-New Dennis the Menace | Mr. Wilson | |
| 1993 | Batman: The Animated Series | Mad Dog | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Droopy, Master Detective | Additional Voices | |
| 1993 | Taz-Mania | Bugs Bunny, Tony Tortoise, Foghorn Leghorn | 2 episodes |
| 1993–1997 | Animaniacs | Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam | 3 episodes |
| 1995 | The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat | Additional Voices | 2 episodes |
| 1995–1996 | The Baby Huey Show | The Fox | Season 2 only |
| 1995–1998 | The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries | Elmer Fudd, Pepé Le Pew, Cot Martin, Ed McMuffin | 4 episodes |
| 1995–1998 | Bugs 'n' Daffy | Bugs Bunny | Main theme only |
| 1996 | The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Corbin, Sanderson | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Johnny Bravo | The Ghostly Gardener | 1 episode |
| 1997–1998 | Channel Umptee—3 | Professor I. Revelent | |
| 1998 | CatDog | Barry the Baboon | 1 episode |
| 1999 | A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith | Yogi Bear, Squirrel Boy, Squirrel Girl | Television special |
| 1999 | The Angry Beavers | Judge Otter, Otter #1 | 1 episode |
| 2002 | Samurai Jack | Quick Draw McGraw | 1 episode |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball | Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tasmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn | Pinball machine |
| 1992 | Road Runner's Death Valley Rally | Opera Singer (clearing throat) | |
| 1993 | Taz-Mania | Tasmanian Devil | Super NES version |
| 1993 | Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions | Duck Dodgers | Super NES version |
| 1994 | Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage | All of the characters | |
| 1994 | Acme Animation Factory | Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian | |
| 1995 | Looney Tunes B-Ball | Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Marvin the Martian, Tasmanian Devil, Director | |
| 1995 | Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos | Speedy Gonzales | |
| 1995 | Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday | Porky Pig | |
| 1999 | Star Wars Episode I: The Gungan Frontier | Boss Rugor Nass, Gungan Librarian | |
| 1999 | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | Boss Rugor Nass, Guard Door, Injured Soldier #1, Jabba's Porter, Shop Owner | |
| 2000 | Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles | Boss Rugor Nass, Peck | |
| 2000 | Wacky Races | Red Max, Sergeant Blast, Peter Perfect, Rufus Ruffcut | |
| 2000 | Star Wars: Jar Jar's Journey Adventure Book | Boss Nass, Tower Announcer | |
| 2001 | Sheep, Dog, 'n' Wolf | Elmer Fudd, Phantoms | |
| 2015 | Lego Jurassic World | Mr. DNA | (archive footage) |

### Theme parks

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1990 | The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera | Yogi Bear |
| 1991 | Looney Tunes River Ride | Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepé Le Pew, Narrator |
| 1992 | Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure! | Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd |
| 1992 | Bugs Bunny Goin' Hollywood | Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn |
| 1993 | The Toonite Show Starring Bugs Bunny | Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, Tasmanian Devil, Pepé Le Pew |
| 1993 | Mickey's Starland Show | D.U.D.E (fourth version) |
| 1995 | The Bugs Bunny Wacky World Games | Bugs Bunny, Marvin the Martian |
| 1997 | Warner Bros. Kids Club | Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Tweety, Sylvester, Tasmanian Devil |
| 1999 | Looney Tunes: What's Up, Rock? | Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn |