Billy Bletcher

**William "Billy" Bletcher** (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was best known for providing the voice of Pete for the Disney franchise in the 1930s to the 1950s.

## Career

Bletcher was born on 24 September 1894 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At age 19 he was a vaudeville performer. He started his movie career in 1913 at the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, New York. In 1917, he moved to California and became a comedian for Mack Sennett. He later starred in several Hal Roach two reelers.

During his acting career he starred in a number of comedies. Bletcher also acted in Westerns and action movies. He directed two feature movies in the 1920s. Bletcher was the voice of the Lone Ranger in the 1937 movie serial. He was a veteran voice actor from the Disney animated movie The Three Little Pigs (1933). Later he did voice-overs for television. His last movie appearance was in 1969.

## Personal life

Bletcher was married once, to actress Arline Roberts. She was a vaudevillian and a Ziegfeld Girl. When they moved to California she worked as a "bathing beauty". She acted in silent comic two-reelers and feature movies but never gained the prominence her husband did. They had a daughter, Barbara Bletcher.

## Filmography

- _A Sticky Affair_ (1916)
- _One Too Many_ (1916)
- _The Serenade_ (1916)
- _The Battle Royal_ (1916)
- _The Brave Ones_ (1916)
- _Aunt Bill_ (1916)
- _Turn To The Right_ (1922)
- _Cornered_ (1924)
- _The Bar-C Mystery_ (1926)
- _The Terrible People_ (1928)
- _The Texas Ranger_ (1931)
- _Branded Men_ (1931)
- _Bridge Wives_ (1932)
- _The Dentist_ (1932)
- _The Midnight Patrol_ (1933)
- _Bedtime Worries_ (1933)
- _The First Round-Up_ (1934)
- _Punch Drunks_ (1934)
- _Babes in Toyland_ (1934)
- _Service With a Smile_ (1934)
- _The Dognapper_ (1934) - Pete
- _The Lost City_ (1935)
- _Balloon Land_ (1935)
- _I Haven't Got a Hat_ (1935)
- _Divot Diggers_ (1936)
- _Pigs Is Pigs_ (1937)
- _Can This Be Dixie?_ (1937)
- _Egghead Rides Again_ (1937)
- _The Case of the Stuttering Pig_ (1937)
- _Lonesome Ghosts_ (1937)
- _The Lone Ranger_ (1938) - voice of The Lone Ranger
- _Hide and Shriek_ (1938)
- _The Lone Ranger Rides Again_ (1939) - voice of The Lone Ranger
- _The Wizard of Oz_ (1939) - Mayor/Lollipop Guild (voice) (uncredited)
- _The Autograph Hound_ - Security Guard
- _Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip_ (1940) - Pete
- _Dumbo_ (1941)
- _Dog Trouble_ (1942) - Spike
- _Little Gravel Voice_ (1942) - Wolf (uncredited)
- _Who Killed Who?_ - Police Officer (1943)
- _The Bodyguard_ (1944) - Spike
- _Puttin' on the Dog_ (1944) - Spike (uncredited)
- _Tee for Two_ (1945) - Tom (uncredited)
- _Quiet Please!_ (1945) - Spike
- _Bowery Bugs_ - Steve Brodie (1949)
- _Houdini_ (1953) - Italian Basso (uncredited)
- _Smarty Cat_ (1955) - Tom (uncredited)
- _Surf-Bored Cat_ (1967) - Shark (uncredited)
- _Get a Horse!_ (2013) - Peg-Leg Pete (archival audio)

## Other websites

- The Voices of Billy Bletcher

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Billy Bletcher
- **image**: Short and Snappy (1921) - 1.jpg
- **caption**: Billy Bletcher (left) and Bobby Vernon in _Short and Snappy_ (1921)
- **birth name**: William Bletcher
- **birth place**: Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- **death place**: Los Angeles, California U.S.
- **resting place**: Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
- **occupation**: Actor
- **known for**: Original voice of Pete (Disney), Pete
- **years active**: 1914–1971
- **spouse**: Arline Roberts
- **children**: 1