John McLeish

John Fraser McLeish was a Canadian-American voice actor and writer, who worked at the Disney Studios during the 1940s.
Born in 1916, McLeish began at Disney initially as a writer from 1939 to 1941. While he narrated and voiced parts in films, like Dumbo, the staff realized his educated voiced would be perfect for their "How to" cartoons starring Goofy. According to the story, McLeish was a very serious and dignified person, and the staff did not bother to explain that the erudite narration was really tongue in cheek, and that Goofy would be doing almost exactly the opposite of what was being described.
He initially began this with Goofy's Glider in 1940 which led to shorts, like the "How to Ride a Horse" segment of The Reluctant Dragon, The Art of Skiing, The Olympic Champ, How to Swim, How to Be a Sailor, and Motor Mania. He also provided the voice for the prosecuting attorney in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
McLeish would do voice work and writing for other studios during the 1940s, such as Warner Bros, Columbia Pictures, and Screen Gems Animation. In 1948, he and painter William Copley opened the Copley Galleries in Beverly Hills to display surrealist art. While it closed after just one year, some of the artists included Man Ray, Rene Magritte, and Ernst Buthe.
McLeish died in his native Montreal on October 30, 1968.
==Filmography==
Year	Film 	Position
1940	Tugboat Mickey 	Radio Announcer - uncredited
1940	Fantasia 	Story development and research - segment "The Rite of Spring"
1940	Goofy's Glider 	Narrator - uncredited
1941	The Reluctant Dragon 	Narrator (segments "How to Ride a Horse" and "The Reluctant Dragon")Man handing Bambi background - uncredited
1941	Lend a Paw 	Pluto's Angel - uncredited
1941	Dumbo 	Narrator - uncredited
1941	The Art of Skiing 	Narrator - uncredited
1941	The Art of Self Defense 	Narrator - uncredited
1942	Symphony Hour 	Radio Announcer - uncredited
1942	Donald Gets Drafted 	Recruiting Officer - uncredited
1942	The Olympic Champ 	Narrator - uncredited
1942	How to Swim 	Narrator - uncredited
1942	How to Fish 	Narrator - uncredited
1942	Bellboy Donald 	Pegleg Pete - uncredited
1943	Victory Through Air Power 	English voice - uncredited
1944	How to Be a Sailor 	Narrator - uncredited
1944	Trombone Trouble 	Jupiter - uncredited
1949	Goofy Gymnastics 	Narrator - uncredited
1949	The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad	The Prosecutor, News Announcer ("The Wind in the Willows")
1950	Motor Mania 	NarratorGoofy (some lines) - uncredited
1951	Home Made Home 	Narrator - uncredited
1955	A World is Born 	Story development and research from Fantasia
==Roles==
Pluto's Angel.jpg|Pluto's Angel(Lend a Paw)
1942-portier-5.jpg|Pete(Bellboy Donald)
1944-trombone-3.jpg|Jupiter(Trombone Trouble)
Prosecutor.png|The Prosecutor(The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad)
==Gallery==
The reluctant dragon story session.jpg|Actress Frances Gifford, clockwise from actress Frances Gifford: Walt Disney, John McLeish, T. Hee, Ward Kimball, Fred Moore (back), Norman Ferguson (back), and Erdman Penner.
Category:Males
Category:Voice actors
Category:Writers
Category:Canadian people
Category:American people
Category:1910s births
Category:1960s deaths
Category:Goofy
Category:Donald Duck
Category:Mickey Mouse
Category:Pinocchio
Category:Fantasia
Category:Dumbo
Category:The Reluctant Dragon
Category:The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Category:Actors
Category:Deceased
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios