Dallas McKennon

American actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

**Dallas Raymond McKennon** (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as **Dal McKennon**, was an American film, television and voice actor, in a career lasting over 50 years.

## Career

Born near La Grande, Oregon, McKennon's best-known voice roles were that of Gumby for Art Clokey, Archie Andrews in several different *Archie* series for Filmation, and the primary voice of Buzz Buzzard in the *Woody Woodpecker* cartoons. In the early 1950s, McKennon created and hosted his own daily kids TV wraparound show, *Space Funnies*/*Capt. Jet*, which was seen weekday mornings on KNXT (KCBS) TV Ch. 2 in Los Angeles. *Space Funnies* was the first Los Angeles-based kids show to air reruns of *The Little Rascals* and Laurel & Hardy shorts. He was also the primary voice actor for the 1960 cartoon series *Q.T. Hush*. McKennon was also the voice of Hardy Boys sidekick Chet Morton in the 1969 animated mystery series.

McKennon also sang, and provided many character voices, mainly for Walt Disney Animation. His distinctive voice can be heard in movies such as *Lady and the Tramp*, *Sleeping Beauty*, *One Hundred and One Dalmatians*, *Mary Poppins*, and *Bedknobs and Broomsticks*. He also provided the voices for many Disney Attractions such as the famous Big Thunder Mountain Railroad safety spiel, a pair of laughing hyenas in the Africa Room portion of It's a Small World, Benjamin Franklin's voice in Epcot's The American Adventure, EPCOT's WorldKey information kiosks and the voice of Zeke in the Country Bear Jamboree.

McKennon's best-known live action role is that of the innkeeper, Cincinnatus, in the 1964-70 *Daniel Boone* TV series starring Fess Parker. He also had a bit part as a diner cook in the Alfred Hitchcock film classic *The Birds* and as a gas station attendant in the Elvis Presley film *Clambake*. His final movie was *Gumby: The Movie*, under the pseudonym of Charles Farrington, voicing Gumby, Fatbuckle, Lucky Claybert and Professor Kapp.

McKennon was an avid Oregon Trail historian. He visited schools around the Northwest lecturing children about Oregon history and worked at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center giving instructional speeches and put together plays, skits, songs, stories and informational documents leading up the Oregon Trail's sesquicentennial (150th anniversary).

He also worked with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) creating *The Pappenheimers*, an instructional video series to help teach children German. His character lived in a Volkswagen Bus and would tell stories about relatives in Germany. Many of the episodes had clips of Germany as well as cartoons.

He is also known for his recording of the sound of a crazy laugh, used for the Hyena in Disney's *Lady and the Tramp*, and later in a horror film called *Tourist Trap*. His laugh was also used in three *Crash Bandicoot* games *Crash Bandicoot*, *Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back* and *Crash Team Racing* as a sound effect for a boss in the game called Ripper Roo, and then in the Christmas film *Elf*.

McKinnon co-starred in the NBC Network "Daniel Boone" television series (1964-1970), as Cincinnatus, the store-keeper and a fixture of Boonsborough Fort village life. His character also served as a wisely old pioneer advisor to Boone on various conditions and experiences within the backwood areas surrounding Boonsborough.

## Personal life

McKennon married his childhood love interest, Betty Warner, in Portland, Oregon in 1942, the marriage lasted until his death in 2009, The couple had six daughters and two sons. They lived in California until 1968, when they moved to Cannon Beach, Oregon, from where Dallas commuted for acting and voiceover roles.

## Death

McKennon died from natural causes on July 14, 2009 at the age of 89, at the Willapa Harbor Care Center in Raymond, Washington, five days shy of his 90th birthday.

### Live-action

* *Bend of the River* (1952) – Miner (uncredited)
* *Tom Thumb* (1959) – Carpenter (uncredited)
* *The Tingler* (1959) – Projectionist (uncredited)
* *Have Rocket, Will Travel* (1959, TV Series) – The Unicorn (voice, uncredited)
* *Let No Man Write My Epitaph* (1960) – Court Clerk (uncredited)
* *The Silent Call* (1961) – Old Man
* *Twist Around the Clock* (1961) – Motel Proprietor (uncredited)
* *Gunsmoke* (1961-1962) – Jake / Homesteader
* *Womanhunt* (1962)
* *Ben Casey* (1962, TV Series) – Waco Martin
* *Son of Flubber* (1963) – 1st Juror (uncredited)
* *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington* (1963, TV Series) – Jim Tolliver
* *The Birds* (1963) – Sam, the Cook (uncredited)
* *House of the Damned* (1963) – Mr. Quinby
* *Twilight of Honor* (1963) – Mr. Phillips (uncredited)
* *The Wheeler Dealers* (1963) – Sea Captain / Prissy Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
* *My Favorite Martian* (1963, TV Series) – Mailman
* *The Misadventures of Merlin Jones* (1964) – Detective Hutchins
* *A Tiger Walks* (1964) – Reporter (uncredited)
* *7 Faces of Dr. Lao* (1964) – Lean Cowboy
* *Mary Poppins* (1964) – Fox / Penguin #2 / Hunting Horse / Merry-Go-Round Operator (voice, uncredited)
* *Daniel Boone* (1964, 80 episodes) – Cincinnatus
* *The Glory Guys* (1965) – Karl Harpane
* *Bonanza* (1966, TV Series) – Jenkins
* *The Andy Griffith Show* (1967, TV Series) – Brian Jackson
* *Clambake* (1967) – Bearded Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
* *Iron Horse* (1967, TV Series) – Gabe
* *Dundee and the Culhane* (1967, TV Series) – Al
* *Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady?* (1968) – Old Soldier
* *The Love God?* (1969) – Bird Caller (uncredited)
* *The Andersonville Trial* (1970, TV Movie) – First Guard
* *Bedknobs and Broomsticks* (1971) – Bear (voice)
* *Cannon* (1971, TV Series) – Bucky Fosdick
* *Emilio and His Magical Bull* (1975)
* *Space Academy* (1977, TV Series) – Johnny Sunseed
* *The Cat from Outer Space* (1978) – Charlie Cooney
* *Hot Lead and Cold Feet* (1978) – Saloon Man
* *Tourist Trap* (1979) – Mask (archived recording of laugh)
* *Mystery Mansion* (1983) – Sam
* *Wee Sing: Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies* (1986) – Narrator / Crooked old man
* *King Cole's Party* (1987) – Crooked Man
* *Wee Sing: King Cole's Party* (1987) – Crooked old man
* *Frozen Assets* (1992) – Stud of the Year Octogenarian
* *Elf* (2003) – Jack-in-the-Box (archived recording of laugh)

### Animation

* *Lady and the Tramp* (1955) – Toughy / Pedro, Professor / Hyena
* *Space Funnies* (1956-1957, TV Series) – Captain Jet
* *Hergé's Adventures of Tintin* (1957, TV Series) – Tintin / Professor Calculus
* *Woody Woodpecker* (1957-1958, TV Series) – Buzz Buzzard
* *Paul Bunyan* (1958, Short) – Cal McNab
* *Sleeping Beauty* (1959) – Maleficent's raven / Vernon the owl
* *Bucky and Pepito* (1959-1960, TV Series) – Bucky and Pepito
* *Q.T. Hush* (1960, TV Series) – Q.T. Hush / Shamus
* *Courageous Cat* (1960-1962, Minute Mouse cartoon serie) – Courageous Cat
* *Inspector Willoughby* (1960-1965, *Walter Lantz* series)
* *One Hundred and One Dalmatians* (1961) – Barking Dogs
* *Come Out Party* (1963, Short) – Inspector Willoughby
* *Dinbad Jr.* (1965-1966, TV Series) – Dinbad Jr. / Salty
* *Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree* (1966) – Bees (uncredited)
* *How the Grinch Stole Christmas* (1966) – Max
* *The Gumby Show* (1966-1968, TV Series) – Gumby / Pokey / Prickle / Nopey / Gumbo (only in *Chicken Feed*) / Henry (re-dubbed voice) / Rodgy (re-dubbed voice) / Granny
* *Cat and Dupli-cat* (1967, *Tom and Jerry* short) – Jerry Mouse (singing voice)
* *Sissy Sheriff* (1967, Short) – Sugarfoot / Dirty McNasty
* *Lotsa Luck* (1968) – (voice)
* *Archie's Funhouse* (1968, TV Series) – Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherbee
* *The Archie Show* (1968, TV Series) – Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherbee
* *The Hardy Boys* (1969, cartoon series) – Joe Hardy / Chubby Morton
* *Sabrina the Teenage Witch* (1969-1970, TV Series) – Salem / Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherbee / Batso / Ratso
* *Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies* (1970, TV Series) – Salem / Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherby / Rover / Batso / Ratso
* *Aesop's Fables* (1971) – Owl / Frog / Rooster and Beaver
* *Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies* (1972) – Sylvester the Cat (meowing sounds) / Charlie Dog
* *Journey Back to Oz* (1972) – Omby Amby
* *Treasure Island* (1973) – Captain Flint / Ben Gunn
* *Oliver Twist* (1974) – Bookseller / Charlie Bates
* *The U.S. of Archie* (1974, TV Series) – Archie Andrews / Hot Dog / Mr. Weatherbee
* *Pinocchio* (1978) – Geppetto
* *The American Adventure* (1982) – Benjamin Franklin / Soldier #2
* *The Adventures of Mark Twain* (1985) – Jim Smiley
* *The Puppetoon Movie* (1987) – Additional voices including the character Gumby.
* *Goof Troop* (1992, TV Series) – Old Man in Bathtub
* *The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat* (1995, TV Series short) – (uncredited)
* *Gumby: The Movie* (1995) – Gumby / Professor Kapp / Fatbuckle / Lucky Claybert / Nobuckle (credited as Charles Farrington)

### Video games

* *Crash Bandicoot* (1996) – Ripper Roo (laugh only, uncredited)
* *Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back* (1997) – Ripper Roo (laugh only, uncredited)
* *Darkstalkers 3* (1997) – Laugh sound effect (uncredited)
* *Crash Team Racing* (1999) – Ripper Roo (laugh only, uncredited)
* *Crash Bash* (2000) – Ripper Roo (laugh only, uncredited)
* *Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse* (2002) – The Ghost (laugh only, uncredited)
* *Grabbed by the Ghoulies* (2003) – Laugh sound effect (uncredited)

### Theme park attractions

* *Big Thunder Mountain Railroad* – Safety spiel
* *Country Bear Jamboree* – Zeke
* *The Hall of Presidents* – Andrew Jackson
* *It's a Small World* – Laughing hyenas
* *The American Adventure* – Benjamin Franklin
* *The Haunted Mansion* – Deaf Old Man

### Albums

* *Donald Duck and His Friends* – Scrooge McDuck

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Noland, Claire (July 18, 2009). "Dallas McKennon dies at 89; actor gave voice to many animated characters", *The Los Angeles Times*.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20090720\_Dallas\_McKennon\_\_\_Character\_actor\_\_89.html
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/5926894/Dallas-McKennon.html
4. ↑ startedbyamouse.com (Archive)
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-07-20-0907190263-story.html
6. ↑ www.veoh.com
7. ↑ DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Bucky and Pepito Episode Guide -Trans-Artists Prods @ BCDB". https://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Other\_Studios/T/Trans-Artists\_Productions/Bucky\_and\_Pepito/.

## External links

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* Dallas McKennon - *Daily Telegraph* obituary
* Template:IMDb name
* Dallas McKennon from The Observer (La Grande)

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