Voice Acting: The Stan Freberg Show 1957

This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 4 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great biographies of important artists.


Daws Butler and Stan Freberg accept the
Grammy Award for "St. George and the Dragon-net".
Archive supporter, Rich Borowy has been contributing some wonderful material to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. Here's another one of his treasures... the premiere episode of the legendary short lived radio musical variety show created by Stan Freberg.

In the Summer of 1957, CBS debuted a comedy program to replace The Jack Benny Program. It starred Captiol recording artist Stan Freberg, with support from veteran voice artists like Daws Butler, Marvin Miller and June Foray. The show exhibited all aspects of Freberg's unique sense of humor from goofy cartooniness to biting satire. This episode contains liberal doses of both, and includes his classic riff on Cold War politics, titled "Los Voraces" ("The Greedy Ones"). Freberg's sharp wit and his refusal to accept commercials for cigarettes didn't endear him to advertisers, and the show was cancelled after only fifteen episodes. But it made an indelible mark on many fans in re-release on records.

This particular recording is unique, because it includes off-air introductions by Stan before the show and a pickup of a musical cue at the end. It's a tribute to the professionalism of the performers and the musical director, Billy May when you realize that this elaborate program was performed live from beginning to end in front of a studio audience.

Enjoy the genius of Freberg!

The Stan Freberg Show
(CBS Radio/July 9th, 1957)
(AAC Audio File / 90kbps-44.1kHz / Mono / 42 minutes / 30.25 mb)

Thanks for contributing this, Rich!

Fans of the great Stan Freberg won't want to be without this great four CD box set, The Tip of the Freberg, which includes many of his greatest recordings. Get it at Amazon!

If you enjoyed this article, you'll also want to check out these articles... Mel Blanc on Advertising, Profile of Carlo Vinci, John K on Flintstones Animators, Bugs Bunny In Coronet Magazine, Ward Kimball In Escapade Magazine, UPA Done Right, The Pencil Test of Art Babbitt's Best Scene, A Drawing Lesson From Walter Lantz, and Remembering Berny Wolf

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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Event Oct 19: June Foray Birthday Party

ASIFA-Hollywood invites ASIFA members and a guest to special June Foray Birthday Celebration



Friday, October 19, 2007, 7-10 p.m.
Pickwick Gardens
Terrace Room
1001 Riverside Drive
Burbank, CA 91506

7 p.m. Cocktail Reception (no host bar)
8:30 p.m. Cake Cutting
Admission $25 per person

This celebration is for ASIFA-Hollywood members and their guests only. Tickets will be sold at the door, however you must RSVP by emailing juneforay@asifa-hollywood.org, in order to attend. The deadline to RSVP is Friday, October 12, 2007. In lieu of presents, June has requested that you make a donation to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

Proceeds from this event to benefit the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

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Meta: June Foray Award

Tonight was the 34th Annual Annie Awards. I was honored to receive the June Foray Award for a significant benevolent impact on the art of animation. The award was presented by the great lady herself, June Foray.

Here is the text of my acceptance speech...

In 1973, Eric Larson, one of Disney's Nine Old Men, announced to the studio that he was setting down his pencil for good. He saw the great accomplishments of his generation of animators slipping away, and knew that the art of animation needed his help. Instead of taking advantage of a well-deserved retirement like most of his peers, he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to training and developing young animators.

His story is kind of a cross between Noah's Ark and The Wise Little Hen. For the next fifteen years- during the dark ages of the 1970s, he set to work building the foundation for the recent wave of animation. He didn't get discouraged, he stuck with it until the end. He passed away in 1988. By then, his job was done. The torch had been passed.

Many of the people you see on this stage tonight owe their first break in the animation business to Larson's training program... Andreas Deja, Glen Keane, Brad Bird, John Lassiter... They all use the knowledge Larson generously passed on to them every single day of their career. Eric Larson may not be the first name you think of when you think of the Nine Old Men, but he's the one who ultimately had the greatest impact on the art of animation.

It's doubtful that we'll ever see the likes of Larson's training program again. No major animation studio is interested in devoting their resources to such a forward thinking idea like this. The artform is the same, the raw talent is still out there, but the business is very, very different. Today. if young artists want to grow and develop and hone their skills, they need to do it on their own.

The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive is dedicated to following in Larson's footsteps, providing invaluable support to the animators of the future. Now, I'm no Eric Larson- I can't do it single-handedly the way he did. But I can facilitate gathering together the experience, knowledge and teamwork it'll take to take animation to the next level.

Ralph Bakshi once told me... "STEVIE! If you're able to make a living drawing cartoons, you're the luckiest guy in the world. You owe for that... You've gotta give back to the muse." Ralph is right. We owe it to the people who came before us, like Eric Larson and the hundreds and hundreds of other legendary animators who took time out of their busy schedules to give a green assistant a drawing lesson, or offer a few words of advice and encouragement to a student. I know I have a list a mile long of people who helped me when I was just starting out. I'm sure all of you do too.

ASIFA-Hollywood is giving all of us the opportunity to give back and build the foundation for the next wave of animation. We need your help. I want you to know I appreciate this honor. I can't think of an award I would rather have than the one with June Foray's name on it. She's at the top of my list.

Many thanks to the people at the event who offered words of encouragement. A special thanks to my hero and friend, June.

See also... List of 2006 Annie Award Winners and 2006 Annie Awards Photos

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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Meta: An Important Note From June Foray

Dear Friend of the Art of Animation,

When Bill Scott and I served as officers of ASIFA-Hollywood, we had big dreams for the organization. My goal was to recognize the people who create animated films by hosting an annual award ceremony. Today, my idea has grown into the Annie Awards, animation's highest honor. I'm very proud that the seed I planted has grown and flourished the way it has.

Bill's vision for ASIFA-Hollywood involved the establishment of an Animateque... a world class research facility devoted to animation, complete with an archive, library and museum. For many years, ASIFA-Hollywood has wanted to begin work on Bill's idea, but the right people and resources were not yet in place. Happily, today ASIFA-Hollywood has grown to the point where Bill's dream can finally become a reality.

The Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood has taken the first step by creating a Virtual Archive full of resources that will benefit artists, students and researchers, as well as providing important information about the art of animation to the general public. ASIFA-Hollywood has leased storefront space in Burbank, in the heart of the media district, and has opened the archive to the public. We need YOUR help to expand and sustain the project.

The membership rolls of ASIFA-Hollywood have grown tremendously since I served as President. Many studios are providing memberships to their production staff as part of their benefits package. There's strength in those numbers....

If every member of ASIFA-Hollywood donated an amount equal to their yearly dues, the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive would be fully funded for the entire year. This isn't a great deal to ask for such an important project. If you are not yet a member of ASIFA-Hollywood, please sign up with double dues and you will be a part of our groundbreaking efforts to build this valuable resource for the animation community.

If you are able to, I hope you will consider becoming a Project Hero or Angel. Your generosity and support will go a long way to develop and expand this project.

Bill Scott would be proud of the great work being done by ASIFA-Hollywood. I know I am.


To contribute, please see the... Contribution Categories Page

Donate online using our PayPal button...

To join ASIFA-Hollywood, please see the Membership Page

Contributions can be sent to...

ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
2114 W Burbank Bl
Burbank, CA 91506

When contributing to this project, please write ARCHIVE DONATION on the subject line of your check.

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