Tuesday, June 22, 2010

June 22: Sounds Like Frees

Paul Frees was a voice actor and character actor who enjoyed a successful 40-year career ... and he was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago, Illinois on this day in 1920.

Unlike many voice actors of his time who did most of their work for one studio, Frees enjoyed the freedom of working for at least 9 major animation production companies - including Walt Disney.
Disney fans know Frees best as the voice of the Ghost Host in the Haunted Mansion park attraction (which first debuted at Disneyland in 1969), but his talent also graced other Disney attractions, television episodes, shorts and films such as:

Man in Space (1954 television 3-episode series) - Narrator
Mickey Mouse Club (1955 television series) - various characters in "Boys of the Western Sea' serial
Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959 animated short) - Pi Creator & Narrator
The Shaggy Dog (1959 live-action feature) - Dr. Galvin
Goliath II (1960 animated short) - Mouse
101 Dalmatians (1961 animated feature) - "Thunderbolt" announcer & Dirty Dawson
Mary Poppins (1964 animated feature) - Barnyard Horse
Pirates of the Caribbean (1965 park attraction) - numerous voices
The Ugly Dachshund (1966 live-action feature) - Eddie
Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln (1966 park attraction) - Narrator & Stephen Douglas
Adventures in Inner Space (1967 park attraction) - Narrator
Hall of Presidents (1971 park attraction) - George Washington, Governor Mifflin & Stephen Douglas

Frees was also the voice of Ludwig Von Drake in numerous episodes of Disney's television series.

For his contributions to the Disney legacy, Paul Frees was honored as a Disney Legend in October 2006 (twenty years after his death).

Click HERE for more June 22 Disney history.

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