PAUL FREES
(June 22, 1920-November 2, 1986)
Notable Roles: Ludwig Von Drake, Wally Walrus, Boris
Baddenov, Inspector Fenwick, Captain Peter “Wrong Way” Peachfuzz, Squiddly
Diddly, Morocco Mole, Double-Q, Yellow Pinkie, Claude Hopper, John Lennon,
George Harrison, Ape, Baron Otto Matic, Evil Star, The Thing, Santa Claus,
Burgermeister Meisterburger, K.A.R.R.
Frees was known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices”; a title
he shared with colleague Mel
Blanc. He began his career in the 1930s as an impressionist under the stage
name Buddy Green. This skill set would prove to be a boon to his career as he
would be called in to re-loop dialogue of other actors or correct for foreign
accents in various productions. In 1942, he began a 40-year career in radio
that was briefly interrupted by first being drafted into WWII and then attending
the Chouinard
Art Institute before his first wife’s failing health sent him back into it.
Frees worked extensively with various animation studios of the time, including Disney, Warner
Bros., Walter
Lantz Productions, UPA, Jay Ward Productions,
MGM (which would lead him to Hanna-Barbera), DePatie-Freleng
Enterprises, Rankin/Bass
and Ruby-Spears. His
first Saturday morning entry was The
Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, where he played multiple
roles including primary antagonist Boris Baddenov. While best known for his
voice work, Frees did make a few on-camera appearances in minor roles, was a
songwriter and a screenwriter. Frees died in 1986 from an overdose of pain
medication. Although ruled a suicide, his agent released a statement citing the
cause was heart failure.
Saturday Credits:
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
The Dick Tracy Show
Hoppity Hooper
The Secret Squirrel Show
Super President
George of the Jungle
The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show
Shazzan
The Beatles
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure
Fantastic Four (1967)
The Pink Panther Show
The Banana Splits Adventure Hour
Jackson 5ive
The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie
Run, Joe, Run
The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show
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