R.I.P. June Foray.

We celebrate the career of June Foray, “The First Lady of Voice Acting”, who passed away on July 26, 2017, at the age of 99. 

There’s almost nothing I could add to the many deserved tributes already out there, save picturing some of Ms. Foray's many, many characters that were particularly special to me, and ending with three oddities from my “Sixties TV Wheelhouse”. 

But first, here is June Foray’s amazing list of credits at IMDB. 

Oh, my… Now, where do we begin… Don't answer that, it's obvious!  

Hokey Smoke!  With Rocky the Flying Squirrel, of course!  

From the original TV series ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS (1959) and THE BULLWINKLE SHOW (1961) and its many syndicated mash-ups that have been seen ever since!  

And, if you (even on occasion) "hear voices" while reading comic books, You've no doubt "heard" June Foray speak for Rocky, sultry Pottsylvanian spy Natasha Fatale, and Dudley Do Right's gal Nell Fenwick in comics ranging from classic and original Dell...

...To modern IDW...  

...With a new series in 2017 from American Mythology. 

Back to characters immortalized by June Foray...

Granny, from Tweety and Sylvester...

...Taking over the role from Bea Benaderet, the character was briefly redesigned for Ms. Foray (above), before returning to her "original" look, which remains to this day.   

"Witch Hazel" for Disney...

...And "Witch Hazel" for Warner Bros. 

Woody Woodpecker's nephew and niece, Knothead and Splinter.

Grandma Dynamite and other characters on The Flintstones... 

...Including the original version of Betty Rubble from the short pilot film "The Flagstones".  Oddly, Bea Benaderet would be cast as Betty for the series, so Bea Benaderet and June Foray essentially "traded characters"... Granny for Betty Rubble!  How 'bout that!  

Little Cindy-Lou Who.  

...And, on DuckTales (...the animated series I now refer to as "DuckTales Classic", as opposed to "New DuckTales" 2017), both Magica De Spell and Ma Beagle!

The original Mattel "Chatty Cathy" talking doll...

...and its evil counterpart from The Twilight Zone, "Talky-Tina"...

...Who was clearly the forerunner of "Chucky"!  

Now, as promised, three oddities from my "Sixties TV Wheelhouse" that feature June Foray...

Uncredited, Ms. Foray voiced Gundemar, a well-mannered and refined talking dragon (!) on the LOST IN SPACE episode "The Questing Beast" (1967).  

Gundemar is the quarry of an aged, bumbling, and quixotic knight, played superbly with alternating bluster and pathos by Hans Conried... 

...in effect, reuniting (...if only by ADR) Nell Fenwick and Snidely Whiplash, who was voiced by Conried! 

June Foray was also the "announcer voice" of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-1968), as the DVD collection reveals.  

If it's not clear enough to read: "13) THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN AFFAIR - Play with original STATION BREAK ANNOUNCEMENTS by JUNE FORAY".  Who would wanna play this WITHOUT them?! 

Finally, June Foray joined host Hans Conreid and fellow Rocky and Bullwinkle voice actors Paul Frees and Bill Scott for producer Jay Ward's FRACTURED FLICKERS, a short-lived, early sixties prime time TV series where these talented performers would "voice" silent movie clips with funny and satirical dialogue, almost never having anything to do with the original films.  

There was also a regular segment where Hans Conried would interview a celebrity guest, as noted below.  

...Yes, I actually watched this as a little kid!  And will admit to owning the DVD!  Actually, it's great fun - especially for Jay Ward / Rocky and Bullwinkle fans like myself!  ...And for people who just plain like WRITING COMIC DIALOGUE, also like myself!  

Thank you, June Foray, for all of the wonderful characters you brought to life - in voices we will hear forever! 

R.I.P. Terry Becker.

Actor Terry Becker, best known for his role of CPO Francis Sharkey on the TV series VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, passed away on December 30, 2014, at the age of 93. 

Becker debuted in the role of Chief Sharkey with the first color episode of VOYAGE, “Jonah and the Whale”, to lead off the series’ Second Season, on September 19, 1965.  

Meet Chief Sharkey... and Riley.  First moment for both. 

He succeeded actor Henry Kulky, who played Chief Curly Jones in VOYAGE’s First Season – and who actually died in real-life DURING that season.  The character of Chief Sharkey would serve aboard TV’s Submarine Seaview through the end of the series in 1968.

The Second Season Cast of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (1965-1966): Richard Basehart as "Admiral Harriman Nelson", David Hedison as "Captain Lee Crane", Allan Hunt as "Crewman Stu Riley", Terry Becker as "Chief Francis Sharkey", and Bob Dowdell as "Executive Officer Chip Morton". 

Chief Sharkey was a favorite character of mine, and a VOYAGE fan-favorite in general.  It’s been reported that he drew more fan-mail than series stars Richard Basehart and David Hedison. 

Though he certainly has fit the bill over the course of the series, it would be inaccurate to describe the character of Chief Sharkey as mere “comedy relief”.  But, Terry Becker’s portrayal of Sharkey lent itself to many needed “lighter moments” on a series that, though often quite bizarre, was rather straightforward and even grim in its overall approach. 

Lighter moments...

...And the other kind!  All in a day's work for Chief Sharkey! 

Sharkey’s frequent sort-of “father and son” conversations with Crewman Kowalski (and sometimes Patterson and Riley), in which the “son” often got the best of the “father”, served as welcome bits of characterization, given VOYAGE’s decided preference for “plot” (and particularly action and special effects) over “character”. 

Kowalski, Sharkey, and Riley in some down-time. 

Make no mistake, though; Chief Petty Officer Francis Ethelbert Sharkey was always ready for action, and well-able to handle himself… even if he wasn’t always completely hip to the strange nature of the threats that came his way. 

I wish I could remember where I read this, but someone once wrote about the character of Chief Sharkey (and I’m paraphrasing from memory):  “He doesn’t always know what’s going on, but he knows he doesn’t like it”.   

What's lurking down that corridor, Chief?  

This was a quality I regard as unique to the talents of Terry Becker.  The ability to portray Sharkey as sometimes “clueless”, yet “nobody’s fool”. 

Some good “Sharkey-centric” episodes of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA are: 

“The Lost Bomb” (1966): Sharkey reunites with a childhood friend (from New York's Lower East Side), now a government weaponry expert, in a race against time with a mercenary submarine to recover an activated super-bomb from the ocean floor. 

Old friends. 

“The Death Watch” (1966): Sharkey is unwittingly a key factor in a behavior-modification experiment gone deadly wrong.  This show is a “three-character masterpiece”, solely inhabited (in sort-of TWILIGHT ZONE mystery, or Hitchcockian suspense, fashion) by Basehart, Hedison, and Becker – with the viewer left completely in the dark, as to “what the heck’s going on”, until the final reveal. 

“Blow-Up” (1967):  Admiral Nelson becomes a dangerous paranoid, nearly sending both sub and crew to a watery grave.  As the ship’s officers and crew slowly move toward the solemn decision of relieving Nelson of duty and confining him for his own good, Sharkey is the “last holdout”.  When he finally declares to stand with his shipmates, you can almost feel his pain.  (Click on each illustration to better read subtitled dialogue)

Becker, Hedison, and especially Basehart are outstanding in this one.  Even the ordinarily “wooden” Bob Dowdell, as Executive Office Chip Morton, shows us a little “something extra” here.  It was also a fine showcase for Richard Bull, who played the Seaview Doctor.

Becker and Bull

Not uniquely-Sharkey, but worth noting is “The Haunted Submarine” (1966) for the private talk that Nelson has with Sharkey, to help him come to an important decision.  It is indicative of the mutual trust and respect the two characters had for one another.  It was also the last time Nelson and Sharkey (or any other character on VOYAGE for that matter) smoked on-camera.  …I guess that would mean that more than one “important decision” was arrived at on that day.  

Nelson and Sharkey "Butt-Out". 

Other series on my DVD shelf, on which Terry Becker appeared, include: THE TWILIGHT ZONE, GUNSMOKE, BONANZA, WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, and two turns on PERRY MASON. 

Terrible Terry Becker and his Chopper of Death (at left), on THE UNTOUCHABLES ("The Waxey Gordon Story", 1960)

A particular stand-out among these is THE TWILIGHT ZONE’s “I Am the Night – Color Me Black” (1964), with Becker as a condemned man, in 20^th century Mid-America, headed for the gallows. 

  

The DVD set “THE TWILIGHT ZONE The Complete Definitive Collection: Season 5” offers a very pleasant surprise for fans of Terry Becker – an on-camera interview with Becker, focusing on his TWILIGHT ZONE experiences, recorded about 2004 and running for 05:43.  

This is a rare glimpse of the older Terry Becker who, post-VOYAGE, was seldom seen, having moved away from acting and into production.    

Also, Becker’s appearance as a deputy sheriff on WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE (“Three for One”, 1960), offers-up such a surprise twist climax that even series’ star Steve McQueen (in his character of bounty hunter “Josh Randall”) admits “…didn’t figure on THAT!” 

Terry Becker with Steve McQueen, on WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE. 

Mr. Becker’s IMDB credits are found at THIS LINK. 

Rest in Peace, Terry Becker, and thank you for all the enjoyable “voyages”!