Bob McFadden
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Robert "Bob" McFadden (19 January 1923 — 7 January 2000) was a singer and voiceover actor best known for his many contributions to animated cartoons. His best known characters were Milton the Monster, Cool McCool, and the ThunderCats' Snarf. In cereal commercials, he played Franken Berry and others.
McFadden was born in East Liverpool, Ohio and was in the United States Navy in World War II when he got his start as a singer and impressionist. He went on to do an opening act for the likes of Harry Belafonte in Pittsburgh where he worked at a steel mill. McFadden continued in this vein for years until a move to New York in the mid 1960s, which resulted in a great deal of voice-over work in commercials and animation. In the late 1950s he collaborated with Rod McKuen on a single entitled "The Beat Generation" that parodied the then-emerging literary community of the name; on this record, McKuen used the pseudonym "Dor" and later claimed that Bill Haley & His Comets were the band used for the recording session, though this has not been confirmed. McFadden and McKuen also released a full-length album in 1959 called "Songs Our Mummy Taught Us" (Brunswick 54056). In 1963, McFadden released the parody album "Fast, Fast Relief From TV Commercials" (Audio Fidelity AFSD 6112).
He lived in Leonia, New Jersey. McFadden continued to work until the late 1980s, when poor health put him into retirement. He died in Delray Beach, Florida in 2000.
