Biography: Stan Freberg

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Birth/Death

Birth: August 7, 1926.

Occupation/Title

Radio comic, voice actor, and advertiser

Bio Summary

Stan Freberg was born in Pasadena, CA. He is known as the last network radio comic who changed comedy forever. He was also the father of funny TV and commercials. He was very young when he started his career in 1943 and made a name for himself by working at studios such as: Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros, and Walter Lantz. Throughout his career, he has made hundreds of comical radio shows, commercials, and series. His career spanned for over 50 years and in the 1950’s he had more record hits than any other artist at the time.

Early Life/Family

He was the son of a Baptist minister. He had two children named Donna Jr. and Donovan. Their mother passed away in 2000. Freberg married a woman named Betty Hunter in the 2002.

Education/Training

He put on his own live radio shows in Alhambra High School. After graduating high school, he took a bus to Los Angeles to audition for Warner Bros. That is where his career began and took off.

Career Outline

As a teenager, Freberg worked in children puppet shows. When he was 16, he began his career in radio. He started voice acting for Warner Bros. as characters named Goofy Gophers and Pete Puma. At 25 he released his first novelty single which led to the release of several more. He did voice acting for several shows and films including: Mickey Mouse Birthday Party, Nuttin’ For Christmas, Heartbreak Hotel, The Great Pretender, Banana Boat, Lady And The Tramp, and dozens more. In 1957, he was asked to replace Jack Benny on a CBS radio network. This made him the very last network comedian in the USA.
In the late 1950s he had his own show titled The Stan Freberg Show. It aired for only 15 weeks, but it made Freberg memorable as a radio comedian. After his controversial Green Christmas single, he created the musical comedy Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, The Early Years. It was praised by many and it changed recorded comedy forever. Freberg experimented with Broadway before turning to the advertising industry in the 1960s. For decades after, he worked with advertisement. One of his most famous was a series on TV about the Encyclopedia Britannica.
In the early 1990s, he produced an autobiography titled It Only Hurts When I Laugh. He also created a series, Stan Freberg Here, which aired on the radio. He continued to do voice acting and advertising for several years after. In 1996, he released United States of America, Volume 2: The Middle Years. It was the sequel his very popular United States of America, The Early Years.

Comments On Style

Very visual, elaborate comical shows. Took full advantage of the vocal effects and sound effects that radio had to offer.

Influences

Freberg was a very big fan of Jack Benny, Henry Morgan, Fred Allen, Vic and Sade.

Personality

Very satirical and humorous. Loved to poke fun and mock everything which was a huge part of all his radio shows and series. Enjoyed being entertaining and comical to others.

Anecdotes

Miscellaneous

Filmography
The following is a list of several of the films, episodes, shows, and series that Stan Freberg worked on or was apart of.
1940s:
A Ham in a Role, Bear Feat , The Bee-Deviled Bruin , “Time for Beany” , Two Gophers from Texas , House Hunting Mice , What’s Brewin’, Bruin? , Mouse Wreckers , One Meat Brawl , The Goofy Gophers , It’s a Grand Old Nag , Roughly Squeaking
1950s:
“Matty’s Funday Funnies”, Gopher Broke, Three Little Bops , Lumber Jerks , Lady and the Tramp , Pests for Guests , Dr. Jerkyl’s Hide , “The Spike Jones Show”- Easter Show , Posse Cat , I Gopher You , Geraldine , Cat-Tails for Two , Rabbit’s Kin , Tree for Two , Susie the Little Blue Coupe, Foxy by Proxy , Callaway Went Thataway , A Bear for Punishment, Cheese Chasers, Alice in Wonderland , A Bone for a Bone , Hillbilly Hare, The Hypo-Chondri-Cat
1960s and 1970s:
The Incredible Detectives , “The Sylvester & Tweety Show”, “The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour”, “Frost on Saturday” , “The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.” , “The Monkees” ,”Tom and Jerry”, “Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo” , It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, “The Bugs Bunny Show”
1980s:
“Garfield and Friends”Down and Out with Donald Duck,”Amazing Stories” ,”The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show”,”The Wuzzles” ,The All-New Adventures of Disney’s Sport Goofy,The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie,Pogo for President: ‘I Go Pogo’
1990s:
Stuart Little, The Stan Freberg Commercials , “The Weird Al Show” , Pullet Surprise , “The Bugs n’ Daffy Show” ,”Roseanne” , “Freakazoid!” , “That’s Warner Bros.!” , “The Ren & Stimpy Show” , Amazing Stories: Book Two Bugs Bunny’s Overtures to Disaster, “Tiny Toon Adventures” , The Jackie Bison Show
2000s:
Looney Tunes: Back in Action , “Duck Dodgers” , Little Go Beep, Tweety’s High-Flying Adventure

Honors

– In 1995, Freberg was put into the Radio Hall of Fame
– Annie Award: In 1992 he won the Winsor McCay award.
– Radio Advertising Bureau’s Orson Welles Award
– Venice Film Festival’s Grand Prix
– 21 Clios
– A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
– He won three Emmys and a Grammy

Related Links

Bibliographic References

http://www.answers.com/topic/stan-freberg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Freberg
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0292677/

Contributors To This Listing

Paulette Sorhaindo
editor: Brother Rabbit

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