The Man of a Thousand Voices

Today we celebrate the birthday of legendary Hollywood voice-actor Mel Blanc (d.1989). While the name ‘Mel Blanc’ might not necessarily be a household one, it’s almost impossible to be unfamiliar with his work. If, for example, you’ve ever heard a wise-cracking, carrot-munching cartoon rabbit say, “Ehh, what’s up, Doc?” then you know his work. In addition to Bugs Bunny, Mel Blanc provided the signature voices for Woody Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzalez, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, the Tasmanian Devil, The Flintstones’ Barney Rubble, Tweety Bird and Sylvester, among many, many others. He’s even responsible for the Road Runner’s signature “Meep meep!”

Here are a few other links you might find interesting:

Mel Blanc - Biography
Mel Blanc (Video)
Mel Blanc - How He Created the Voices (Video)
Mel Blanc - Obituary

Cartoons have always been a big favorite in our family, especially the classic Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbara cartoons of years past. So as I looked for information about Mel Blanc, I was quite delighted to discover that one man was responsible for nearly all of my favorite animated characters. Mr. Blanc left behind an incredible volume of work, one that seems destined to never be surpassed by any other voice actor.

So, how about you? What, if any, are your favorite Mel Blanc-inspired memories? How has his work touched you or your family? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

And the Webby Goes to…

I’m sure most of you have heard about the Webby Awards. Similar to the Academy Awards and Grammys, Webbys are awarded to the best of the best on the internet and include commercial and personal websites. There are nearly 70 categories and each category has a Webby Award Winner - chosen by a group of web experts, and People's Voice Award - chosen by the online community.

Some highlights from the 2009 Webby Awards include: Best Branded Content for "The Extreme Sticky Note Experiments”, guggenheim.org for Best Cultural Institution Web Site, NASA won two awards including The Cassini Mission website for Best Science website, Wordle for Best Use of Typography, The Nature Conservancy for Best Charitable Website – the list goes on and on.

My personal favorite of the 2009 Webby Award Winners is Best Personal Blog - 1000 Awesome Things. As of today, this Toronto native is on number Awesome Thing #762. I may not agree with everything on the list, like #977 The smell of gasoline or #903 Picking scabs, but this is a fun read, sure to put a smile on your face.

Take a look full list of Webby Award winners and tell us which one is your favorite.

This is The End…

When it comes to TV watching, it can be awfully hard to “commit” to a particular show. We’ve all been there before: you see an episode and get hooked, you start tuning in regularly, you can’t wait to find out what happens next … and then one day you have your heart broken when you find out your new favorite show has been axed by network execs that deemed it “wasn’t generating enough ratings.” I couldn’t even tell you how many great shows have fallen victim to cancellation because of demographics and numbers.

There are, however, a few exceptions. Sometimes a show comes along, finds a niche, and shows incredible (and uncommon) staying power. In fact, it was 11 years ago today that the popular sitcom Seinfeld aired its final episode on NBC (after nine hilarious seasons). With over 76 million viewers tuning in, the one hour episode was the third most watched finale of a U.S. television series, behind M*A*S*H in 1983 and Cheers in 1993. Not bad for a show that (according to the show’s creator Larry David) was essentially “about nothing.”

There are a number of other shows that have been fortunate enough to give their audience a final sendoff before fading into the oblivion of syndicated television. Some left their fans with a bit of closure (Friends), while others still have people scratching their heads (The Sopranos). So, with that: what TV show’s series finale was your favorite? What was your most disappointing? Let us know in the comments section, we’d love to hear what you think.

Want to read more? These websites provide more than enough information about series finales.
A Finale Exam of Classic Sitcoms
Most Expensive Sitcom Finales
TV Series Finale
Best Series Finales
Swan Songs: The Best & Worst TV Series Finales