Daws Butler the Baby Boomer's Voice Man

Yesterday would have been the 93rd birthday of Daws Butler, born November 16, 1916.

Daws was a man with 1,000 voices. Not nearly as gifted a comedian as Mel Blanc who came before him, but incredibly gifted as a mimic and a performer of distinct voices.

Performing with Stan Freberg on Bob Clampett's "Time for Beany" and then working with Jay Ward on "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Cap'n Crunch" commercials, he really hit his stride when Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera barnstormed he television airwaves.

Beginning with their first series, "Ruff (Butler) and Reddy" Daws was their first go-to guy. Basing most of his characterizations on imitations of live comedians became Daws' stock in trade. Huckleberry Hound (Andy Griffith), Top Cat (Phil Silvers), Yogi Bear (Art Carney) and so forth. Overly creative? no. Endlessly appealing to the newly born TV set? Hellzyeah.

So to the millions of baby boomers out there and all their kids and grand kids, Daws Butler is a voice that feeds the nostalgia bone. Here's a short montage of some of his work:

Whether a fan of bad TV animation or not, you can't deny the draw of Daws.

Thanks Daws! You make Saturday mornings sound right to me.