Thurl Ravenscroft, RIP

Thurl Ravenscroft died Sunday at 91. You might not know the name, but you know the voice: The New York Times obit identifies him as the man behind Tony the Tiger's "They're Grrrrreeeat!", and that's no small accomplishment, though I prefer to think of him as the man who sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and the Snoopy, Come Home number "No Dogs Allowed."

That only scratches the surface of his career. For a detailed fan site, go here.

Comments

[Trey]

I was a fan from the minute I read his very cool name.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Yeah, he should have gotten an Oscar just for that.

[Sarnath]

Does the DVD version of the Grinch give Ravenscroft credit? I know the version aired on TV didn’t, but maybe they took the time to correct the oversight for the version available on DVD.

[Franklin Harris]

He is also immortalized as part of Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction.

[Brian]

I’m immediately changing the name of my level 8 chaotic good dwarvin thief/illusionist to Thurl Ravenscroft.

[Rick Barton]

What? I thought that Al Gore did the Tony the Tiger voice. He said he did.

[dead_elvis]

My pets and wife and I are moving in a couple of weeks, and after looking for a place to rent, I can completely dig the “no dogs allowed” song.

[Douglas Fletcher]

That’s because you don’t live next door to that goddamn chihuahua like I do.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Dead Elvis:

Exactly right. Several years ago I went through the exact painful experience, and that song did go through my head. I find it especially irritating that a place would advertise “pets welcomed” but then set the weight limit to 20 pounds! What the FUCK?!

Oh yeah, my dog’s name is Elvis. A Corgi/Shepherd mix.

[Evan Williams]

Holy shit, his parents were some ballsy sonsabitches. “Hey, honey, let’s name our kid ‘Thurl’!” Or is it short for some sort of regal title like “Thurlonton Billingsley Ravenscroft The Third”?

[SPD]

Evan, “ballsy” is right. I hope Mr. Ravenscroft agreed to donate his testicles for scientific study. What a voice on that guy!

[Baylen]

The death of Fred Flintstone’s voice was in the papers yesterday, too.

[smacky]

What? I thought that Al Gore did the Tony the Tiger voice. He said he did.

No, no no. Al Gore invented Tony the Tiger. And he invented breakfast cereal, too. And Milk.

[Mike O.]

The death of Fred Flintstone’s voice was in the papers yesterday, too.
Yeah, but that wasn’t the real voice of Fred, Alan Reed. He took over in the ’70s when Reed died. By that time Fred was appearing in shows like “Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo” and “Fred and Barney Meet the Thing”.