Bill Scott | |
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 Scott holding one of his drawings, 1962 | |
| Born | William John Scott (1920-08-02)August 2, 1920 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 1985(1985-11-29) (aged 65) Tujunga, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Voice actor, writer, producer |
| Years active | 1945–1985 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
William John Scott (August 2, 1920 – November 29, 1985) was an American voice actor, writer and producer foranimated cartoons, primarily associated withJay Ward andUPA, as well as one of the founding members ofASIFA-Hollywood. He is probably best known as the head writer, co-producer and the voice of several characters from the popular programsRocky and His Friends andThe Bullwinkle Show.[1]
Scott was born in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania on August 2, 1920. The family later moved to Trenton, New Jersey. At the age of 15, Bill developedtuberculosis. Having been told that Denver, Colorado was the best place for tuberculosis treatment, the family moved to Denver in 1936. His father worked there as a machinist, and his mother worked as a waitress at the Brown Palace Hotel. Scott graduated from South High School in Denver, and then graduated from theUniversity of Denver in 1941. He majored in Theater and Dramatic Art, and minored in English. He was trained to be a school teacher, but after trying teaching, he decided he wanted a different career. He then worked as a freelance radio performer on several Denver radio stations.[2]
DuringWorld War II, he served in the U.S. Army'sFirst Motion Picture Unit (reporting to Lt.Ronald Reagan), where he worked with such animators asFrank Thomas. After the war, he became what was then known as a "story man" at Warner Bros., working under directorArthur Davis. After a job as a writer onBob Clampett'sTime For Beany television puppet show, he later worked atUnited Productions of America where he was one of the writers who adaptedDr. Seuss's original story for the 1950Academy Award-winning shortGerald McBoing-Boing, which later became a television show, as well as adapting the 1953 Academy Award-nominated short film ofEdgar Allan Poe'sThe Tell-Tale Heart. He was later let go by UPA. Scott believed this was because UPA was under political pressure during the Red Scare of the 1950s. He believed UPA that consequently dismissed his co-writer for participating in left-wing activities, and threw out Scott as well in the process.
Scott then went on to work on animated cartoons for John Sutherland Productions. This work was mainly on behalf of business organizations, such as theUnited States Chamber of Commerce. While this work reflected more conservative values than his own, he stayed there for four years because the company paid its writers well. He grew weary of the messages his employer wanted in his work, and tried to leave, but said "I kept trying to tell them I quit, but they kept stuffing my mouth with money." He finally left and went back to work for UPA for a time.[3]
Scott worked as a voice actor as well when he joinedJay Ward as head writer and co-producer, and voice acted in such television series asThe Bullwinkle Show (most notably asBullwinkle andMister Peabody, as well asDudley Do-Right). In a 1982 interview, Scott said, "I got a call from Jay [Ward] asking if I'd be interested in writing another series, an adventure script with a moose and a squirrel. I said, 'Sure.' I didn't know if I could write an adventure with a moose and a squirrel, but I never turned down a job."[4] Scott never received an on-screen credit for his voice acting on any of the Ward series.
He also wrote many commercials forGeneral Mills because General Mills had financed much ofThe Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, and theQuaker Oats Company, most notably those forCap'n Crunch cereal. The voices of Rocky, Nell Fenwick and many of the feminine roles were performed byJune Foray, although Scott's wife, Dorothy, voiced several female parts as well.
Scott was a voice director onThe Gerald McBoing-Boing Show and a dialogue director on the 1959 animated comedy feature film1001 Arabian Nights.
He starred in theGeorge of the Jungle series as George,Super Chicken, and Tom Slick, as well asFractured Flickers andHoppity Hooper. Scott also did live-action acting on the television showThe Duck Factory, which starredJim Carrey, as well as featuring noted voice actorsDon Messick andFrank Welker. In the episode "The Annie Awards", Scott plays theemcee at anaward ceremony forcartoonists.
Scott was a member of theScreen Cartoonist's Guild of which he was President in 1952. He was also a member of theScreen Actors Guild and was elected to the Board of Governors of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Toward the end of his career, Scott worked forDisney, where he voiced Moosel onThe Wuzzles, and was Gruffi Gummi, Sir Tuxford, and Toadwart, aka Toadie inDisney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears (he was succeeded byCorey Burton,Roger C. Carmel, andBrian Cummings after his death).Gummi Bears, his last role, had also reunited him withJune Foray, hisRocky and Bullwinkle co-star. Scott was also a singer and performer, active with a Little Theatre group in Tujunga called the Foothill Curtain Raisers, and a church theater, the Ascension Players. He was a member of the choir at Ascension Episcopal Church, Tujunga, and spent time in church leadership there as Senior Warden.[5] He was also a member of the Cañada-Savoy G&S troupe inLa Cañada, California.
Scott died of a heart attack at age 65 on November 29, 1985, inTujunga, Los Angeles, California.[6] He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Santa Barbara Channel off Ventura.
Jim Korkis. "Bullwinkle at Warner's: Bill Scott's Early Days at Warner Bros, an Interview by Jim Korkis."Animato no.20 (Spring 1990), pp. 7–9.
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