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Some of the most memorable characters voiced by Tex Avery
The famous director voiced many of your favorite characters!
Looney Tunes founding father Fred "Tex" Avery was more than just a dynamic director, he was also an accomplished voice actor! His larger-than-life directing style was reflected in the characters he voiced, like cowboys, mobsters, and raging bulls. But Avery also had the skill to jump into any role that needed an actor to get the cartoon finished on time. Here's a handful of the many characters he voiced while working as an animator at Termite Terrace and MGM.
Killer Diller from "Thugs with Dirty Mugs"
Avery played the lead gangster, Killer Diller, in this detective cartoon. He styled the voice as a caricature of actor Edward G. Robinson, even having Killer Diller say "I sound like Eddy Robinson, don't I?".
Horsefly in "Porky the Rain-Maker"
During his Termite Terrace tenure, Avery often filled in extra voices in cartoons. One of those extra voices was the horsefly flying through a fog created by one of Porky's "weather pills".
Willoughby
Avery created Willoughby as a cartoon version of Lennie from John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Avery voiced the hound dog in Of Fox and Hounds, The Crackpot Quail, and The Heckling Hare.
Willy the Weasel
In The Sneezing Weasel, Avery voiced a sneaky weasel trying to break into a henhouse and eat the baby chicks.
Red from "Egghead Rides Again"
Inspired by his Texas accent, Avery was often recruited to voice cowboys in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. In Egghead Rides Again, Avery voices Red, a goofy cowboy who tries to help train Egghead, and he also voiced the mean cowboys who laugh at Egghead's failures.
Radio Announcer
Avery played "Radio Announcer" or "Radio Voice" in five cartoons, including I Love to Singa.
Preacher
Another character type Avery often filled was "Preacher". He voiced Preacher Mouse in A Sunbonnet Blue and, in this image, the preacher in Don't Look Now.
Dishonest Dan
After leaving Leon Schlesinger Productions, Avery went to MGM and began developing the Droopy Dog series. One of the characters he voiced in the series was Dishonest Dan in Homesteader Droopy. Dishonest Dan is a rough wolf from the Old West and can be seen as a character that later evolved into Avery's Wolfie.
Wolf Rancher
Another precursor to Avery's legendary Wolf character, the Wolf Rancher was an antagonist trying to keep Droopy and his flock of sheep off his land in Drag-a-Long Droopy.
Bull
Another repeat character-type played by Avery was bulls; he voiced different bull characters in Drag-a-Long Droopy, Señor Droopy, and the Oswald the Rabbit cartoon Radio Rhythm.
Spike (a.k.a. Poochini)
Droopy's foil, Avery voiced Spike more times than he voiced Droopy! He also voiced characters "played" by Spike, like Poochini. Avery voiced this character in ten cartoons.
Droopy
There were five interchangeable voice actors for Droopy during the original MGM productions. Avery voiced Droopy in Deputy Droopy, Northwest Hounded Police, Wild and Woolfy, and The Shooting of Dan McGoo.
