Arnold Sidney Stang (September 28, 1918 – December 20, 2009) ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', December 22, 2009. was an American actor and comedian. Recognized by his small stature and squawky, Brooklyn-accented speaking voice, he steadily worked in radio, television, the stage, and animation voice-over for 70 years. He was the voice of ''
Top Cat
''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season ...
'' in the cartoon series,
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, New York City, to Jewish parents Anna and Harold Stang. Stang was raised in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and was acting in radio shows from nine years old.
Career
Early career
Stang claimed he gained his break in radio by sending a postcard to a New York station requesting an audition, was accepted, and then bought his own ticket to New York from Chelsea, Massachusetts, with the money set aside for his mother's anniversary gift.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 3, 1947 Though his widow, JoAnne Stang, explained upon his death that this story was untrue, Stang did work on New York–based network radio shows as a teenager, appearing on children's programs such as '' The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour'' and ''Let's Pretend''. By 1940, he had graduated to teenaged roles, appearing as Seymour on '' The Goldbergs''. Director Don Bernard hired him in October 1941 to do the commercials on the CBS program ''Meet Mr. Meek'' but decided his constantly cracking voice would hurt the commercial so he ordered scriptwriters to come up with a role for him. He next appeared on the summer replacement show ''The Remarkable Miss Tuttle'' with Edna May Oliver in 1942 and replaced Eddie Firestone Jr. in the title role of '' That Brewster Boy'' when Firestone joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943.
Comedian Henry Morgan made him a sidekick on his program in fall of 1946 and Stang appeared in similar roles the following year on radio shows with Eddie Cantor and Milton Berle. He also did the voice of Jughead for a short while on the '' Archie Andrews'' radio show, opposite future sitcom star Bob Hastings as Archie, when it was broadcast by NBC.
By this time Stang had appeared in a number of movies, including '' My Sister Eileen'', '' So This Is New York'', and '' They Got Me Covered''. He appeared on Broadway in '' Sailor Beware'', ''All In Favor'' and ''Same Time Next Week'', where he first worked with Berle. A notable screen credit was '' The Man with the Golden Arm'' (1955) as "Sparrow".
Television and film
Stang moved to the new field of commercial television. He had a recurring role in '' The School House'' on the
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...
in 1949. He was a regular on Eddie Mayehoff's short-lived situation comedy '' Doc Corkle'' in fall of 1952 as well as comedy relief on '' Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' as Clumsy McGee. Then he made a guest appearance on Milton Berle's ''
Texaco Star Theater
''Texaco Star Theater'' is an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave M ...
'' on May 12, 1953 and joined him as a regular as Francis the Stagehand the following September, often berating or heckling the egocentric star for big laughs. Stang also had guest roles on several variety shows of the day including '' The Colgate Comedy Hour''. In early 1951, Stang appeared on '' Henry Morgan's Great Talent Hunt'', a take-off of '' The Original Amateur Hour'', as "Gerard", supposedly recruiting "talent" for Morgan. In 1954 he became a panelist on the Goodson-Todman game show '' The Name's the Same''.
Stang starred in movie short subjects for producer Edward Montagne in the early 1950s. In 1964, when Montagne was producing his '' McHale's Navy'' spinoff '' Broadside'', Stang was co-starring with the national touring company of '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'', Montagne recruited Stang midway through the ''Broadside'' run, offering him co-star billing. Stang left the stage show on October 3, 1964 (it ran for six more weeks, with Gil Lamb in the Stang role).
On television he appeared in
commercials
A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
for the Chunky candy bar, where he would list many of its ingredients, smile and say, "Chunky, what a chunk of chocolate!" As a pitchman for Alcoa aluminum window screens in the late 1960s, he was known for the tag line "Arnold Stang says don't get stung". He would continue to act in television commercials on occasion until his death in 2009.
Voice acting
Stang once described himself as "a frightened chipmunk who's been out in the rain too long." As for his distinctive squawky, nasal
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
voice, he said "I'm kind of attached to it ... t'sa personal logo. It's like your Jell-O or
Xerox
Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...
.
His voice was so recognizable to the public that his performances could be enjoyed without seeing him in person. While in New York in the early 1940s, he worked for the
Famous Studios
Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was established as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contr ...
cartoon shop, where he supplied the voice for
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Herman the Brooklynese mouse, and Tubby Tompkins in a few Little Lulu shorts. Stang's major contribution to television was voicing the title role in
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
's animated sitcom ''
Top Cat
''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season ...
'' (1961-62). The show lasted for 30 episodes during its network run, and was frequently rebroadcast in Saturday-morning time slots into the 1980s. The ''Top Cat'' series was based on '' The Phil Silvers Show'', a 1950s military comedy with Silvers as a sergeant masterminding get-rich-quick schemes. Stang was instructed to mimic the Silvers delivery in ''Top Cat'' until the sponsor reportedly objected -- insisting it was paying for Arnold Stang, not Phil Silvers. Stang modified his cartoon characterization in the later episodes to be closer to his own, recognizable voice.
In 1959, ABC Paramount Records released an album by Stang, titled ''Arnold Stang's Waggish Tales''. He also voiced the character Nurtle the Turtle in the 1965 animated feature '' Pinocchio in Outer Space''. He was also the original voice of Buzz the Bee in the Honey Nut Cheerios commercials from 1979 to 1992.
Later career
Stang remained in demand for movies, television shows, TV commercials, and the stage. Producer Stanley Kramer cast his epic comedy film ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963) with a host of popular comedy stars and character comedians, and chose Arnold Stang to play alongside Marvin Kaplan as mild-mannered owners of a service station. They run afoul of enraged motorist Jonathan Winters. When Winters goes on a destructive rampage, Stang and Kaplan defend their property. (Stang turns to Kaplan and says earnestly, "We gotta kill him.") This huge-scale comedy is Arnold Stang's most famous movie credit.
He was in many stage productions; on Broadway he appeared in a 1969 revival of '' The Front Page'' with Peggy Cass. Arnold Stang starred in two low-budget feature films during this period, '' Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar'' (1965, featuring Huntz Hall and
Leo Gorcey
Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917– June 2, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, famous for portraying the leader of a group of street-wise city toughs known variously as the Dead End Kids, East Side Kids, the East Side Kids, and as adults ...
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
billed as "Arnold Strong").
Stang returned to the field of animation in 1976 for '' Misterjaw''. In this series parodying the movie '' Jaws'', Stang was the voice of Catfish, the little sidekick of a playful shark, voiced by Arte Johnson. He had a small role as Queasy the Parrot in the 1977 film '' Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure''. He reprised Top Cat in '' Yogi's Treasure Hunt'' and '' Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats''.
Stang appeared in "The Grave Robber," an episode of the popular horror anthology series '' Tales from the Darkside'', playing Tapok, an ancient Egyptian mummy who encounters some unscrupulous archaeologists who lure him into a game of strip poker. He also appeared on an episode of '' The Cosby Show'' with guest star Sammy Davis Jr. (and made a cameo appearance in
Bill Cosby
William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
series '' Courage the Cowardly Dog'' and Turner Program Services' original series '' Captain Planet and the Planeteers''.
In one TV ad he played Luther Burbank, proudly showing off his newly invented " square tomato" to fit neatly in typical square slices of commercial bread, then being informed that the advertising bakery had beat him to it by producing round loaves of bread. He was also the TV spokesman for Rent-a-Wreck, a national car-rental agency with a fleet of used, economical vehicles. He provided the voice of the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee in the 1980s and was also a spokesman for Vicks Vapo-Rub.
In 1994, he guest-starred as the voice of Irwin the Mouse in the '' Garfield and Friends'' episode "Thoroughly Mixed-Up Mouse". In 2004, Stang made his last appearance in an interview with animator Earl Kress about the making of ''Top Cat''. It is featured on the ''Top Cat'' DVD box set.
Personal life
In 1949 Stang married JoAnne Taggart, an author and journalist who wrote regularly for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' in the 1950s and 1960s, profiling prominent individuals in the entertainment industry. They lived in
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...
Needham, Massachusetts
Needham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb of Boston, its population was 32,091 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. It is the home of Olin College.
History
...
. The couple had two children.
Death
Arnold Stang died from complications of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...
, on December 20, 2009, at the age of 91. He was survived by his wife of 60 years, JoAnne Taggart Stang, who died in 2017, aged 91. Although Stang was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1918, he often claimed Chelsea, Massachusetts, as his birthplace and 1925 as his birth year. His ashes were buried in Newton's cemetery.
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
''The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm'' is a 1962 American Biographical film, biographical fantasy film directed by Henry Levin (film director), Henry Levin and George Pal. The latter was the producer and also in charge of the stop motion a ...