Jonathan Joseph "Candy" Candido (December 25, 1913 – May 19, 1999) was an American radio performer and voice actor. He was best remembered for his famous line "I'm feeling mighty low". Candido was known for providing many animal vocalizations.

Early and personal life

Born as Jonathan Candido on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

in 1913 in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, Candido, was a bassist and vocalist in Ted Fio Rito's big band, and they can be seen in a Soundie, " Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me". He was a childhood friend of

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he ...

's, becoming part of his band in 1924. In 1933, he married Anita Bivona.

Career

Radio

Candido's distinctive, four-octave speaking voice became familiar to radio listeners and moviegoers. Speaking his lines in his normal tenor, he would suddenly adopt a high, squeaky soprano and just as suddenly plunge into a gruff bass. His weekly repetition of "I'm feelin' miiiighty low" on

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

's radio show made it a national

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

. The running gag became so familiar that he recorded a song of the same title with Durante. The line can be heard in the 1950

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

cartoon '' Homeless Hare'', although it was not spoken there by Candido.

Voices

Candido provided the voice of an angry apple tree in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939), and provided the voice of a skeleton in '' Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion'', and he later teamed with

Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man in the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. Early life Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New Jer ...

during Abbott's attempted comeback in 1960. He was the voice of the bear in the '' Gentle Ben'' TV series, and he worked as a voice actor on animated films, notably for

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

, where he portrayed the voice of the Indian Chief in ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' (1953), one of Maleficent's goons in ''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'' (1959), the Captain of the Guard the crocodile in ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'' (1973), and the deep-voiced prisoner in

the Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride, dark-ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called “Doom Buggies”, and a walk-through s ...

attraction. Other animated films with Candido voices include

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

's adaptation of ''

The Phantom Tollbooth ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' is a children's fantasy adventure novel written by Norton Juster, with illustrations by Jules Feiffer, first published in 1961 in literature, 1961. The story follows a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly recei ...

'' (1970) and the

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (; born October 29, 1938) is a Mandatory Palestine-born American retired animator and filmmaker, known for his fantastical animated films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent anim ...

movies '' Hey Good Lookin''' and '' Heavy Traffic''. His final and personal favorite role was as Fidget the peg-legged bat in ''

The Great Mouse Detective ''The Great Mouse Detective'' (released as ''Basil the Great Mouse Detective'' in some countries and ''The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective'' during its 1992 re-release) is a 1986 American animated mystery adventure film produced by W ...

'' (1986).

Films

His various credited and uncredited roles as an actor, bassist and vocalist in live-action films include '' Sadie McKee'' (1934), ''

Roberta Roberta is a feminine version of the given names Robert and Roberto. It is a Germanic name derived from the stems *hrod meaning "famous", "glorious", "godlike" and *berht meaning "bright", "shining", "light". People with the name *Roberta Achtenbe ...

'' (1935), '' Only Angels Have Wings'' (1939), '' The Wizard of Oz'' as the belligerent apple tree (1939), '' Rhythm Parade'' (1942), '' Campus Rhythm'' (1943), '' Sarge Goes to College'' (1947), '' Smart Politics'' (1948), and ''

The Great Rupert ''The Great Rupert'' is a 1950 comedy family film starring Jimmy Durante, Tom Drake and Terry Moore, produced by George Pal and directed by Irving Pichel. It is based on a story written by Ted Allan that has also been published as a children' ...

'' (1950).

Recording

Candido recorded a few children's 78 RPM records for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

: * CAS-3105 - Side One "I'm

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.

Death

Candido died from natural causes in his sleep at the age of 85 on May 19, 1999, in his home in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

. He was survived by his wife Anita, four children, eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. He was interred in San Fernando Mission Cemetery.

Filmography

* '' Sadie McKee'' (1934) – Candy of 'Coco and Candy' – Bass Player * ''

'' (1935) – Candy – Trick-voiced Wabash Indianian (uncredited) * '' Broadway Gondolier'' (1935) – Candy (uncredited) * '' Mama Steps Out'' (1937) – Bosco (uncredited) * '' Something to Sing About'' (1937) – Candy (bassist in the band) * ''

Cowboy from Brooklyn ''Cowboy from Brooklyn'' is a 1938 American Western musical romantic comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Earl Baldwin. It stars Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien and Priscilla Lane. The film was based on the 1937 Broadway play ''Howd ...

'' (1938) – Spec * ''Charlie Cuckoo'' (1939) – Charlie Cuckoo (voice, uncredited) * '' Only Angels Have Wings'' (1939) – Bass Player (uncredited) * '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) – Angry Apple Tree (voice, uncredited) * ''A Haunting We Will Go'' (1939) – Papa Ghost (voice, uncredited) * ''A Squirt in Time'' (1940) – Cylinder (voice, uncredited) * '' Heart of the Rio Grande'' (1942) – Basso dubbing for Frog and Tadpole (uncredited) * '' Rhythm Parade'' (1942) – Candy * '' Campus Rhythm'' (1943) – Harold * '' Sarge Goes to College'' (1947) – Bass and Vocals, The Jam Session * '' Smart Politics'' (1948) – Alvin, Peabody's Nephew * ''

'' (1950) – Molineri – Florist * '' Riding High'' (1950) – Musician (uncredited) * '' Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion'' (1950) – Skeleton (voice, uncredited) * ''

'' (1953) – Indian Chief (voice) * ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American Musical film, musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel ''A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, W ...

'' (1958) – King Creole Doorman (uncredited) * '' Plunderers of Painted Flats'' (1959) – Bartender * ''

'' (1959) – Maleficent's Goon (voice, uncredited) * '' Babes in Toyland'' (1961) – Trees (voice, uncredited) * ''

'' (1970) – Awful DYNN (voice) * '' Heavy Traffic'' (1973) – The Mafia Messenger (voice) * ''

'' (1973) – Captain of the Guards (voice, uncredited) * ''

Herbie Rides Again ''Herbie Rides Again'' is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by Bill Walsh, based on a story by Gordon Buford. The film is the second installment in the ''Herbie'' film series and the sequel to ''The L ...

'' (1974) – (voice) * '' Hey Good Lookin''' (1982) – Sal (voice) * ''

'' (1986) – Fidget / Bar Patron (voice) * '' Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'' (1987) – (voice)

References

External links

*
Behind The Voice Actors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candido, Candy 1913 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American musicians American jazz musicians American comedy musicians American male radio actors American male voice actors American people of Italian descent Animal impersonators Burials at San Fernando Mission Cemetery Disney people Jazz musicians from New Orleans