Carl Banas (born January 23, 1929) is a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

-born retired

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

and actor. He is best known for his voice roles in ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (1964) and '' The Raccoons: Let’s Dance!'' (1985). As a television actor, he appeared in the series ''

Wojeck ''Wojeck'' is a Canadian dramatic television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1966 to 1968. It was arguably the first successful drama series on English Canadian television. Plot Steve Wojeck is a crusading big city coroner who regul ...

'' as police detective Byron James, and provided voices for numerous TV series and features. He was also known as a radio personality on Toronto radio station

CKFM-FM CKFM-FM (''99.9 Virgin Radio'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting on 99.9 MHz in Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned by Bell Media. The station airs a Top 40/CHR format, and is the flagship of Canada's "Virgin Radio" stations. CKFM's ...

, later and more famously known as MIX 99.9, (currently known as

Virgin Radio 999 CKFM-FM (''99.9 Virgin Radio'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting on 99.9 MHz in Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned by Bell Media. The station airs a Top 40/CHR format, and is the flagship of Canada's "Virgin Radio" stations. CKFM's ...

) in the 1970s and 1980s. He mainly hosted weekday evenings, and was known for his deep voice, smooth manner and vignettes about Toronto featured during his show. In 1987 he moved to

CJEZ CHBM-FM is a radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada broadcasting at 97.3 FM. The station currently broadcasts a classic hits format branded as ''Boom 97.3''. CHBM's studios are located at Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue in Toronto's De ...

97.3 "Easy 97" (later known as 97.3 EZ Rock and currently as "Boom 97.3") where he continued hosting weekday evenings until he left the station and retired from radio.

Personal life

Banas performed live readings of Dickens' '' A Christmas Carol'' every year before Christmas, utilizing his voice skills to play multiple characters. One such performance was recorded and published by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

under the title ''Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Other Yuletide Favorites''.Carl Banas Other Works @ IMDb.com
/ref> Banas is the last surviving cast member from '' Spider-Man'', and as of July 24, 2021, he is one of the last two surviving cast members of the 1964 ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' special, along with

Corinne Conley Corinne Alexandra Conley (born May 23, 1929) is an American actress who spent the majority of her career in Canada, notable for having won the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists' Best Actress Award. Conley is known for her voiceover work i ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

References

External links

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Rock Radio Scrapbook.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banas, Carl Living people Male actors from Toronto Canadian radio hosts Canadian male voice actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male film actors 1929 births