David Weberman, (May 24, 1906 — September 16, 1983) known professionally as Danny Webb, was an American voice actor.

Early life

Webb was born on May 24, 1906, in New York City to Herman Weberman, a

Hungarian Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...

furrier, and Lena (née Rubin) Weberman. Herman left Budapest and moved to the United States in 1887 and worked as a salesman.

Career

When Webb arrived in Hollywood, he was using the name Dave Weber. He did celebrity impersonations on the Burns & Allen anniversary show along with doing voice work for a

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...

cartoon called ''Sing Time'', where he impersonated

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Rudy Vallee Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in American frontier, Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers ...

and others. He started working for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in the mid-1930s and his first cartoon was ''

The Coo-Coo Nut Grove ''The CooCoo Nut Grove'' is a 1936 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' short animated film, set in the famed Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. This is a caricature cartoon,Warner Bro. (2005). Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vo ...

''. He also voiced

Egghead In U.S. English slang, egghead is an epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered out-of-touch with ordinary people and lacking in realism, common sense, sexual interests, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. A similar ...

in '' Daffy Duck & Egghead'',

Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes''/''Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd's aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antag ...

in '' Cinderella Meets Fella'' (1938) and in '' Believe It or Else'' (1939). And Webb also did voices for the 1939 ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

'' short ''

A Day at the Zoo ''A Day at the Zoo'' is a 1939 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Tex Avery. The short was produced in 1938 and released on March 11, 1939 and features an early version of Elmer Fudd. Plot This is one of the cartoons that Warne ...

''. Webb, for a brief time, voiced the Disney character

Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fe ...

after

Pinto Colvig Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), known professionally as Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. Co ...

had a falling out with

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 ...

and left the studio. "After four years, Walt apparently forgave Colvig for he returned to Disney to record Goofy's voice for the next twenty-six years. (During his absence Goofy was recorded by a Colvig imitator named Danny Webb)" In 1941, after

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for come ...

signed a contract with

Leon Schlesinger Leonardo Schlesinger ( ; May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949) was an American film producer who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the Golden Age of American animation The gold ...

in which he exclusively did voice work for Warner Bros., Webb became the first person to succeed Blanc as the voice of

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Productions, Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studios, Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures sinc ...

for

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1949 and then from 1950 to 1972, and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures. The studio was originally formed as Universal Carto ...

. He only partially voiced the character in '' Pantry Panic'', which also contained a few spoken lines Blanc had recorded prior to leaving the Lantz studio, before Webb enlisted in the army and was succeeded by

Kent Rogers Kent Byron Rogers (July 31, 1923 – July 9, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in several live-action features and shorts, and a voice actor for Warner Bros. Cartoons and Walter Lantz Productions. Career For Warner Bros. Cartoons, Roger ...

(sources claiming that

Ben Hardaway Joseph Benson Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He was sometim ...

was the first person to succeed Blanc as Woody's voice are incorrect, as Hardaway would not voice the character until ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'' in 1944).https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/guess-who-voice-artists-in-the-woody-woodpecker-cartoons/ Webb enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, worked his way up to staff sergeant, and ended up entertaining troops in North Africa.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

was sufficiently impressed by his technique to deem him as 'Comedy Commando', a tag which stuck around for several years after World War II had ended. Webb later returned to radio, became the voice of

Sad Sack ''Sad Sack'' is an American comic strip and comic book character created by Sgt. George Baker during World War II. Set in the United States Army, ''Sad Sack'' depicted an otherwise unnamed, lowly private experiencing some of the absurdities an ...

, hosted the quiz show "Guess Who", and then had a minor career on local television sometime after 1951.

Death

Webb died on September 16, 1983, according to ''

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 ...

''; he was 77. He died of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

Filmography

Film

Radio

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Danny 1906 births 1983 deaths Looney Tunes American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Jewish American male actors American male voice actors Male actors from New York City United States Army personnel of World War II Walter Lantz Productions people United States Army non-commissioned officers American impressionists (entertainers) Deaths from Parkinson's disease in New York (state)