Erwin Saul Hamburger (June 17, 1921 – May 19, 2002), known professionally as Earl Hammond, was an American actor who appeared in several films and television series. He was best known for voicing Mumm-Ra and Jaga in ''

ThunderCats ''ThunderCats'' is a media franchise, featuring a fictional group of cat-like humanoid aliens. The characters were created by Tobin Wolf and featured in an animated television series named ''ThunderCats'', running from 1985 to 1989, whic ...

'' and Mon*Star in '' SilverHawks''.

Early life

Earl Hammond was born Erwin Saul Hamburger on June 17, 1921 in New York City, NY — his family moved to Buffalo, NY while he was still a toddler. Earl Hammond began acting in radio at the age of 7, and continued working in that venue throughout his life. In 1938, after graduating from Bennet High School in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, Hammond began acting in Fred and Ethel Dampier's radio skits on WGR, one of the city's major radio stations. He moved on to California, studied acting at

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus of the U ...

, and graduated in 1941 with future stars Donna Reed and

Alexis Smith Margaret Alexis Smith (June 8, 1921 – June 9, 1993) was a Canadian-born American actress, pin-up girl and singer. She appeared in several major Hollywood films in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Aw ...

among his classmates. He was drafted into the U.S. Army for World War II.

Career

After he was discharged, he moved to New York City, where he performed in the late 1940s on radio dramas, in summer theater, and in off-Broadway theater productions. Secrest, Meryl (1994) "Leonard Bernstein: A Life" A.A. Knopf , page 151"Radio Actors Don Strawhats" Billboard Magazine (July 31, 1948) Nielsen Business Media Inc., ISSN 0006-2510, pp. 4 & 17 In the 1940s, he had a regular role as a young lawyer on a radio soap opera. He acted on the ''

CBS Radio Mystery Theater ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' (a.k.a. ''Radio Mystery Theater'' and ''Mystery Theater'', sometimes abbreviated as ''CBSRMT'') is a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS Radio Network affiliates from 1974 to 1982, ...

'', appearing in many episodes episodes, including ''The Red Badge of Courage'' (5/1/77), ''The Man Without a Country'' (5/8/77), ''Three Tales of Hans Anderson'' (5/18/77) and ''They Called Him Slim'' (5/21/77).Gordon, Payton and Grams, Martin, Jr., ''The CBS Mystery Radio Theater'', page 438, McFarland, Inc., 2015
/ref> Hammond started his television career in the early 1950s, his first major role being as a regular called Sergeant Lane on the DuMont police drama ''Inside Detective'' (aka ''

Rocky King Detective ''Rocky King Detective'' (also known as ''Inside Detective'') is an American action/crime drama series that was broadcast live on the DuMont Television Network on Sundays at 9pm ET for most of its run. The series ran for six seasons, from January ...

''). At the same time, he also was the first of three actors to portray the title character in the short-lived ABC TV science-fiction adventure series ''

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily American newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, b ...

'', which ran from April 15, 1950, to January 30, 1951. In the mid-1950s, he had a major role in the daily/noontime CBS television soap opera '' Valiant Lady'' as Hal Soames, the married love interest of the widowed title character. Hammond was perhaps best remembered for providing the voices of Mumm-Ra, Jaga, and other characters on the 1980s animated TV series ''

'', and for being the voice of villain Mon*Star on the 1980s animated TV series '' Silverhawks.'' He also was the voice of the ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

'' villain

Megatron Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a villaino ...

in a series of children's read-along books. In 1994, Hammond was selected from among several hundred actors who auditioned to be the voice of Pope John Paul II on the audiotape version of the Random House book '' Crossing the Threshold of Hope.'' "Crossing the Threshold of Hope"
webpage on th
Books On Tape
website The publisher said the pope personally selected Hammond."Earl Hammond, Noted for Voice Work" (obituary) "The Buffalo News" May 29, 2002 (available online a

webpage

Personal life and death

He married sometime between 1950 and 1980, and had a son and a daughter, both still living at the time of his death by heart failure on May 19, 2002, in New York City.

Filmography

Television

* ''Inside Detective'' ( ''Rocky King, Inside Detective'' TV series .... Sergeant Lane (1950–1953) * ''

'' (1950) TV series .... Buck Rogers * '' The Ad-Libbers'' (1951) TV game show .... Panelist * ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The Live television, live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Our Hearts Were Young and Gay'' (1954) .... Henri * ''

Captain Video and His Video Rangers ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on the DuMont Television Network and was the first series of its genre on American television. The series aired between June 27, 1949, and Apri ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Tobor's Return'' (1954) .... Ranger Colt * '' Valiant Lady'' (1953) TV series .... Hal Soames (1954–1955) * ''

The Clear Horizon ''The Clear Horizon'' is an American soap opera which ran on CBS Daytime from July 11, 1960, to March 10, 1961, and February 26 to June 15, 1962. Manya Starr created the program and was its head writer. Premise ''The Clear Horizon'' (titled ''T ...

'' (1960) TV series .... Captain Sovine *

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed of horse, male or female, with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Moment of Doubt'' (1962) .... Mercer * '' Maverick'' (1 episode) *: ''Marshal Maverick'' (1962).... Billy Coe * ''

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulmans Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5, 1 ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''There's a Broken Light for Every Heart on Broadway'' (1963) .... Nightclub manager * ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Walk Among Tigers'' (1963) .... Conley * ''

The Gallant Men ''The Gallant Men'' is a 1962–1963 ABC Warner Bros. Television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II. Description ''The Gallant Men'' dramatized the experiences of th ...

'' (1 episode) *: ''Operation Secret'' (1963) .... David Storm * ''Directions'' (1 episode) *: ''Prologue to Christmas'' (1964) .... George * '' The Space Giants'' (1967) (alternate language version of Japanese production "Space Avenger" (1966)) TV series .... Voices * ''

Ultraman The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series '' Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fi ...

'' (1972) (alternate language version of Japanese production "Ultraman: A Special Effects Fantasy Series" (1966)) TV series .... Voices * ''

Star Blazers ''Star Blazers'' is an American adaptation of the Japanese anime television series . ''Star Blazers'' was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. It was the first popular English-translated anime that had an overarching plot and storylin ...

(alternate language version of Japanese production "Space Battleship Yamato") (1979–81) TV series .... Voices (25 episodes) * ''

Thunderbirds 2086 ''Thunderbirds 2086'' is the English dubbed version of the Japanese anime series , loosely inspired by the original Gerry Anderson Supermarionation series '' Thunderbirds''. The English dub was produced by ITC Entertainment, the original pr ...

'' (1982) TV series .... Voices * ''

'' (130 episodes, 1985) .... Voices: Mumm-Ra, Jaga, Snarf Oswald, Ro-Ber-Bill, RoBear Berbils, Snowman of Hook Mountain, Hammerhand, Captain Cracker * '' The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus'' (1985) TV special .... Voice of Santa Claus * '' The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'' (4 episodes, 1986) .... Voices: Commander Joseph Walsh, Lazarus Slade, Captain Kidd, Wildfire Cody, King Spartos * '' Silverhawks'' (1986) TV series .... Voice of Mon*star * ''

The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...

'' (1987) TV series .... Cawfield ("The Mini-Monsters" segment),

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

("The Mini-Monsters" segment), Katgut ("Karate Kat" segment"), Sumo Sai ("Karate Kat" segment), Walro (" TigerSharks" segment), Captain Bizzarly ("TigerSharks" segment), Shad ("TigerSharks" segment) * ''Noel'' (1992) TV movie .... Voices * ''The Twelve Days of Christmas'' (1993) TV movie .... Voices

Film

* '' Satan in High Heels'' (1962) .... Rudy * '' Tecnica di un omicidio'' (a.k.a. ''Hired Killer'') (1966) .... Frank * '' Hansu Kurushitan Anderusan no sekai'' (a.k.a. ''The World of Hans Christian Andersen'') (1971) .... Ducks/Theater Manager * '' Sekai Mesaiku Douwa Hakucho no Ouji'' (a.k.a. ''

The Wild Swans "The Wild Swans" () is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who rescues her 11 brothers from a spell cast by an evil queen. The tale was first published on 2 October 1838 in Andersen's '' Fairy Tales Told for C ...

'') (1977) .... Voice * '' Sekai Mesaiku Douwa Mori wa Ikiteru'' (a.k.a. '' Twelve Months'') (1980) .... Capt. Rustov * '' Thundercats, Ho: The Movie'' (1985) (voice) .... Jaga, Mumm-Ra, Snarf, Slithe, Vultureman * '' Gandahar'' (a.k.a. ''Light Years'') (1988) (voice) .... Blaminhoe * '' The Secret of Anastasia'' (1997) ....

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

and Prince Paul/Cheka * '' Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night'' (1998) .... Additional Voices * ''Moses: Egypt's Great Prince'' (1998) .... Voices

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Earl 1921 births 2002 deaths American male voice actors Male actors from Manhattan Los Angeles City College alumni 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male radio actors American male television actors United States Army personnel of World War II