Ed Gilbert (born Edmund Francis Giesbert, June 29, 1931 – May 8, 1999) was an American actor, with extensive credits in both live-action roles and voice work in animation, although he was better known for the latter. He is also credited, under his birth name, with research in

entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

and the discovery of new beetle species. He was known for voicing

Baloo Baloo (from ''bhālū'' "bear") is a main fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's '' The Jungle Book'' from 1894 and '' The Second Jungle Book'' from 1895. Baloo, a sloth bear, is the strict teacher of the cubs of the Seeonee wolf pa ...

in ''

TaleSpin ''TaleSpin'' is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It first aired in 1990 as a preview-run on The Disney Channel before beginning its main run in syndication later that year as part of the pro ...

''.

Early life and education

Gilbert was born in Chicago to Edmund Wilhelm Giesbert (1893-1971) and Frances Amelia Proudfoot (1895-1986). Gilbert graduated from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and fought in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Career

During the 1960s, Gilbert appeared on television series such as ''

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 ...

'', ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers ...

'', '' The Rogues'', and ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

''. In 1966, he guest starred as Robert Cramer on four episodes of ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama television series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member ...

''. He is known for his role as Fenton Hardy on the 1970s television series ''

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' (re-titled ''The Hardy Boys'' for season three) is an American television mystery series based on the '' Hardy Boys'' and ''Nancy Drew'' juvenile novels. The series, which ran from January 30, 1977, to Ja ...

''. Gilbert provided the voices of Superion, Thrust and Blitzwing in the second and third seasons 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 ...

'', Kissyfur's father Gus in ''

Kissyfur ''Kissyfur'' is an American animated children's television series which aired on NBC. Created by Phil Mendez, the series was produced by NBC Productions in cooperation with DIC Animation City. The series was based on a half-hour NBC special cal ...

'', Thirty-Thirty in ''

BraveStarr ''BraveStarr'' is an American Space Western animated television series that aired 65 episodes from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. The show was created a year after Mattel had released a line of action figures. ''BraveStarr'' wa ...

'',

in the Disney animated series ''

'' and

Jungle Cubs ''Jungle Cubs'' is an American animated series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation for ABC in 1996, serving as the prequel to the 1967 film ''The Jungle Book'' as it's set in the youth of the animal characters years before the events o ...

, General Hawk in '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', Puggsy and Daddy Starling in '' Tom and Jerry: The Movie'',

Mr. Smee Mr. Smee is a fictional character who serves as Captain Hook's boatswain in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and 1911 novel ''Peter and Wendy''. History Mr. Smee seems an oddly genial man for a pirate; ...

in ''

Peter Pan and the Pirates ''Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates'' (known in international markets as ''20th Century Fox's Peter'' ''Pan & the Pirates'') is an American animated television series based on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan that aired on Fox Kids from September 8, 1990, to ...

'', Phasir in ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'',

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

in the first season of ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

'', and

Dormammu Dormammu () is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (November 1964). He is the extra and inter-dimensional demonic e ...

in ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

''. He voiced minor characters in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', '' Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'', '' Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero'', and ''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Br ...

''. He also voiced the security guard Daryl in the computer game, '' Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out!''.

Entomology

Gilbert, under his birth name Edmund Giesbert, also pursued the study of

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

and described numerous beetle species and genera, particularly in the family

Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns (whose larvae are often referred to as roundheaded borers), are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by anten ...

Death

Gilbert died on May 8, 1999, of lung cancer in his home in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

, at the age of 67. He was survived by his wife Virgini and his daughter Dorian. His interment was at Eternal Valley Memorial Park and Mortuary in

Newhall, California Newhall is the southernmost and oldest community in the city of Santa Clarita, California. Prior to the 1987 consolidation of Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, and Valencia into the city of Santa Clarita, it was an unincorporated area. It wa ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Ed 1931 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American male actors American entomologists American male television actors American male voice actors Deaths from lung cancer in California Disney people Male actors from Chicago Walt Disney Animation Studios people