Jimmy Weldon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jimmy Weldon (born Ivy Laverne Shinn, September 23, 1923 – July 6, 2023) was an American actor,
ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...
, and television host. He was best known as the voice of the
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
cartoon character
Yakky Doodle Yakky Doodle is a fictional anthropomorphic yellow duckling with green wings, who appears for the first time in prototype form on ''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' in 1958 and on ''The Quick Draw McGraw Show'' in 1960, and in regular design on ''The ...
and the host and ventriloquist in the locally produced television series ''The Webster Webfoot Show''. He also had a
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel titled ''Jimmy's Lecture'', where he documented stories of his time in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Early life

Born Ivy Laverne Shinn on September 23, 1923, in
Dale, Texas Dale is an unincorporated community in Caldwell County, Texas, United States. The settlement had a population of 500 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Austin metropolitan area. History The population was 126 in 2010. Although it is u ...
, he began his career in 1946 as a disc jockey at KWCO, the radio station which began its operations shortly after he returned home following WWII. He was the first announcer hired at this new radio station. While there, he developed a character named Webster Webfoot, a little duck who visited him while he was playing record requests from listeners calling in. Often they just wanted to talk to little Webster. They thought Webster was someone other than Weldon, and so he became an important part of Weldon's disc jockey presentations.


Television acting

In 1948, Weldon (and Webster Webfoot) moved to
Duncan, Oklahoma Duncan is a city in and the county seat of Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. Its population was 22,310 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Centrally located in Stephens County, Duncan became the county seat after Oklahoma achie ...
, where they performed on another 250-watt AM station, KRHD, for two more years. The big 50,000-watt radio station
WFAA WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur, Texas, Decatur-li ...
in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, recruited Webster and Weldon as entertainers, and Webster became a real person on television on April 4, 1950, on ''The Webster Webfoot Show'', produced locally by station
WFAA-TV WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed independent station KFAA-TV (channel ...
. They moved to California on September 5, 1952, joining
KCOP-TV KCOP-TV (channel 13), branded Fox 11 Plus, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet K ...
, Channel 13, in Hollywood and continued their television careers. During an appearance at a middle school in Brentwood,
Jeff Chandler Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Cochise in '' Broken Arrow'' (1950), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting ...
and
Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, come ...
collected the tickets from the children and parents who came to see the show. These two movie stars made Weldon feel very lucky indeed when they commented, "Our children think more of little Webster than they do OUR movie careers." Also,
Ralph Edwards Ralph Livingstone Edwards (June 13, 1913DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 86-87. – November 16, 2005) was an American radio ...
was there, and he later gave Webster and Weldon the positions as co-hosts of a new children's
game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...
titled ''Funny Boners'', a junior version of his famous ''
Truth or Consequences ''Truth or Consequences'' is an American game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–57) and later on television by Edwards (1950–54), Jack Bailey (1954–56), Bob Barker (1956–75), Steve Dunne (1957–58), Bob Hi ...
'' radio and television shows, which aired on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
. In 1956, Weldon and Webster moved to
Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
, which began a career in the
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...
at KFRE-TV, Channel 12. This was interrupted, however, when NBC executives called them to New York to replace
Shari Lewis Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody awards, Peabody-winning American Ventriloquism, ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, a ...
on the ''Hi, Mom'' show on NBC flagship station, WRCA-TV, Channel 4. In 1959, Channel 13 in Hollywood once again became their television home. In 1961, Weldon and Webster were called back to the San Joaquin Valley. They continued performing their show on KJEO-TV, Channel 47, in
Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
, throughout the 1960s. During this time, Weldon and Webster also did TV shows in Salinas and Bakersfield, California, flying their airplane from city to city for those shows.


Voice acting and other work

It was thanks to Webster's voice that Weldon earned the voice-over for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, Yakky Doodle. He also was the voice of Solomon Grundy on Hanna-Barbera's series ''
Challenge of the Superfriends ''Challenge of the Superfriends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 9 to December 23, 1978, on ABC. The complete series (16 episodes) was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is ...
'', and made appearances in acting on shows such as '' Dragnet'', ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...
'', ''
The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...
'', ''
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
'', and ''
Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which originally aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and ...
''. Weldon also played some supporting characters on the popular radio drama ''
Adventures in Odyssey ''Adventures in Odyssey'' (AIO), or simply ''Odyssey'', is an Evangelical Christian radio drama and Radio comedy, comedy series created and produced by Focus on the Family. Aimed at families with children age 12 and younger, the series first air ...
'', and was a member of the Premiere Speakers Bureau.


Death

Weldon died at an assisted living residence in
Paso Robles, California Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for The Pass of Oaks), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River about north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its hot springs, ...
, on July 6, 2023, at the age of 99.


Filmography


References


External links

* *
Interview on Stu's Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weldon, Jimmy 1923 births 2023 deaths American male voice actors American male television actors American television personalities Hanna-Barbera people Ventriloquists Male actors from Texas United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II People from Caldwell County, Texas