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 Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performer whose schtick was playing the

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

off-key while

mugging Mugging (sometimes called personal robbery or street robbery) is a form of robbery and street crime that occurs in public places, often urban areas at night. It involves a confrontation with a threat of violence. Muggers steal money or person ...

. Colvig was the original performer of the Disney characters

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 ...

and

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

, as well as

Bozo the Clown Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to tel ...

and Bluto in ''

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Disney Legend for his contributions to Walt Disney Films, including ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

'' and ''

Fun and Fancy Free ''Fun and Fancy Free'' is a 1947 American animated musical fantasy anthology film produced by Walt Disney and Ben Sharpsteen and released on September 27, 1947, by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is a compilation of two stories: ''Bongo'', narrate ...

''.

Early life

Colvig was born Vance DeBar Colvig in

Jacksonville, Oregon Jacksonville is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, approximately west of Medford, Oregon, Medford. It was named for Jackson Creek, which flows through the community and was the site of one of the first placer deposit, placer gold cl ...

, the youngest of seven children of William Mason "Judge" Colvig (1845–1936) and his wife, Adelaide ( Birdseye) Colvig (1856–1912). William Colvig was a pioneer, an attorney and a distinguished Oregonian; he was never actually a judge. Pinto attended but did not graduate from Medford High School. Pinto was accepted and attended, sporadically from 1910 to 1913,

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, in Corvallis, where he took art classes and played clarinet in the band. He drew cartoons for the Oregon Agricultural College Barometer newspaper, and the yearbook.

I was born in Jacksonville and named Vance DeBar Colvig. At age 7 (because of too many freckles, and goony antics) I was nicknamed 'Pinto the Village Clown' (which I have used professionally during my circus and other show business activities, besides occasional jobs as a newspaper cartoonist.
— "'Pinto' Colvig Writes About Names, History of Clowning", ''Medford Mail Tribune'', July 12, 1961.

Career

In 1913, Colvig worked the Pantages Theatre Circuit, briefly, before leaving for clarinetist in the Al G. Barnes Circus band for part of a season. In 1914 he was a newspaper cartoonist in Reno, Nevada and then in Carson City, then again clarinetist in the Al G. Barnes Circus band for part of the 1915 season.

I didn't know when I was going to school whether I wanted to be a clown, draw cartoons, write, hobo, or be a musician. So I wrapped it all up and made stew out of it.
— Pinto Colvig

Colvig performed ''chalk talks'' in vaudeville. In 1916, Colvig worked at the Animated Film Corporation in San Francisco where he made ''Creation'', reported to be the world's first feature-length cartoon. Only five 35 mm frames survive, housed at the Southern Oregon Historical Society. Animated Film Corporation in San Francisco, ended with the entry of the U.S. into

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(April 1917). In 1919, Pinto produced "Pinto's Prizma Comedy Review" the first color cartoon, it is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

, and published in the San Francisco Bulletin (May 1919—February 1920), the "Bulletin Boob" column, and photographs. In 1922, Colvig created a newspaper cartoon panel titled "Life on the Radio Wave" for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

''. The feature ran three or four times per week on the newspaper's radio page, was syndicated nationally, and lasted six months. In 1922, Colvig and his family moved to Hollywood, working as an animator, title writer and comedian in silent comedies and on sound cartoons, working first for Mack Sennett. By the late 1920s, Colvig became associated with

Walter Lantz Walter Benjamin Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animat ...

, with whom he attempted to establish a cartoon studio, creating a character called "Bolivar, the Talking Ostrich", which would have appeared in sound shorts. When Lantz became producer of Universal's

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit, Oswald Rabbit, and Ozzie) is an animated series, animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short film ...

cartoons in 1929, Colvig was hired as an animator, also working as a storyman and voice artist, briefly voicing Oswald. In 1930, Colvig signed an eight-year contract with

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

as a writer, also providing sound effects, including the barks for Pluto the Pup. The following year he began voicing

, originally known as Dippy Dawg. Other notable characters he voiced include Practical Pig, the pig that built the "house of bricks" in the Disney short " Three Little Pigs", and both Grumpy and Sleepy in ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. He directed (along with Erdman Penner and Walt Pfeiffer) the 1937

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

short '' Mickey's Amateurs''. Colvig was associated with Disney for most of his career. Between 1937 and 1940, Colvig did not work for the Disney studio, after falling out with Walt Disney. He was offered a job with

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...

, then planning to produce a competing feature-length animated film in the wake of Disney's success with ''

,'' moving to Miami in early 1938. For Fleischer, he worked on 1939's ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'', for which he voiced town crier Gabby, who was spun off into his own short-lived series. He also voiced Bluto for the studio's ''Popeye the Sailor'' cartoons, replacing Gus Wickie, who elected to remain in New York rather than move to Miami. Colvig's departure from Disney meant that the increasingly popular Goofy went voiceless for several years. A select few shorts during the interim period of leave featured a soundalike voice for Goofy provided by Jack Bailey. He began working on radio, providing voices and sound effects, including the sounds of Jack Benny's Maxwell on ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series. The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 and 19 ...

'', later performed by

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 ...

. In 1939, Colvig returned to California, and began to devote himself to acting and doing voices in several cartoons for the Warner Bros. animation studio and for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, where he

voiced Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds (usually consonants). Speech sounds can be described as either voiceless (otherwise known as ''unvoiced'') or voiced. The term, however, is used to refe ...

a Munchkin in the 1939 film ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

''. In 1946, Colvig was cast as

for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. He played the role for a decade, which also included portraying the character on television. During this period, Colvig also recorded the "Filbert the Frog" song, which featured Colvig's virtuoso use of the

glottal stop The glottal stop or glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication, spoken languages, produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract or, more precisely, the glottis. The symbol in the International Phonetic ...

as a musical instrument in itself. In 1967, Colvig's last known performance, as Goofy, was for the Telephone Pavilion at

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

. Colvig's dialogue for this exhibit was recorded six months before his death."The Akron Beacon Journal, October 21, 1967"
Retrieved November 10, 2018.

Personal life

Colvig married Margaret Bourke Slavin (1892–1950) in 1916, and settled with her in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, where four of their five boys were born. Later, their last son was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Colvig was the father of the character and voice actor Vance Colvig, who also later portrayed Bozo the Clown on a live TV program. A lifelong smoker, Colvig was one of the pioneers in advocating warning labels about

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

risk on

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

packages in the United States.

Death

Colvig died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on October 3, 1967, at Motion Picture Country Hospital in

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

, California, at age 75. He was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

. Their graves remained unmarked for years until Colvig's great-granddaughter designed his marker and Arthur Dark, his descendants placed this headstone in 2020.

Filmography

Discography

*''Bozo At The Circus'' (Capitol, 1946)Colvig at Discogs"
Retrieved October 8, 2017. as Bozo the Clown *''Mickey and the Beanstalk'' (Capitol, 1947)Disney's "Fun and Fancy Free" on Records, Part 2"
Retrieved October 8, 2017. as Goofy *''Here Comes...Colonna's Trolley'' (Capitol, 1947) as Voice Characterizations *''Bozo and his Rocket Ship'' (Capitol, 1948) as Bozo the Clown *''Bozo Under The Sea'' (Capitol, 1948) as Bozo the Clown *''Bozo and the Birds'' (Capitol, 1949) as Bozo the Clown *''The Grasshopper And The Ants'' (Capitol, 1949) as The Grasshopper *''Bozo on The Farm'' (Capitol, 1950) as Bozo the Clown *''Bozo Has A Party'' (Capitol, 1952) as Bozo the Clown *''Mickey Mouse's Candy Mine'' (RCA Victor, 1952) as Goofy *''Bozo At The Dog Show'' (Capitol, 1954) as Bozo the Clown *''Bozo's Merry-Go-Round Music'' (Capitol, 1954) as Bozo the ClownI *''Mickey Mouse's Birthday Party'' (Capitol, 1954) as Goofy, Pluto, Grumpy, Practical Pig, Cleo *''Walt Disney's Song Parade from Disneyland'' (Golden, 1956)Disney's Song Parade from Disneyland" on Golden Records"
Retrieved October 8, 2017. as Goofy *''Mickey and the Beanstalk'' (Disneyland, 1963) as Goofy *''Goofy's TV Spectacular'' (Disneyland, 1964)"Walt Disney's Goofy – on the Record"
Retrieved October 8, 2017. as Goofy *''Children's Riddles and Game Songs'' (Disneyland, 1964) as Goofy (speaking voice only)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colvig, Pinto 1892 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American male actors American comic strip cartoonists American comics artists American circus performers American clowns American male radio actors American male voice actors American vaudeville performers Animal impersonators 20th-century American clarinetists Animators from Oregon Animators from California Bozo the Clown Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Deaths from lung cancer in California Disney Legends Fleischer Studios people Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people Oregon State University alumni People from Jacksonville, Oregon Walt Disney Animation Studios people Walter Lantz Productions people