Vance DeBar Colvig Jr. (March 9, 1918 – March 4, 1991) was an American actor and writer. He voiced the Chopper bulldog character on ''

The Yogi Bear Show ''The Yogi Bear Show'' is an American comedy animated television series, and the first entry of the ''Yogi Bear'' franchise, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. A spin-off of '' The Huckleberry Hound Show'', the show centers on the adventu ...

''. In the 1980s, he made guest appearances in various films, television series, and music videos.

Career

Colvig began his career as a page at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. In the 1940s, he became a writer for such radio shows as ''

Breakfast in Hollywood :''for the 1946 film, see Breakfast in Hollywood (film).'' ''Breakfast in Hollywood'' is a morning radio show created and hosted by Tom Breneman broadcast from 1941 to 1948 on three different radio networks: NBC, ABC and Mutual. These unscri ...

'', '' Command Performance'', and '' Bride and Groom''. On January 5, 1959, he became the first to portray

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 ...

on a franchised Bozo program licensed by

Larry Harmon Lawrence Weiss (January 2, 1925 – July 3, 2008), better known by the stage name Larry Harmon and as his alter ego Bozo the Clown, was an American entertainer.Dennis McLellanLarry Harmon, 83; entrepreneur made Bozo the Clown a star ''Los A ...

. In the role that his father

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 ...

first portrayed on

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 ...

in 1946 and

KTTV-TV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV ...

in Los Angeles in 1949, Vance portrayed the whiteface clown Bozo on

KTLA-TV KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the ...

in Los Angeles from 1959 to 1964. His best known cartoon voice is of Chopper the Bulldog,

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 ...

's best friend and protector on ''

''. He worked primarily as a character actor in numerous performances spanning the 1980s; many roles subtly express his clowning talent. He made guest appearances on TV shows including ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

'', ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

'', and ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

''. One of his last film roles is as a bum opposite

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

in the 1989 cult comedy film ''

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...

''. He appeared on a 1990 episode of the TV series ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 4, 1984, and ended on May 31, 1992, after nine seasons consisting of List of Night Court episodes, 193 episodes. The show is set in the night shift of a Manhattan ...

'' playing a bum. He enjoyed playing several characters at

Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a amusement park in Buena Park, California, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. In March 2015, it was ranked as the List of amusement park rankings#North America, twelfth-most-visited theme park in North Ameri ...

amusement park and at trade shows. He appeared in commercials and music videos. His cameo appearances in music videos include

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

's 1985 cover of " Just a Gigolo" as a female cleaner, and

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman B ...

's 1987 "

I'm No Angel ''I'm No Angel'' is a 1933 American pre-Code black comedy film directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Mae West and Cary Grant. West received sole story and screenplay credit. It is one of her early films, and, as such, was not subjected to t ...

" as a gas station attendant. He identifies himself by name on the second

Negativland Negativland is an American experimental music band that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. The core of the band consists of Mark Hosler, David Wills (aka "The Weatherman"), Peter Conheim and Jon Leidecker (aka "Wobbly" ...

album ''Points'' (1981). On the track "A Nice Place to Live", his live remote broadcasts from the Los Angeles and Contra Costa county fairs are sampled.Negativland, "A Nice Place to Live". ''Points'', Seeland Records 1981.

Personal life

Colvig was married to Virginia G. Arslanian until his death in 1991. They had a son, Vance DeBar Colvig III.

Death

Colvig died March 4, 1991, of cancer at his

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills is a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It borders Studio City, Universal City and Burbank on the north, Griffith Park on the north and east, Los Feliz on the southeast, Hollyw ...

home, five days before his 73rd birthday.

Select works

Film and television

*''

The Quick Draw McGraw Show ''The Quick Draw McGraw Show'' is an American animated cartoon television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and their third television series overall after '' The Ruff and Reddy Show'' and ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. Voice actor ...

'' (1959, TV Series) — Narrator / Tombstone Jones (voices) *''

'' (1961, TV Series) — Chopper (voice) *''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'' (1966, TV Series) — Dusty *'' Fred Flintstone and Friends'' (1977-1978, TV Series) *''For the Love of It'' (1980, TV Movie) — Old Hippie *'' American Pop'' (1981) — Hobo #1 *''

'' (1982-1984, TV Series) — Bum / Mr. Pechar *''

Three's a Crowd ''Three's a Crowd'' (also known as ''Three's Company, Too'' in the ''Three's Company'' syndication package) is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off sequel and continuation of '' Three's Company'' that aired on ABC from ...

'' (1985, TV Series) — Wino *'' The Boys Next Door'' (1985) — Old Man *''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearance ...

'' (1985, TV Series) — Vaudevillian #1 *'' My Chauffeur'' (1986) — Doolittle *'' Odd Jobs'' (1986) — Chairman *'' Barfly'' (1986) — Alcoholic Man *''

Yogi's Treasure Hunt ''Yogi's Treasure Hunt'' is an American animated television series, and the fifth entry in the ''Yogi Bear'' franchise, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Featuring Yogi Bear and various other Hanna-Barbera characters, it premiered in synd ...

'' (1986-1987, TV Series) — Chopper (voice) *'' Maid to Order'' (1987) — Man with Newspaper *'' Dudes'' (1987) — Hezekiah *'' Boys Will Be Boys'' (1987, TV Series) *''

Pass the Ammo ''Pass the Ammo'' is a 1987 American comedy film starring Bill Paxton, Annie Potts, Linda Kozlowski and Tim Curry. The film is a spoof of televangelism released right after the real-life scandals related to Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. The mov ...

'' (1988) — Fritz *'' Crime Story'' (1988, TV Series) — Billy Jones *'' Track 29'' (1988) — Me. Ennis *'' Mortuary Academy'' (1988) — Uncle Willard *''

Arizona Heat The Arizona Heat was a women's softball team based in Tucson, Arizona. From the 2004 season, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. The team's home games were played at historic Hi Corbett Field. Six of the players on the 2006 roster ...

'' (1988) — Mr. Gordon *''

Big Top Pee-wee ''Big Top Pee-wee'' is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser. A standalone sequel to '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' (1985), the film stars Paul Reubens reprising his role as Pee-wee Herman, with Susan Tyrrell, Kris Kristofferson ...

'' (1988) — Clownie *'' All's Fair'' (1989) — Old Man *''

Hard Time on Planet Earth ''Hard Time on Planet Earth'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on CBS as a midseason replacement from March 1 to June 21, 1989. Airing for 13 episodes, the series starred Martin Kove; it was created by Jim and John ...

'' (1989, TV Series) — Fan #2 *''

'' (1989) — Bum *''

'' (1990, TV Series) — Bum *''

Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme ''Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme'' (also known as ''Shelley Duvall's Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme'' or ''Shelley Duvall's Rock in Rhymeland'') is a 1990 American musical television film that aired on the Disney Channel. The film stars Shelley Duva ...

'' (1990, TV Movie) — Dungeon Warden *'' The New Adam-12'' (1991, TV Series) — Wino *'' Boris and Natasha: The Movie'' (1992, TV Movie) — One-Eyed Man (final film role, posthumous release)

Radio

*''

'' (1941–1948) — Writer *'' Command Performance'' (1942–1949) — Writer *'' Bride and Groom'' (1945–1950) — Writer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colvig, Vance 1918 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American radio writers Hanna-Barbera people Deaths from cancer in California Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Francisco