Walter Tetley (born Walter Campbell Tetzlaff; June 2, 1915 – September 4, 1975)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 260. was an American actor specializing in

child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

impersonation during

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

's classic era. He had regular roles as Leroy Forrester on ''

The Great Gildersleeve ''The Great Gildersleeve'' was a radio situation comedy broadcast in the United States from August 31, 1941 to 1958. Initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, it was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. The series was buil ...

'' and Julius Abbruzzio on ''

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show ''The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show'', was a comedy radio program which ran on NBC from 1948 to 1954 starring Alice Faye and Phil Harris. Harris had previously become known to radio audiences as the band-leader-turned-cast-member of the same nam ...

'', as well as continuing as a voice-over artist in

animated cartoons Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

, and spoken-word record albums. He is perhaps best known as the voice of Sherman in the

Jay Ward Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. (September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989), also known as Jay Ward, was an American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bu ...

- Bill Scott '' Mr. Peabody'' TV cartoons.

Career

Tetley's foray into voices for theatrical cartoons began in 1936, as the voice of

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan (film producer), Pat Sullivan during the silent film era. An anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic young black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, ...

in three of Van Beuren's ''

Rainbow Parade ''Rainbow Parade'' is a series of 26 animated shorts produced by Van Beuren Studios and distributed to theaters by RKO between 1934 and 1936. This was the only color cartoon series produced by Van Beuren, and the final series of the studio. His ...

'' cartoon shorts: ''The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg'', ''Neptune Nonsense'', and ''Bold King Cole''. The latter short starts with Tetley singing "Nature and Me", showcasing his song styling abilities. In the late 1930s, he was often featured in Fred Allen's ''Town Hall Tonight''. When Allen took his cast to Hollywood to film ''Love Thy Neighbor'' in 1940, Tetley decided to stay on the west coast, working on several radio shows, including ''The Great Gildersleeve'', on which he portrayed Gildy's nephew Leroy until the show's end in 1958. In the late 1940s, he was the voice of Andy Panda in the

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1949 and then from 1950 to 1972, and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures. The studio was originally formed as Universal Carto ...

cartoons distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. In 1946, Tetley supplied the voice of the electric utility mascot Reddy Kilowatt in the short film ''Reddy Made Magic'', produced by Lantz with Reddy Kilowatt creator Ashton B. Collins, Sr.; Tetley also performed the film's theme song. In 1959 he reprised the role in a John Sutherland-produced remake called ''The Mighty Atom''. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Walter would become familiar to a new generation as the voice of Sherman, the nerdy, freckled, bespectacled boy sidekick of time-traveling dog genius Mr. Peabody, in the " Peabody's Improbable History" segments of

's ''Rocky and His Friends'' (also known as '' The Bullwinkle Show''), which made its debut in 1959. Tetley worked 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 ...

in the 1950s, providing an array of juvenile voices for the label's spoken-word and comedy albums, including '' Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America Volume One: The Early Years'' (1961). His ''Gildersleeve'' co-star, Harold Peary, had made three albums for Capitol a decade earlier, telling children's stories Gildersleeve-style. In 1973 Tetley made an appearance on

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...

's radio series '' The Zero Hour''. He could be heard in the "Princess Stakes Murder" episodes beginning the week of November 19. "The Sheriff of Fetterman's Crossing", an episode of Serling's 1965 TV series '' The Loner'', featured guest star Allan Sherman as a character named Walton Peterson Tetley.

Voice and appearance

For his entire adult life, Tetley had the voice and appearance of a preteen boy, which led to him largely taking voice roles for young boys. The exact cause was never confirmedwhile co-star Bill Scott half-jokingly claimed that Tetley had been

castrated Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceutical ...

, it is also possible that he had

Kallmann syndrome Kallmann syndrome (KS) is a hereditary, genetic disorder that prevents a person from starting or fully completing puberty. Kallmann syndrome is a form of a group of conditions termed hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. To distinguish it from other fo ...

. Whatever the cause, his unusual situation would allow him to hold roles for young boys far longer than actual boys of that age could before their voices would lower due to puberty.

Death

In 1971, Tetley was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident and used a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

for the rest of his life. He died at the age of 60 on September 4, 1975, having never fully recovered from his injuries.WalterTetley.com
/ref> His interment was in Chatsworth's Oakwood Memorial Park.

Filmography

Live-action

*''

A Trip to Paris ''A Trip to Paris'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Malcolm St. Clair (filmmaker), Malcolm St. Clair and starring Jed Prouty, Shirley Deane and Spring Byington.Drew p.180 It was part of the Jones Family series of films. The film's sets ...

'' (1938)Page Boy *'' Lord Jeff'' (1938)Tommy Thrums *'' Sons of the Legion'' (1938)Shifty *'' King of Alcatraz'' (1938)Newsboy *'' Prairie Moon'' (1938)Clarence "Nails" Barton *'' Boy Slaves'' (1939)Pee Wee *'' You Can't Cheat an Honest Man'' (1939)Boy with Candy Cane (uncredited) *'' The Spirit of Culver'' (1939)Hank *'' The Family Next Door'' (1939)Boy (uncredited) *'' They Shall Have Music'' (1939)Rocks Mulligan *'' First Love'' (1939)Willie, Country Club Page (uncredited) *''

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

'' (1939)Chimney Sweep *'' Emergency Squad'' (1940)Matt (uncredited) *'' Framed'' (1940)Murphy (uncredited) *'' My Son, My Son!'' (1940)Newsboy (uncredited) *''

Tom Brown's School Days ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is a novel by Thomas Hughes, published in 1 ...

'' (1940)Student (uncredited) *'' Military Academy'' (1940)Cadet Blackburn *'' Under Texas Skies'' (1940)Theodore *'' The Villain Still Pursued Her'' (1940)Telegram Boy (uncredited) *'' A Little Bit of Heaven'' (1940)Boy in Crowd (uncredited) *'' Let's Make Music'' (1941)Eddie *'' Ride, Kelly, Ride'' (1941)Jockey (uncredited) *'' Horror Island'' (1941)Delivery Boy (uncredited) *'' The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941)Stock Boy *'' Out of the Fog'' (1941)Buddy *''

It Started with Eve ''It Started with Eve'' is a 1941 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, and Charles Laughton. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Music Score ( Charle ...

'' (1941)Messenger (uncredited) *'' Sing Your Worries Away'' (1942)Messenger Boy with Telegram (uncredited) *'' Broadway'' (1942)Western Union Messenger (uncredited) *'' The Pride of the Yankees'' (1942)Cake Delivery Boy (uncredited) *''

Invisible Agent ''Invisible Agent'' is a 1942 American Action film, action and spy film directed by Edwin L. Marin with a screenplay written by Curt Siodmak. The invisible agent is played by Jon Hall (actor), Jon Hall, with Peter Lorre and Sir Cedric Hardwick ...

'' (1942)Newsboy (uncredited) *'' A Yank at Eton'' (1942)Newsboy (uncredited) *'' Moonlight in Havana'' (1942)Newsboy (uncredited) *'' Thunder Birds: Soldiers of the Air'' (1942)Messenger Boy *'' Who Done it?'' (1942)Elevator Operator (uncredited) *''

Random Harvest ''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...

'' (1942)Call Boy (uncredited) *'' The Gorilla Man'' (1943)Sammy *'' It Comes Up Love'' (1943)Delivery Boy (uncredited) *''

Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour ''Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Hugh Bennett and written by Edwin Blum and Aleen Leslie. The film stars Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Diana Lynn and Frances Gifford. The ...

'' (1943)Classroom Student (uncredited) *''

Gildersleeve on Broadway ''Gildersleeve on Broadway'' is a 1943 American comedy film starring Harold Peary as his radio character The Great Gildersleeve. It is the third of four Gildersleeve features, others were '' The Great Gildersleeve'' (1942), '' Gildersleeve's B ...

'' (1943)The Bellhop (uncredited) *'' Mystery Broadcast'' (1943)Page Boy (uncredited) *'' The Lodger'' (1944)Call Boy *'' Her Primitive Man'' (1944)Bellhop (uncredited) *'' Pin Up Girl'' (1944)Messenger Boy (uncredited) *'' Follow the Boys'' (1944)Soldier (uncredited) *'' Casanova Brown'' (1944)Florist's Assistant (uncredited) *'' Bowery to Broadway'' (1944)Attendant (uncredited) *'' I'll Remember April'' (1945)Mail Boy (uncredited) *'' It's in the Bag!'' (1945)2nd Elevator Operator (uncredited) *'' Molly and Me'' (1945)Grocery Boy *'' Red Garters'' (1954)Gun-toting Kid (voice, uncredited)

Animation

*''The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg'' (1936)

*''Neptune Nonsense'' (1936)Felix the Cat *''Bold King Cole'' (1936)Felix the Cat *''Adventures of Tom Thumb Jr.'' (1940)Tom Thumb Jr. *''

The Haunted Mouse ''The Haunted Mouse'' is a 1941 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Tex Avery. This film was the first cartoon written by Michael Maltese Michael Maltese (February 6, 1908 – February 22, 1981) was an American screenwriter and stor ...

'' (1941)Mouse *''The Painter and the Pointer'' (1944) Andy Panda (uncredited) *''Crow Crazy'' (1945)Andy Panda (uncredited) *''Apple Andy'' (1946)Andy Panda (uncredited) *''Mousie Comes Home'' (1946)Andy Panda (uncredited) *''The Wacky Weed'' (1946)Andy Panda, Glads (uncredited) *''Banquet Busters'' (1948)Andy Panda, Mouse (uncredited) *''Playful Pelican'' (1948)Andy Panda (uncredited) *''Dog Tax Dodgers'' (1948)Andy Panda (uncredited) *''Scrappy Birthday'' (1948)Andy Panda (uncredited) *''Georgie and the Dragon'' (1951)Georgie (uncredited) *'' The Woody Woodpecker Show'' (1957)Andy Panda *''The Best of Mr. Peabody & Sherman'' (1959)Sherman *'' Rocky and His Friends'' (1959–1961)Sherman, Joey Tell, Girl *'' The Bullwinkle Show'' (1961–1963)Sherman, Joey Tell, Girl *'' The Dudley Do-Right Show'' (1969)Additional voices *''

A Christmas Story ''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'' by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ...

'' (1972)Timmy

References

* *

Notes

External links

*
Tetley Tribute at WFMU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tetley, Walter 1915 births 1975 deaths American male voice actors American male radio actors Male actors from Manhattan 20th-century American male actors Burials at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery Walter Lantz Productions people