Diminutive actor Dick Beals, the first voice of Gumby and the first voice of Davey on the Davey & Goliath cartoon series, died Tuesday at a Southern California nursing home. He was 85.
According to Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound, Beals "passed away peacefully... at the Vista Gardens Home in Vista, California, where he was a resident. There are no further details available at this time."
Beals may have been best known as the original voice of Speedy in Alka-Seltzer commercials from 1954 to 1964. He also voiced Dan and Yank in the 1965 Roger Ramjet series, and was heard in many Hanna-Barbera shows.
A glandular problem led to his short stature (he was 4'7") and boyish voice. He was known for voicing younger characters, even in his later years. "He was playing 10-year-old boys well into his seventies, and was often called upon to loop (i.e. dub in the voice of) live-action child actors in movies or on TV programs," said cartoon historian Mark Evanier.
"I worked with Dick a few times, the first being on the Richie Rich cartoon show where he voiced Richie's rival, the stuck-up rich kid named Rollo.
"Dick was always highly professional, showing up for recording sessions in a suit and tie, and carrying an attaché case. No one else ever wears a suit and tie to record cartoon voices, and for a while, I didn't quite understand why Dick did. I finally decided it was his way of reminding everyone that he was an adult and not a little boy."
He was born Richard Beals in Detroit on March 16, 1927. While attending Michigan State University, Beals began in radio dramas in 1949.
He was heard on just about all of the popular radio shows originating from Detroit, especially The Lone Ranger (as Dan Reid), Challenge of the Yukon and The Green Hornet. He also guested on Gunsmoke.
The many series in which he was a regular included The Funny Company (1963, as Buzzer Bell, Juniper Snodgrass and Shrinkin' Violet), Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles (1966, as Buzz Conroy), The Lone Ranger (1966, as Tiny Tom), Birdman and the Galaxy Trio (1967, as Birdboy), The Biskitts (1983, as Scat), Saturday Supercade (1983, as Q*Bit) and The Addams Family (1992, as N.J. Normanmeyer).
He guested on individual episodes of The Flintstones (1964), The Secret Squirrel Show (1965), The Jetsons (1985), DuckTales (1987), Dink the Little Dinosaur and Garfield and Friends both (1989), and Duck Dodgers (2004-05).
Beals was also famed as the voice of Ralph Phillips in Warner Bros.' From A to Z-Z-Z-Z (1953), Boyhood Daze (1957) and Adventures of the Road-Runner (1962).
In films, he was the Prince in the English-language dub of The Snow Queen (1957), and reprised his role as Speedy in The Puppetoon Movie (1987).
His work in TV specials included Jack and the Beanstalk (1967), You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967, as the voice director), and the 1983 ABC Weekend Specials "The Secret World of Og" and "All the Money in the World."
He supplied additional voices in the series Casper and the Angels (1979), The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour (1982) and Monchichis (1983).
Beals' autobiography, Think Big, was published in 1992.
"His last few years, he was a much-sought-after guest at Old Time Radio conventions and other such events," Evanier remembered late Tuesday. "He was always surrounded by fans because he sure had a lot of them. I was one, too, and tonight, we're all sad to learn of his passing."
Re: Dick Beals, voice of Gumby and Davey, dead at 85
[In reply to]
I believe Dick Beals suffered from the same health malady as Gary Coleman and Watler Tetley did in which they could never grow taller, never grow facial hair, and having the same "little kid" voice into adulthood.
They all had decent acting careers from it all.
Dick Beals played the voice of snooty wealthy rival Reggie Van Dough, not Rollo, in Hanna-Barbera's "Richie Rich" series.
For his "Flintstones" role, Beals played Winky, one of Santa's elves who assisted Fred Flintstone as a substitute for the real Santa Claus when he catches cold on Christmas Eve. When Fred asked how do they deliver all the presents to the children in one night, Winky replied that "we don't take coffee breaks."
(This post was edited by artytoons on May 30, 2012, 8:17 PM)
Re: Dick Beals, voice of Gumby and Davey, dead at 85
[In reply to]
In about 1965, IIRC, Beals was replaced as the voice of Davey by Norma Macmillan, also known as the voice of Casper the Friendly Ghost.
A native of my home city of Vancouver, Macmillan was the mother of Alison Arngrim, who played nasty Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie! She died -- also in Vancouver -- two and a half years ago.
Re: Dick Beals, voice of Gumby and Davey, dead at 85
[In reply to]
"He was one of the great voice actors of all time," Ron Simon, curator of TV and radio at the Paley Center for Media, told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. "He was one of those anonymous people who pioneered what animation would become today."
Beals weighed less than 70 pounds due to his glandular condition.
"In cartoons, I have also been the voice of all kinds of animals -- parrots, chipmunks, birds, rabbits, you name it," Beals said in 1992.
"So many people experienced his great voice but, unfortunately, did not know his name," Simon said. "His unique voice really helped make animation in the 1950s and 1960s."
Although almost 300 boys tried out for the role of N.J. Normanmeyer in The Addams Family, Beals won it at 65.
"Once directors found there was a college graduate who could do children's voices, they didn't have to call those nutty mothers anymore and ask them to get Junior to do the part," Beals told the Lansing (Michigan) State Journal in 2007. "I could do any voice, boy or girl."
He was the middle child of three brothers. He has no immediate survivors.
