Also the star of Warner Bros.' live-action Joe McDoakes short subjects from 1942 to 1956, George O'Hanlon was born on November 23, 1912 in Brooklyn; he died (at 76, of a stroke) on February 11, 1989 in Los Angeles.
He was the voice of George Jetson in both the 1962 prime-time animated series The Jetsons and its 1985 revival.
O'Hanlon was originally hired to voice Fred Flintstone for The Flintstones. However, one of the sponsors didn't think he was right for the part, and he was replaced by Alan Reed. But he even wrote episodes for The Flintstones.
He was remembered, though, when it was time to cast The Jetsons. He once said: "George Jetson is an average man, he has trouble with his boss, he has problems with his kids, and so on. The only difference is that he lives in the next century."
His first cartoon voice role was in the 1943 Walter Lantz short Take Heed Mr. Tojo. He also voiced the 1956 John Sutherland Productions short Your Safety First.
As well, he was George in the 1958 MGM cartoon The Vanishing Duck, directed by -- surprise! -- Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. It was the last cartoon to star Little Quacker.
A few moments before his death, he completed his role as George Jetson in Jetsons: The Movie (1990). According to voice director Andrea Romano, O'Hanlon had suffered a second stroke and found it difficult to read and hear. In the end, he died in the recording studio doing what he loved. During taping in that last session, Hanlon was practically blind and had very little short-term memory. He had to have each line spoken to him so he could repeat it back. Moments later, Hanlon died.
At the time of making this movie and the 1980s TV episodes, O'Hanlon had to record his lines separately. The film was finished in time to dedicate it to O'Hanlon, along with Jetsons co-star Mel Blanc, who died later the same year.
