America lost a towering genius this week, and I lost a personal idol. Stan Freberg was a legendary voice-over artist, comedian, satirist, puppeteer, impressionist, recording artist, and songwriter. Turning his gifted mind to advertising, Freberg transformed the way everything in our culture is marketed, from prunes to politics. Freberg, to me, stands alongside Mark Twain in shaping the American sense of humor.
Here are but twenty awesome things to know about the late, great Stan Freberg:
1. At an assembly in high school, Freberg performed a skit he had written himself, performing all the characters. He received a standing ovation from his schoolmates.
2. He turned down a scholarship from Stanford to pursue a job in radio. Showing up without an appointment at a Hollywood talent agency, Freberg learned there was an opening at Warner Brothers for a performer who could imitate animal sounds. Taking a bus to the Los Angeles Zoo, Freberg spent the afternoon observing the animals. The following day, he showed up at the Warner Brothers audition and won the job.
3. He was the original voice and puppeteer of Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent on "Time for Beany," Albert Einstein's favorite television program.
4. His career as a voice-over artist for animated films and television spanned 69 years. Over the years Freberg lent his voice to such films as “Lady and the Tramp,” ‘’Alice in Wonderland,” and “Stuart Little,” as well as dozens of "Looney Tunes" cartoon shorts.
5. He was a pioneer in recorded comedy, and a six-time Grammy nominee. One Freberg classic, "St. George and the Dragonet," a spoof of the "Dragnet" TV program, even went to number one on the best-selling singles charts. Most of Freberg's records are just as funny today as they were 50 or 60 years ago, and they are damn funny.
6. His 1961 album, "Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America," has been hailed by Time magazine as one of the "finest comedy albums ever recorded," and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. One critic has dubbed it "the Sgt. Pepper of comedy albums."
7. The Beatles were huge fans. Paul McCartney, when asked in a 1984 Playboy interview about how the Beatles came by their sense of humor, answered, "Listening to Lenny Bruce and Stan Freberg records." George Harrison knew all of Freberg's songs by heart, and John Lennon found inspiration for the track "John and Yoko" on his Wedding Album in Freberg's 1951 comic masterpiece, "John and Marsha."
8. "John and Marsha," for which Freberg provided both the male and female voice, was banned on many radio stations for it's aural simulation of a couple (seemingly) having sex.
9. Others who have cited Freberg as a major influence include George Carlin, the Smothers Brothers, Garry Trudeau, Christopher Guest, Billy Crystal, Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, David Mamet, Weird Al Yankovic, and Penn Jillette.
10. In 1957's "Elderly Man River," Freberg was one of the first to skewer the concept of political correctness, decades before it even had a name.
11. Freberg's 1958 "Green Chri$tma$" was one of pop culture's first lampoons of the commercialization of Christmas.
12. Even though it cost him his 1957 CBS radio program, Freberg refused to accept advertising from tobacco companies.
13. Freberg was the father of the funny television and radio commercial. Many of his most memorable commercials ironically poked fun at the product being advertised. Freberg's classic commericials for Sunsweet pitted prunes ("They're still rather wrinkled, though") boosted Sunsweet's sales by 400% in one year.
14. Freberg had the audacity and good humor to name his production company "Freberg Ltd. (But Not Very)."
15. Each of his contracts included this clause: "The decision as to what's funny and what is not funny shall rest solely with Mr. Freberg."
16. He won 21 Clio Awards, the advertising industry's highest honor.
17. One of his most creative commercials was a 1958 radio spot titled “Omaha," an elaborate, eight-minute musical production that didn't even mention the name of the product - Butternut Coffee - until the very end.
18. He was one of the very few "establishment" media personalities or businessmen to openly criticize the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War.
19. He produced a series of radio spots encouraging support of the McGovern–Hatfield Amendment that called for the end of U.S. military involvement in the war and criticized the Nixon Administration's "winding down" strategy. When one of the spots was chided by opponents of the Amendment as being "in bad taste," Freberg replied, "The war in Southeast Asia is in bad taste."
20. He is a member of the Radio Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Animation Hall of Fame. The Advertising Hall of Fame has so far refused to induct Freberg due to his outspoken criticism of what he called an "inept" industry.
21. Brash genius that he was, Stan Freberg was also a very humble man. In his later years, Freberg was dining in a restaurant with a fellow comedy writer. His companion called for the bill. The waiter informed the pair that the bill had been taken care of and handed Freberg a note. The note, from a fellow diner, spoke of how much Freberg's work had meant to the diner and how honored he felt at the opportunity to offer this small gift in return for a lifetime of enjoyment.
Freberg read the note and wept.
Rest in peace.
6:31 PM PT: It has been pointed out that the voice-over career of Freberg's frequent collaborator, June Foray, has now reached 72 years in length. How fortunate we are to have been blessed with the talents of both of these great entertainers.