Toon Zone has reported that Lennie Weinrib passed away on Wednesday at his home in Chile. He was 71-years-old. You may not recognize the name, although he wrote for and performed in numerous television series for over 40 years. However, if you were a child of the 1960's, 70's or 80's you would probably recognize him as the voice of numerous Saturday morning cartoon characters that you loved, including H.R. Pufnstuf and Scrappy-Doo.
Lennie began his television career as an actor in various shows such as Peter Gunn, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Burke's Law. His first voice work was for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Jetsons back in 1962. Seven years later he became the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf for the Sid and Marty Krofft show of the same name.
After that his voice career took off. In addition to Pufnstuf and Scrappy-Doo he was the voice of Moonrock on The Pebbles and Bam-Bam Show, Inch High on Inch High, Private Eye, and good guy Hunk and bad guy Lotor on Voltron. He was also an additional voice in cartoons like The New Adventures of Batman (where he voiced Commissioner and most of the villains), Jabberjaw, and The Smurfs.
Writer Mark Evanier has a very nice tribute to Weinrib on his website.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-29-2006 @ 4:53PM
Toby OB said...
'The Dick Van Dyke Show' is probably nothing but a collection of gems and prized moments (okay, there's a clunker or two), but Lennie Weinrib's over-the-top (of Mel Cooley's bald head) performance as comedian Jackie Brewster has to be one of my personal highlights.
It lasts for only five minutes, probably even less, but his harpooning of Mel to show that there were comedy writers out there who could be worse than Buddy Sorrell always leaves me gasping for air from laughing.
Jackie: "This is your thumb. This is your rib. Say it with me! This is your thumb. This is your rib."
Mel: "GET ME BUDDY!!!!!"
He's a dynamo in the role, on an energy par in just that short showcase with Mork or Bilko.
Weinrib came back in the practical joke episode ("Now swing the bag over your head and scream like a chicken!"), perhaps as the same character although the first name was different. (He was still a Brewster however.)
He was another of those great talents in the TV world whose contributions will go largely unnoticed by the general public.
You don't know what you've got til it's gone certainly applies to him.
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6-30-2006 @ 6:41AM
Pufnstuf Me said...
I am pretty sure Pufnstuf gave me terrible nightmares when I was very young. Thanks for bringing it all back.
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