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restaurant owner. His two most famous roles on the series, however, were as The Old Timer and
Wallace Wimple. The Old Timer, introduced in 1937, was a garrulous old gent who dropped in and listened to McGee's rambling stories and jokes. He inexplicably referred to McGee as "Johnny", as in: "That's
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role, was his most enduring character. Wimple was a timid birdwatcher, appropriately nicknamed "Wimp" by McGee, who lived in constant terror of his "big old wife", nicknamed "Sweetie Face", who was often mentioned, but never heard. (The term "wimp" for an unmanly character was in common usage
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and also played Droopy's recurring bulldog nemesis Spike (later known as Butch) after Avery's departure from MGM. Over the years he played many other characters in the studio's cartoon shorts (he used the Wimple/Droopy voice for the titular
307:(July 8, 1913 – July 15, 1971), was an American radio personality and voice actor, whose career stretched from the 1930s until his death. He was a featured comedian playing multiple roles on the
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as an executive, working in community relations and occasionally reprising his radio characters. During this period, around 1958, Thompson appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show
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around 1937. While on the former series, Thompson originated a meek, mush-mouthed character occasionally referred to in publicity as Mr. Wimple.
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redubbed Fred's voice in the episodes
Thompson had already recorded (Thompson can still be heard in some bit roles in the early episodes).
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parents and was of
Scottish ancestry. He began his career in Chicago radio, where his early appearances included as a regular on
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disguises himself as a bearded old man and tries to trick the tortoise into telling him "how he beat that wabbit!").
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voice, originally named
Widdicomb Blotto but soon rechristened Horatio K. Boomer; and Nick Depopulis, the
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919:– Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore / Oldtimer / Professor Owl / Ajax Employment Agency Proprietor (voices)
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Thompson remained sporadically active in animation, and went on to voice King Hubert in Disney's
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Thompson continued to work in radio until the late 1950s, notably in several episodes of
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Around 1943, however, Thompson's thriving career was interrupted when he joined the
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to build a dog character around the voice. This character, eventually named
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593:(1955), where he was heard in no fewer than five dialect parts: Jock the
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Thompson soon achieved his greatest fame after he joined the cast of the
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On
February 21, 1950, Bill Thompson married the daughter of cartoonist
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in 1934 and a stint as a choir member on the musical variety series
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The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of
Cartoon Voice Actors
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full-time in 1946, however, and also became a semi-regular on
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Thompson's final assignment was the voice of Uncle Waldo in
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entries and as
Professor Owl in two music-related shorts,
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on July 15, 1971, just one week after his 58th birthday.
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and (using the
Wallace Wimple voice) Touché Turtle for
623:. In Disney's short subjects, he was heard as Ranger
1047:"Mike Wallace interview with McBride, June 16, 1957"
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career also began to build during the 1950s. At the
671:In 1957, Thompson joined the Los Angeles branch of
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
477:'s radio series as lecturer "Professor" Thompson.
457:Thompson entertaining at a US Navy benefit in 1953
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1000:. University Press of Mississippi. p. 288.
996:Lawson, Tim; Persons, Alisa (December 9, 2004).
510:and for Tom's lookalike cousin George in 1957's
948:On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
560:(reprising his roles in radio adaptations for
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1155:United States Navy personnel of World War II
874:"The Engagement Ring" – Mister Slate (voice)
751:for his work in radio, on February 8, 1960.
372:pretty good, Johnny, but that ain't the way
950:. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
793:– Animal And Bird Impersonator (uncredited)
410:Wallace Wimple, an expansion of Thompson's
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
710:. Also, Thompson was originally cast as
587:His best showcase may well have been in
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1135:Deaths from sepsis in the United States
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415:already, as with the cartoon character
376:heerd it!" This soon became a national
321:theatrical cartoons from 1943 to 1958.
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937:– Uncle Waldo (voice; final film role)
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16:American radio personality (1913–1971)
1029:"Bill Thompson - Hollywood Star Walk"
898:The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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1130:American people of Scottish descent
313:radio series, and was the voice of
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700:TV cartoons. In 1964-65 he voiced
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187:Radio personality, voice actor
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838:– Mr. Smee / Pirates (voices)
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916:The Magical World of Disney
880:Nature's Better Built Homes
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262:Voice of Uncle Waldo in
901:– Touché Turtle (voice)
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176:Culver City, California
811:– Veteran (uncredited)
749:Hollywood Walk of Fame
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356:Fibber McGee and Molly
310:Fibber McGee and Molly
213:(1943–1945, 1949–1958)
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865:– King Hubert (voice)
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435:take-off, in Avery's
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278:Mary Margaret McBride
773:Selected filmography
157:Terre Haute, Indiana
43:improve this article
826:Alice in Wonderland
808:Look Who's Laughing
790:$ 1,000 a Touchdown
781:Custer's Last Stand
625:J. Audubon Woodlore
547:Alice in Wonderland
530:Walt Disney Studios
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417:J. Wellington Wimpy
301:William H. Thompson
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137:Thompson circa 1939
977:. December 4, 2010
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590:Lady and the Tramp
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246:Lady and the Tramp
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633:Humphrey the Bear
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1057:September 7,
1055:. Retrieved
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578:Corey Burton
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471:Fibber McGee
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325:Early career
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170:(1971-07-15)
153:July 8, 1913
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41:Please help
36:verification
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1105:1971 deaths
1100:1913 births
913:1957-1969:
895:1962-1963:
629:Donald Duck
627:in several
597:, Bull the
568:King Hubert
517:Timid Tabby
378:catchphrase
335:Don McNeill
253:King Hubert
1094:Categories
961:References
844:Ben and Me
611:, Joe the
491:voice-over
486:, and his
442:Blitz Wolf
392:Bugs Bunny
221:Capt. Dodo
149:1913-07-08
99:April 2021
69:newspapers
835:Peter Pan
730:Alan Reed
673:Union Oil
609:dachshund
557:Peter Pan
488:animation
425:Tex Avery
423:director
421:animation
390:in which
251:Voice of
238:Peter Pan
231:Voice of
215:Voice of
203:Voice of
195:1934–1971
552:Mr. Smee
540:and the
233:Mr. Smee
981:May 30,
942:Sources
892:(voice)
702:Yen Sid
613:Italian
602:bulldog
599:cockney
566:), and
465:during
463:US Navy
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207:in the
83:scholar
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931:1970:
928:– L.G.
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814:1942:
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787:1939:
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720:, but
638:Melody
606:German
514:entry
499:Droopy
429:Droopy
315:Droopy
273:Spouse
268:(1970)
249:(1955)
241:(1953)
229:(1951)
205:Droopy
178:, U.S.
159:, U.S.
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755:Death
617:Irish
369:Greek
287:(
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90:JSTOR
76:books
1085:IMDb
1059:2014
1002:ISBN
983:2019
952:ISBN
724:and
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641:and
631:and
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542:Dodo
528:For
219:and
165:Died
143:Born
62:news
1083:at
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570:in
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