He had his leading roles in two NBC western television series, Cimarron City and Laramie.Ī descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor of New Netherland in the 17th century, Smith was born in Los Angeles, California, to Errol and Margaret Van Orden. My thanks to Keith Scott and John Hayes for IDs on this post.John Smith (born Robert Errol Van Orden, Ma– January 25, 1995) was an American actor whose career primarily focused on westerns. But there’s no point in speculating.įor now, we’ll just have to wait to see what other information comes to light. Smith was a stage name a young actor named Robert Van Orden decided to change his screen name in 1954 to John Smith. Keith has a teeny bit more about him-he spoke to both June Foray and Daws Butler about him-but I’ll leave it for him to tell I don’t want to steal his research. And there’s no explanation why he seemingly vanishes around 1954. He’s not in any of the Radio Annuals, which would have been helpful. Smith who was a newscaster at KYA San Francisco in early 1944 but I have no clue if it's the same guy. Regardless, in checking all kinds of records on-line, I’ve found a John T. A post by Devon Baxter on the Cartoon Research site says he was from Seattle. Keith says there was a small mention in a radio casting guide that he was from Oregon. The biographical part is where we have a dead end. Tex Avery did some animation work for it. I suspect the latter is from the Alexander Film Company, a commercial film maker based in Colorado Springs. Smith, radio-TV actor, has completed dubbing the voice of the Jester and various others in the Alexander Productions color film "The Seven Ravens.” 30, 1951: Radio actor John T Smith narrates the forthcoming movie "You Never Know.” Twiddle” series for Bing Crosby Enterprises. Jan 21, 1951: Jerry Corneaya Productions are making a film on chimps for the “Professor Lightskull and Dr. The Citizen-News mentions other projects, the first of which is intriguing: 25, 1952: “Fantasie Impromptu” episode of The Railroad Hour, NBC. July 21, 1952: “Love Song” episode of The Railroad Hour, NBC.Īug. 7, 1951: “The Curious Fisherman” episode of This is Your FBI, ABC. May 18, 1951: “Kristi” episode of NBC’s Short Story. Bruce also appeared), CBS.Īpril 17, 1951: “Grocery Budget,” episode of Fibber McGee and Molly (with Bill Thompson, Arthur Q. January 21, 1950: “The Bid For Freedom” episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, CBS.Īpril 4, 1951: “The Great Lover” episode of Dr. July 8, 1948: “The Last Chance” episode of Suspense (with Daws Butler, Shep Menken and Paul Frees), CBS. Between the Hollywood Citizen-News and the Radio Goldindex, we have been able to assemble the following appearances I imagine he made far more than these.ĭecember 21, 1947: “Christmas Story,” starring Jeanne Crain, KLAC. Being a supporting player had disadvantages: lack of an on-air credit and lack of a mention in newspaper radio listings/highlight columns. He also doesn’t appear to have been a regular on any show. Smith came from radio but, unfortunately, he never seems to have been interviewed about it, certainly not at the time. They don’t sound like any of the growly, aggressive characters you associate with him. The following year, Smith played a father with a Southern drawl and several other characters in the studio’s “Jolly Frolics” short Little Boy With a Big Horn. UPA didn’t start giving screen credits for actors until early 1952. He is also the crow in The Magic Fluke for whatever reason, UPA didn’t wish to bring back Frank Graham when it was asked by Columbia to revive its characters. Smith is the sailor, with the “What, no gravy?” voice heard later in Chow Hound. One is in an industrial cartoon, The Seagull and the Sailor, a short by the U.S. He would have made a good Buzz Buzzard, but Dal McKennon was cast in the role.ġ949 is a year you can hear his voice on shorts for UPA. The former series isn’t available for viewing much of the latter is but I can’t think of which cartoons he may have appeared in. Keith says he lent his voice to Jerry Fairbanks’ “Speaking of Animals” series for Paramount, and was also employed by Walter Lantz. Keith Scott, who knows more about old cartoon actors than anyone alive, confirms the Hillbilly Hare appearance, which was recorded in June 1949. No Parking Hare (1954, McKimson, construction worker) There Auto Be a Law (1953, McKimson, narrator) Water, Water, Every Hare (1952, Jones, evil scientist) Hillbilly Hare (1950, McKimson, Punkinhead Martin, dance caller)įorward, March Hare (1953, Jones, sergeant) Homeless Hare (1950, Chuck Jones, construction worker) He appeared in a handful of shorts at Warners. Smith did get screen credit on cartoons-but not at Warner Bros. This is a story of failure, failure to answer the question “Who was John T. Both are from the Chuck Jones unit at Warner Bros. The other is the meat-and-gravy-loving dog in Chow Hound.
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