Scatman Crothers: The Iconic Voice and Actor Who Brought Beloved Characters to Life
Story by Mitchell Smith
Today I’m taking a look at the late great Scatman Crothers. Born in 1910 in Indiana Crothers self taught guitar and drums. He would start out a musician which pushed him to move to California in the 1940s. In 1953 Crothers made his Hollywood depute in Meet Me at the Fair. From there Crothers would grab rolls in films such as the Disney animated movie Arosticats, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and one of my favorite movies Bronco Billy, starring along side Clint Eastwood.
Crothers would appear on many popular tv shows such as Sanford and Son, The Love Boat, and Taxi. Crothers also had many memorable voice acting rolls. Crothers voiced one of my all time favorite characters Hong Kong Phooey, he voiced the original Jazz in Transformers, and voiced many minor characters in the 1972-73 The New Scooby-Doo movies.
Crothers won an award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, for The Shining(1980), and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Crothers passed away from lung cancer in 1986. Scatman Crothers had one of those distinct voices and brought so many live action and animated characters to life. Although he has been gone for 38 years his legacy carries on in the wonderful work he did over his 63 year career. If you check out some of the films and shows he was involved with you will not be disappointed by his performances. Have a great week everyone.
