David "Danny" Weberman was an American voice actor and impressionist for Walter Lantz Productions, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Screen Gems, Warner Bros. Cartoons, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer cartoon studio and Cartoons Limited.
Early life[]
Webb was born David Weberman in New York City, the third child of Herman and Lena Weberman. His father imigrated to America from Budapest in 1887 and was in the fur business as a cutter and a salesman.
Career[]
When Webb arrived in Hollywood, he was using the name Dave Weber. He did celebrity impersonations on the on the Burns & Allen anniversary show along with doing voice work for a Screen Gems cartoon called The Big Birdcast, where he impersonated Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee, Eddie Cantor, Andy Devine and others.[1]
He started working for Warner Bros. in the mid 1930s and his first cartoon was Egghead Rides Again. He also voiced Egghead in Daffy Duck & Egghead and did voices for the 1939 Merrie Melodies short A Day at the Zoo.
In 1938, Webb has been signed by Milt Gross to do voices in MGM’s The Captain and the Kids series.
Webb, for a brief time, voiced the Disney character Goofy after Pinto Colvig had a falling out with Walt Disney and left the studio to work for Max Fleischer's studio in Miami.[2]
In 1941, after Mel Blanc signed a contract with Leon Schlesinger in which he exclusively did voice work for Warner Bros., Webb became the first person to succeed Blanc as the voice of Woody Woodpecker. He voiced the character for one short until he enlisted in the army and was succeeded by Kent Rogers.
Webb enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, worked his way up to staff sergeant, and ended up entertaining troops in North Africa. Dwight D. Eisenhower was sufficiently impressed by his technique to deem him as "Comedy Commando", a tag which stuck around for several years after World War II had ended. Webb later returned to radio, became the voice of Sad Sack, hosted the quiz show Guess Who, and then had a minor career on local television sometime after 1951.
Death[]
Webb died at age 77. According to his nephew, he died from Parkinson's disease. He remained a bachelor throughout his life as he couldn't find a wife religious enough to please his parents.
Filmography[]
- Egghead Rides Again (1937) - Bar-None Ranch Foreman, Egghead (saying "Today I am a man")
- Porky's Railroad (1937) - Bull
- Speaking of the Weather (1937) - Ted Lewis, Ned Sparks
- I Wanna Be a Sailor (1937) - Peter Parrot (one line)
- Porky's Double Trouble (1937) - Hood, Customer #4, Thugs, Police Chief
- The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos (1937) - 2nd Happiness Boy, Joe Penguin, Al Goatson, Andy Bovine
- Daffy Duck & Egghead (1938) - Egghead
- Cinderella Meets Fella (1938) - Elmer Fudd, Singing Palace Guard, Lone Ranger Announcer
- The Major Lied 'Til Dawn (1938) - Lone Ranger Announcer
- A-Lad-In Bagdad (1938) - Egghead, Vendor, Ali-Baabe Breen, Slap Happy Boy
- Cracked Ice (1938) - Charlie McCarthy Impression Voiceover
- Porky in Wackyland (1938) - Prisoner, Jailbird
- A Feud There Was (1938) - Little Weaver Guy
- You're an Education (1938) - Thief of Bagdad
- Porky in Egypt (1938) - Humpty Bumpty, Vendor, Spooky Voice, Lone Ranger
- Porky the Gob (1938) - Captain Skid's Deep Voice
- Count Me Out (1938) - Egghead, Biff Stew, Charlie McCarthy imitation
- The Lone Stranger and Porky (1939) - Pronto, Villain, Narrator
- It's an Ill Wind (1939) - Mysterious Voice
- A Day at the Zoo (1939) - Second Elk Named Bill, Owl, Parrot, Jail-Bird, Second Panther
- Porky's Movie Mystery (1939) - Police Chief, Hugh Herbert
- Chicken Jitters (1939) - Fox
- Bars and Stripes Forever (1939) - Prison Guard, Other Prisoners
- Thugs with Dirty Mugs (1939) - Ed. G. Robemsome as Killer Diller
- Believe It or Else (1939) - Elmer Fudd, Old Man in Jail, Chippofoski
- Sioux Me (1939) - Tortoise
- Pied Piper Porky (1939) - Mouse, Slapsie Catsie
- Fresh Fish (1939) - Fish Teacher, Old Crab, Whistling Shark
- Porky the Giant Killer (1939) - Baby Giant
- Slap Happy Pappy (1940) - Andy Devine Chicken, Ned Sparks Chicken, Walter Winchell Bird
- Porky's Baseball Broadcast (1940) - Double Header #1
- Malibu Beach Party (1940) - Andy Devine, Ned Sparks
- Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943) - Queenie
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2014/09/danny-webb.html
- ↑ Canemaker, John (2006). Paper Dreams: The Art And Artists Of Disney Storyboards. Disney Edition, page 86. ISBN 978-0786863075. "After four years, Walt apparently forgave Colvig for he returned to Disney to record Goofy's voice for the next twenty-six years. (During his absence Goofy was recorded by a Colvig imitator named Danny Webb)"
External Links[]
Danny Webb at the Internet Movie Database
