Don Messick

Don Messick
Background information
Born	September 7, 1926 Buffalo, New York, US
Died	October 24, 1997 (aged 71) Salinas, California, US
Cause of death	Stroke
Nationality	American
Occupation	Voice actor
Years active	1941–1996
Spouse	Helen M. McHugh (1949-1997; his death)
Children	Laura and Timothy

Donald Earl Messick was an American voice actor, best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in The Flintstones, Astro in The Jetsons, Muttley in Wacky Races and Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines, Boo-Boo Bear and Ranger Smith in The Yogi Bear Show, Sebastian the cat in Josie and the Pussycats, Gears, Ratchet, and Scavenger in The Transformers, Papa Smurf and Azrael in The Smurfs, Hamton J. Pig in Tiny Toon Adventures and Dr. Benton Quest in Jonny Quest.

Messick had been involved in voice acting for half a century, keeping busy until 1996, when one day while on set, he remarked, "I can't do this anymore", and ambled off the set. The following day, his agent released a statement that he had suffered a stroke on set and decided to retire. Although Messick had ended voice acting afterwards, he did make one final TV appearance as a guest in The Maury Povich Show, being interviewed about his 50 years in voice acting. In 1997, a second stroke ended Messick's life.

Filmography

Television

• The Ruff and Reddy Show
• The Huckleberry Hound Show
• The Quick Draw McGraw Show
• The Flintstones - Bamm-Bamm Rubble / Hoppy / Arnold the Newsboy / Additional voices
• The Yogi Bear Show - Boo-Boo Bear / Ranger Smith / Major Minor / Narrator / Additional voices
• Top Cat
• Wacky Races

Films

• Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964) - Boo-Boo Bear, Ranger Smith, Ranger Jones, Mugger, Yogi's conscience, the blonde-haired policemen, TV Reporter, Airport Manager
• The Man Called Flintstone (1966) - Ali and Various Voices
• Yogi's Ark Lark (1972) - Boo Boo, Atom Ant, Touché Turtle, Pixie, So So, Moby Dick
• Scooby Goes Hollywood (1979) - Scooby-Doo, Bulldog
• The Return of the King (1980) - Théoden, Easterling, The Mouth of Sauron
• Yogi's First Christmas (1980) - Boo Boo Bear, Ranger Smith, Herman the Hermit
• Yogi's Great Escape (1987) - Boo Boo Bear, Ranger Smith
• Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987) - Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo
• Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose - Boo Boo Bear, Mumbly and Radio Announcer
• The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound (1988) - Boo Boo Bear, Narrator
• Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988) - Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo
• Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears (1988) - Boo Boo Bear, Ranger Smith
• Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988) - Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo
• Jetsons: The Movie (1990) - Astro
• Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992) - Hamton J. Pig and the Radio Announcer
• Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992) - Droopy
• Yogi the Easter Bear (1994) - Boo Boo Bear, Ranger Smith
• Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights (1994) - Scooby-Doo, Boo Boo Bear

Roles

Bamm-Bamm Rubble (The Flintstones franchise; 1963–1996)

Boo-Boo Bear (Yogi Bear franchise; 1958-1994)

Ranger Smith (Yogi Bear franchise; 1958-1994)

Scooby-Doo (Scooby-Doo franchise; 1969-1996)

Scrappy-Doo (Scooby-Doo franchise; 1980–1988)

Astro (The Jetsons franchise; 1962-1990)

Muttley (Wacky Races franchise; 1968–1991, 2020)

Gallery

Trivia

• Messick is the namesake of Captain Messick from DC Comics' Scooby-Doo! story Who's Who in Scooby-Doo.
• He is given another dedication in DC Comics' Scooby-Doo! Team-Up story Space Case.