Ubiquitous
2019-09-12 21:58:20 UTC
Fifty years ago today, on Sept. 13, 1969, the Mystery Machine's engine
roared to life, transporting the five-member Scooby gang - Fred,
Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and, of course, that pup named Scooby-Doo - on a
cross-country mystery-solving spree that continues to this day. And
from the very beginning of the Hanna-Barbera franchise's long history,
Frank Welker was in the driver's seat. In 1969, the then-23-year-old
voiceover novice landed the role of Scooby-Doo's ascot-wearing sleuth-
in-chief, Fred Jones. While poor Fred is often dismissed as the
square-jawed straight arrow in a gang full of oddballs, Welker tells
Yahoo Entertainment that his alter ego had one very important function
in the group: "Fred was the only one who had a license, so I drove the
Mystery Machine, right?" he says, chuckling. "As long as nobody took
the van away from me, that gave me four-wheel power."
Nobody's dared to take the van away from Welker in the 50 years since
Scooby-Doo first hit the airwaves in the form of the Saturday morning
cartoon show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? That series ran until 1976,
but the Scooby gang has never left us, returning to the airwaves again
and again in multiple spinoff series, as well as TV and direct-to-video
features. And even as the animation styles and voice casts have
changed, Welker has been the one constant. "To have had one job that
lasts this long is remarkable," remarks the now 73-year-old actor,
whose lengthy list of voiceover credits has grown to include beloved
shows like Transformers, Tiny Toon Adventures and Futurama.
And these days Welker actually has two jobs aboard the Mystery Machine:
Since 2002, Welker has provided the voices of both Fred and Scooby-Doo,
the latter being a role originated by one of Welker's earliest mentors
in the business, Don Messick. It didn't take very many Scooby snacks to
convince Welker to share some behind-the-scenes stories from his five
decades piloting the Mystery Machine.
Welker's dream role was Shaggy Rogers
By Welker's own account, his Scooby-Doo career was a happy accident. In
1969, the Colorado-born performer was making appearances at stand-up
comedy clubs around L.A., and part of his 20-minute set included a
three-minute gag where he simulated the sounds of cats and dogs
fighting. A commercial casting agent heard that routine and instantly
called him in to provide those same growls and hisses for a Friskies
dog food ad. But the job offers didn't stop there. "It just so happened
that his fianc‚ was casting a show at CBS called Scooby-Doo," Welker
remembers. "So I went over to Hanna-Barbera, and Joe Barbera was doing
the session. He told me not to worry about Scooby, but wanted me to
read for Shaggy and Fred." A quick glance at the early character
sketches for both characters left Welker with a clear preference.
"Shaggy looked like a funny character - Fred was just a guy in an
ascot."
Welker wasn't the only actor reading for those two roles: Broadcasting
superstar Casey Kasem was in the same audition and started off reading
Fred's lines, while Welker read Shaggy. "I really liked Shaggy, and
tried to have fun with that, and I know Casey wanted to do Fred because
he wasn't really comfortable doing that kind of goofy Shaggy part. But
then Joe [switched us], and Casey came up with that crazy, wonderful
voice for Shaggy. Joe said that Fred was the all-American hero type and
that I should just do my own voice. I was like, `I never saw myself as
the hero type, but OK!'" If Welker was at all disappointed to have to
play the stalwart hero instead of the comic relief, that quickly faded.
"I'm kind of a comedian goofball, so it was a little bit hard being
restricted, but I was just happy to be a part of the gang. And, of
course, being the leader! Joe would tell me that Fred's the leader of
the gang, and I would say, `I guess you're right.'"
--
Watching Democrats come up with schemes to "catch Trump" is like
watching Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Road Runner.
roared to life, transporting the five-member Scooby gang - Fred,
Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and, of course, that pup named Scooby-Doo - on a
cross-country mystery-solving spree that continues to this day. And
from the very beginning of the Hanna-Barbera franchise's long history,
Frank Welker was in the driver's seat. In 1969, the then-23-year-old
voiceover novice landed the role of Scooby-Doo's ascot-wearing sleuth-
in-chief, Fred Jones. While poor Fred is often dismissed as the
square-jawed straight arrow in a gang full of oddballs, Welker tells
Yahoo Entertainment that his alter ego had one very important function
in the group: "Fred was the only one who had a license, so I drove the
Mystery Machine, right?" he says, chuckling. "As long as nobody took
the van away from me, that gave me four-wheel power."
Nobody's dared to take the van away from Welker in the 50 years since
Scooby-Doo first hit the airwaves in the form of the Saturday morning
cartoon show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? That series ran until 1976,
but the Scooby gang has never left us, returning to the airwaves again
and again in multiple spinoff series, as well as TV and direct-to-video
features. And even as the animation styles and voice casts have
changed, Welker has been the one constant. "To have had one job that
lasts this long is remarkable," remarks the now 73-year-old actor,
whose lengthy list of voiceover credits has grown to include beloved
shows like Transformers, Tiny Toon Adventures and Futurama.
And these days Welker actually has two jobs aboard the Mystery Machine:
Since 2002, Welker has provided the voices of both Fred and Scooby-Doo,
the latter being a role originated by one of Welker's earliest mentors
in the business, Don Messick. It didn't take very many Scooby snacks to
convince Welker to share some behind-the-scenes stories from his five
decades piloting the Mystery Machine.
Welker's dream role was Shaggy Rogers
By Welker's own account, his Scooby-Doo career was a happy accident. In
1969, the Colorado-born performer was making appearances at stand-up
comedy clubs around L.A., and part of his 20-minute set included a
three-minute gag where he simulated the sounds of cats and dogs
fighting. A commercial casting agent heard that routine and instantly
called him in to provide those same growls and hisses for a Friskies
dog food ad. But the job offers didn't stop there. "It just so happened
that his fianc‚ was casting a show at CBS called Scooby-Doo," Welker
remembers. "So I went over to Hanna-Barbera, and Joe Barbera was doing
the session. He told me not to worry about Scooby, but wanted me to
read for Shaggy and Fred." A quick glance at the early character
sketches for both characters left Welker with a clear preference.
"Shaggy looked like a funny character - Fred was just a guy in an
ascot."
Welker wasn't the only actor reading for those two roles: Broadcasting
superstar Casey Kasem was in the same audition and started off reading
Fred's lines, while Welker read Shaggy. "I really liked Shaggy, and
tried to have fun with that, and I know Casey wanted to do Fred because
he wasn't really comfortable doing that kind of goofy Shaggy part. But
then Joe [switched us], and Casey came up with that crazy, wonderful
voice for Shaggy. Joe said that Fred was the all-American hero type and
that I should just do my own voice. I was like, `I never saw myself as
the hero type, but OK!'" If Welker was at all disappointed to have to
play the stalwart hero instead of the comic relief, that quickly faded.
"I'm kind of a comedian goofball, so it was a little bit hard being
restricted, but I was just happy to be a part of the gang. And, of
course, being the leader! Joe would tell me that Fred's the leader of
the gang, and I would say, `I guess you're right.'"
--
Watching Democrats come up with schemes to "catch Trump" is like
watching Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Road Runner.