Cartoon Characters & the Celebrities they were based upon.

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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
She's not bad, she's just drawn that way...
Jessica Rabbit (from Who Framed Roger Rabbit - 1988) was an amalgam of three major celebrities...
She had the allure & vivaciousness of Rita Hayworth, the hairstyle of Veronica Lake and the attitude & look of Lauren Bacall.


Robert Zemeckis called her "the ultimate male fantasy".
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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.



The Pink Panther was based on Marcel Marceau!

(Sorry, that was just a little joke I made there.)

But, although the Pink Panther cartoon character was silent in most of his appearacnes, I did find this on Wikipedia...

In an early series of Pink Panther animated cartoons, Pink generally remained silent, speaking only in two theatrical shorts, Sink Pink (one line) and Pink Ice (throughout the film). Rich Little provided Pink's voice in these shorts, modeling it on that of David Niven (who had portrayed Clouseau's jewel thief nemesis in the original live-action film). Years later, Little would overdub Niven's voice for Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther, due to Niven's ill health.




You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
The Pink Panther was based on Marcel Marceau!

(Sorry, that was just a little joke I made there.)

But, although the Pink Panther cartoon character was silent in most of his appearacnes, I did find this on Wikipedia...

In an early series of Pink Panther animated cartoons, Pink generally remained silent, speaking only in two theatrical shorts, Sink Pink (one line) and Pink Ice (throughout the film). Rich Little provided Pink's voice in these shorts, modeling it on that of David Niven (who had portrayed Clouseau's jewel thief nemesis in the original live-action film). Years later, Little would overdub Niven's voice for Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther, due to Niven's ill health.


I didn't know that there were any cartoons where the Pink Panther spoke. I'll have to look for those.

Thanks.



Tonight I'm going to mention a famous case of misinformation regarding the topic...

It was long held (and I believed it myself until I read otherwise) that Disney's version of Tinkerbell was based on Marylin Monroe - this was not true.

Her true references (all visual since she never spoke in 1953's Peter Pan) were from much lesser known actresses & models (full story is here...)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker...r_Disney_media




You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Tonight I'm going to mention a famous case of misinformation regarding the topic...

It was long held (and I believed it myself until I read otherwise) that Disney's version of Tinkerbell was based on Marylin Monroe - this was not true.

Her true references (all visual since she never spoke in 1953's Peter Pan) were from much lesser known actresses & models (full story is here...)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker...r_Disney_media


I didn't know who Tinkerbell was based on, but I never heard that it was Marylin Monroe. I always thought that most of the Disney princesses were based on real people who were basically unknowns.



I didn't know who Tinkerbell was based on, but I never heard that it was Marylin Monroe. I always thought that most of the Disney princesses were based on real people who were basically unknowns.
Well, I just learned about another Disney princess that was based on an well known celebrity that I never heard about before. (You start researching this stuff and learn all kinds of new things!) But I'll keep you in suspense until tomorrow.



Princess Ariel - (Disney's) The Little Mermaid (1989)

During film production in the late 1980s, animators used actress Alyssa Milano as the main inspiration for Ariel’s look. During The Little Mermaid release, both Alyssa and Ariel shared the same age of 17, but Milano didn’t know that she was a model for Ariel while the movie was being made.

It was only after the fact that Milano found out when Disney invited her to host The Making of The Little Mermaid and concept art revealed to her that the likeness of Princess Ariel was based on young pictures of the actress.





You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Princess Ariel - (Disney's) The Little Mermaid (1989)

During film production in the late 1980s, animators used actress Alyssa Milano as the main inspiration for Ariel’s look. During The Little Mermaid release, both Alyssa and Ariel shared the same age of 17, but Milano didn’t know that she was a model for Ariel while the movie was being made.

It was only after the fact that Milano found out when Disney invited her to host The Making of The Little Mermaid and concept art revealed to her that the likeness of Princess Ariel was based on young pictures of the actress.



I didn't know that, but I can see the resemblance. That makes sense too because The Little Mermaid was made around the same time that her TV show "Who's the Boss?" was popular.



Disney's Belle from Beauty and the Beast (1991).

Most frequently cited is that Belle was based on Audrey Hepburn.

But Wikipedia adds: Belle's European facial features were inspired by those of British actresses Vivien Leigh and Audrey Hepburn. Several additional Hollywood actresses inspired Belle's appearance, including Natalie Wood, Elizabeth Taylor, and Grace Kelly.




Willoughby



I had to look this guy up as I never knew his name (he was also called Rosebud, Lennie and Sylvester). This hound dog was a foil for Bugs Bunny and appeared in a few Looney Tunes episodes. He had a goofy voice and was known for his phrase, "Which way did he go, George? Which way did he go?"

As a kid I never knew who "George" was supposed to be until around high school when I first saw the 1939 version of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men.

In the movie, Lon Chaney Jr. (of Wolfman fame) played "Lennie" - a large, mentally-challenged farm hand who doesn't know his own strength. Lennie is cared for by his much more worldly friend, George (played by Burgess Meredith).

The hound dog, Willoughby, was based on Lon Chaney Jr.'s specific version of Lennie (who would be played by various actors in other versions, but which would not use the same speech patterns that Chaney developed for the character).

Willoughby first appeared in a cartoon short called "Of Fox And Hounds" (1940) which was a play on "Of Mice And Men."



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Willoughby



I had to look this guy up as I never knew his name (he was also called Rosebud, Lennie and Sylvester). This hound dog was a foil for Bugs Bunny and appeared in a few Looney Tunes episodes. He had a goofy voice and was known for his phrase, "Which way did he go, George? Which way did he go?"

As a kid I never knew who "George" was supposed to be until around high school when I first saw the 1939 version of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men.

In the movie, Lon Chaney Jr. (of Wolfman fame) played "Lennie" - a large, mentally-challenged farm hand who doesn't know his own strength. Lennie is cared for by his much more worldly friend, George (played by Burgess Meredith).

The hound dog, Willoughby, was based on Lon Chaney Jr.'s specific version of Lennie (who would be played by various actors in other versions, but which would not use the same speech patterns that Chaney developed for the character).

Willoughby first appeared in a cartoon short called "Of Fox And Hounds" (1940) which was a play on "Of Mice And Men."

I've seen this hound dog in the Looney Tunes cartoons, but I never knew any of this background information about him. I didn't even know that he had a name. I just thought he was a random character to go up against Bugs Bunny.



Was reminded of this thread when I saw a commercial with "Charlie the Tuna" the other day (yes, he's still on TV serving as mascot for StarKist Tuna).





Charlie wore thick glasses and a cap because he was based on comedian Phil Silvers, whose trademark was his heavily-framed glasses, and he usually wore a cap of some sort to cover his bald head. His voice was an impersonation of Silvers'.

Many people today wouldn't know who Phil Silvers is - but he put "Sgt. Bilko" on the map in a popular TV show of the 1950's, and was one of the most popular Broadway, movie & TV comedians of the late 40's through the 60's.




You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Was reminded of this thread when I saw a commercial with "Charlie the Tuna" the other day (yes, he's still on TV serving as mascot for StarKist Tuna).





Charlie wore thick glasses and a cap because he was based on comedian Phil Silvers, whose trademark was his heavily-framed glasses, and he usually wore a cap of some sort to cover his bald head. His voice was an impersonation of Silvers'.

Many people today wouldn't know who Phil Silvers is - but he put "Sgt. Bilko" on the map in a popular TV show of the 1950's, and was one of the most popular Broadway, movie & TV comedians of the late 40's through the 60's.


For some reason, Charlie the Tuna always reminded me of Charles Nelson Reilly.





For some reason, Charlie the Tuna always reminded me of Charles Nelson Reilly.


As much as I love CNR, he was never quite at the level Phil Silvers was in the 50's - 60's (at least not enough to base a cartoon character on).

Although I have a feeling one of the more modern cartoons may have made characters based on Charles - I'll have to research.

(Do you remember Charles Nelson Reilly hosting a Saturday morning kids' cartoon show? It was called Uncle Crock's Block - with CNR as "Uncle Crock" - he'd show a bunch of new cartoons created for the show while doing little skits in between them)



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
As much as I love CNR, he was never quite at the level Phil Silvers was in the 50's - 60's (at least not enough to base a cartoon character on).

Although I have a feeling one of the more modern cartoons may have made characters based on Charles - I'll have to research.

(Do you remember Charles Nelson Reilly hosting a Saturday morning kids' cartoon show? It was called Uncle Crock's Block - with CNR as "Uncle Crock" - he'd show a bunch of new cartoons created for the show while doing little skits in between them)

I've never heard of Uncle Crock's Block, but I remember him being in one of the Sid and Marty Krofft shows. I think it was "Lidsville".



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Lidsville = yes, indeed!

And this didn't take too long...
https://www.moviefone.com/news/ralph...dyk-interview/

And,,, info on Uncle Crock's Block
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Croc%27s_Block

I still haven't seen Ralph Breaks the Internet, but now I have a good reason to bump it up on my watchlist.

I skimmed through the Wikipedia page about Uncle Crock's Block and it sounds like a fun show. I wonder if there are any episodes of it online somewhere.