Paul Frees

Popularly known as "The Man of a Thousand Voices," Paul Frees was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. His actual name was Solomon Hirsch Frees, and he was born on June 22, 1920, in Chicago, Illinois, in the U.S. He passed away on November 2, 1986, in Tiburon, California.

Frees began his career by first appearing on vaudeville as an impressionist, under the pet name Buddy Green, in the 1930s. Soon after, in 1942, he started his career on radio. He had frequent appearances on Hollywood radio series as Escape, Suspense, Gunsmoke, Crime Classics, and The Green Lama. His career spanned over more than 40 years, during which he was associated with more than 250 films, cartoons, and TV appearances. Paul Frees attended the Chouinard Art Institute under the G.I. Bill but had to drop out in the middle and begin working. He was married five times and had two children- a son named Fred and a daughter named Sabrina.

Paul Frees was a man of incredible talent. His vast and extensive four-octave voice range made it possible for him to act as the voice behind a variety of characters and voices such as the thundering basso profundo of the invisible Ghost Host in the Haunted Mansion, which was a popular attraction at Disneyland in California, the Walt Disney Walt Disney or Walter Elias Disney was an American >> Read More... World in Florida, and the background voice in several television commercials. His ability to change his voice to a wide variety of characteristics, ranging from deep and threatening to high and dainty, earned him the title of "The Man of a Thousand Voices."

He is known for his works on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons. He is known for the voice of Boris Badenov in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show even to this day. Paul’s hilarious Germanic accent brought immense popularity to Donald Duck’s nutty Uncle, Professor Ludwig Von Drake. His character was introduced on An Adventure in Color and later become a star of Disneyland records and a frequent host of Disney’s Sunday night television institution.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Paul was often invited to loop the dialogue of other actors. He had to correct their foreign accents, lack of English proficiency, or poor line readings by non-professionals.

Frees worked substantially with at least nine of the major animation production companies of the 20th century. These nine companies include two of the most popular companies of the era-Walt Disney Productions and Warner Bros. Cartoons. He left behind an evergreen legacy that is unmatched even to this day.