Thursday, January 7, 2010

Voices Carry

Today marks the birth anniversary of Butterfly McQueen, who is probably best known for playing Prissy in Gone With the Wind. That, and her voice: "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies!" and the like. I never realized that she didn't appear in all that many movies, but one of those roles shows up tonight, Duel in the Sun.

McQueen is by far not the only person in Hollywood with a very distinctivly odd voice. I've recommended quite a few such people before. Jean Hagen in Singin' in the Rain comes to mind. There are also the "high talkers", men with high-pitched voices like Sterling Holloway or Andy Devine. And who could forget the wonderfully gravelly voice of Eugene Pallette?

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