[EmpressJenny]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/0....ap/index.html

He did voices for many Disney movies but also voice for my personal favorite, the Haunted Mansion.

[wdwspider]

Yes, he left a legacy no doubt. Haunted Mansion would not be the same without him.

[pumouse]

Aw, I love that guy!! I hate it when people die!

[Erin]

That's really too bad. He certainly had a neat life!

[mickaholic4077]

He also did the voice of Tony the Tiger.

[chastmastr]

[queensmama]

May your after life be just as good if not better than your life.

[JEANY031]

disney will not be the same without this man. you mean one mr grinch from the how the grinch stole christmas. and also disneyland too. he is so grrrrrrrrrreat from tony the tiger from the commerials. god is now with him. i am so sad!

[Baloo85]

another living legend moves into memories...thanks Thurl for everything...you really were...grrrrrrrrrrreat!

[Amelia's Man]

Thank you Thurl......it won't be the same without you!

[MissDisney]

He was always my favorite Grim, Grinning Ghost! I believe his face is one of the singing ghosts by the crystal ball... does anyone else know?

[Baloo85]

He was the ghost bust with the mustache I think...

[chastmastr]

Yep.

http://www.doombuggies.com/media_video.htm

[DarthTortoise]

I just got this email from Extinct Attractions Club about the DVD they are selling about Thurl and how they are donating all procedes to to Thurl's favorite charity.

Hello Friends,

I wanted to share with you the passing of a great man. Thurl Ravenscroft.
He was 91.
Thurl did so many great voices in his lifetime, (Tony the tiger,
The Grinch, and of course
many voices in Disneyland, including:

The
Haunted Mansion Bust
Fritz in the Tiki Room
The voice of the Train
Conductor
The Tree in the Tiki Room waiting area
Max the Buffalo in
Country Bears

Thurl was so nice when three of us went out to see him last
November at his home in
Fullerton California. He spoke with us and shared
stories for a few hours. He was
a very sweet man. He really made the Haunted Mansion Documentary amazing
for us.

He did not own a DVD player, so when we met him we brought him
one, and I spent
some time hooking it up with my friend Joe and we taught
him how to work the controls.
He was very excited since he wanted to see his
grinch DVD. He was only able to see
the VHS before. So we hooked it up and
taught him to use the remote.... His assistant
later sent me a letter
thanking us and telling us that he really enjoyed the DVDs.

When we
finished the Mansion DVD we sent it to his home and I called a few
weeks
later, and spoke very briefly to Thurl about the video. He said he
loved seeing all
the people he knew again and he thanked us for the
work.

Then a month later, we decided to make a tribute to Thurl
Ravenscroft. And we did
we made a little over an hour of the story of Thurl's
life, from his start in show biz
to him fighting the Nazis in WWII. We spoke
about the grinch, Tony the tiger, and
all of the voice work In Disneyland.
Thurl was the first voice over the loud speaker
at Disneyland's opening day.
We used all of our interview with Thurl to make this
DVD, Rolly Crump is in
the video as well.

We wanted to do something, so we are going to donate
all the sales of the
Tribute to Thurl Ravenscroft DVD and Haunted Mansion
Vol 1 DVD to Thurl's
favorite charity.

The links for these two DVD's
are found at:

Tribute To Thurl Ravenscroft:
http://www.extinct-attractions-club....ct_detail&p=94

Haunted
Mansion #1
http://www.extinct-attractions-club....ct_detail&p=34

If you would like to send cards or letters, Thurl's address is

Thurl Ravenscroft
2527 Br ea Blvd. suite 116
Fullerton Ca 92835



Thank you again Thurl,
for all your amazing and inspiring work....
we all miss you

-Dave



Thurl Ravenscroft of Fullerton, Calif., whose voice was known
worldwide through his work in movies, TV and at Disneyland, died Sunday from
prostate cancer. He was 91.

Tony the Tiger?

That was
Ravenscroft.

Disneyland? Too many voices to mention, but Pirates of the
Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion and the Enchanted Tiki Room were all graced by
Ravenscroft's pliable, unique voice.

Movies? How about "Cinderella,"
"Dumbo" and "Lady and the Tramp"?

"Disneyland wouldn't have been, and
wouldn't be, the same without him," said former park President Jack Lindquist.
"It's all part of the experience. You can't go home with a ride, but you can go
home with a memory, and part of that is the audio - the sound part of it. His
voice was one of the things that made it all come alive."

Thurl Arthur
Ravenscroft was born Feb. 6, 1914, in Norfolk, Neb. He moved to California in
1933 to study interior design at the Otis College of Art and Design. While in
school he was encouraged to go into show business and auditioned at Paramount
studios to be a singer.

By the mid-1930s, he was appearing regularly on
radio, first on a program titled "Goose Creek Parson." In the late 1930s, he
appeared on the "The Kraft Music Hall" with Bing Crosby, singing backup in a
group called the Paul Taylor Choristers. That group eventually became the
Sportsmen Quartette.

After military service during World War II, he
returned to Hollywood, later becoming involved in the Mellomen singing group,
and began a career in radio, movies, television and commercials. The group could
sing anything from rock `n' roll to bebop to barbershop, and it performed with a
list of stars including Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra and Elvis
Presley.

In 1952, Ravenscroft achieved a measure of immortality, thanks
to a TV commercial.

"I'm the only man in the world that has made a
career with one word: Grrrrreeeeat!" Ravenscroft roared in a 1996 interview with
The Orange County Register. "When Kellogg's brought up the idea of the tiger,
they sent me a caricature of Tony to see if I could create something for them.
After messing around for some time I came up with the `Great!' roar, and that's
how it's been since then."

Ravenscroft's involvement with Disneyland
goes back to opening day in 1955, when he was the announcer for many of the
ceremonies and events. His voice has been heard on numerous Disneyland
attractions and rides, including Adventure Through Inner Space (1967-1986). He
was the original narrator on Submarine Voyage.

In 1966, Dr. Seuss and
Chuck Jones teamed up to do "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" for CBS.
Ravenscroft recalled the Grinch fondly, saying, "That was my chance to prove I
could really sing." The success of the Grinch led to other projects with Dr.
Seuss, including "Horton Hears a Who" and "The Cat in the Hat."

His
singing career continued into the 1970s. As a member of the Johnny Mann Singers,
he sang on 28 albums, appeared on television for three seasons and performed for
President Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev at the White House.

One of
Ravenscroft's biggest local claims to fame undeniably was his narration of
Laguna Beach's Pageant of the Masters, a job that began in 1973 and lasted for
two decades. He told the Register upon his retirement that it was his favorite
gig of all time.

"I've learned more about art doing the Pageant than I
ever did in art school," he said.

Pageant scriptwriter Dan Duling
remembered working with Ravenscroft as "a wonderful collaboration.

"He
was a gentleman who was beloved, and is still beloved, at the pageant," Duling
said. "He was considered the grandpa of the pageant. Everyone backstage adored
him."

Ravenscroft possessed, said Duling, "one of the great basso
voices, so distinctive. For me, it was like writing music for an instrument that
has a few tones that are absolutely unmistakable. It was so distinctive that you
had to play to its strengths. He could bring a kind of deep, resonant reverence
to something that deserved proper respect. Also, in his folksy manner, he could
be the grandpa that everybody loved," Duling said.


"(Ravenscroft)
is one of the busts in the Haunted Mansion," Weiss said. "He's uncredited, as so
many cast members at the park are, but it's his face and voice. It's unusual.
You actually SEE him in that attraction, a man whose voice you're heard a
thousand times."

June, Ravenscroft's wife of 53 years, died in 1999 at
age 80. He is survived by two children, Ron and Nancy, and four grandchildren.
Services are pending.

[Erin]

Wow. Thanks for the info and the link, Darthie.