William Bletcher
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William Bletcher (1894 - 1979)

William "Billy" Bletcher
Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Brother of
Husband of — married 7 Dec 1915 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United Statesmap
Died at age 84 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 24 Jul 2021
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Biography

Classic Disney Project
William Bletcher was a Classic Disney cast member.
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Notables Project
William Bletcher is Notable.

Billy was born in 1894, in Pennsylvania to Harry and Dora Bletcher.

Billy provided the voices for various animated characters for Walt Disney Pictures including Mickey's nemesis Pete and the the Big Bad Wolf in The Three Little Pigs and its spin-offs. In MGM films, he voiced Spike the Bulldog and on some occasions Tom, in Tom and Jerry. For Warner Bros. he replaced Mel Blanc as the voice of Papa Bear in later renditions of Chuck Jones' The Three Bears. He also portrayed another villainous wolf in Little Red Riding Rabbit. In 1939, he also voiced the Mayor of Munchkinland (physically performed by Charles Becker) in The Wizard of Oz.

Billy also worked in front of the camera including a role as the Police Chief in the Laurel and Hardy film Babes In Toyland (1934). On radio, he played several characters on The Lone Ranger in the 1950s, and also appeared in an episode of the TV series. In 1971, he played one of his final roles, Pappy Yokum in a television adaptation of Lil Abner.

He was married to actress Arline Roberts, with whom he had a daughter named Barbara.

He died 5 Jan 1979, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 84.

Sources

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111161895/william-bletcher

See also:





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Comments: 4

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Thank you for posting this information; I knew Billy and Arline in the 1970s. That picture is not Billy Bletcher, it's Ben Blue. Both of them worked at the Hal Roach Studios in the early '30s. Pictures of Billy can be found here:

https://www.lordheath.com/menu1_475.html

posted by Randy Skretvedt
Thanks Randy,

I have posted the correct photo. for anyone interested, Ben Blue's profile can be found here: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bernstein-725

posted by David Randall
For what it's worth, this is his entry at Find a Grave: "Silent Film and Voice Actor. Born in Pennsylvania to Harry and Dora Bletcher. Known as Billy, he is best remembered as the voice behind many cartoon characters for Disney and Warner Bros. Billy provided the voices of various characters for Walt Disney Pictures Black Pete, Short Ghost and the Big Bad Wolf in Three Little Pigs and its spin-offs. In MGM films, he voiced Spike the Bulldog and on some occasions even Tom, in Tom and Jerry, and in Warner Bros. many characters, most notably the Papa Bear of Chuck Jones The Three Bears after Mel Blanc had performed the role in the initial entry. He portrayed another villainous wolf in Little Red Riding Rabbit. His booming voice was in many of films, while Charles Becker played the Munchkin Mayor in Wizard of Oz in 1939, it was with Billy's voice. He also worked in front of the camera and his roles included the Police Chief in the Laurel and Hardy Babes In Toyland in 1934. He was married to actress Arline Roberts, together they had a daughter named Barbara. In 1950, he played several characters on The Lone Ranger radio program as well as appearing in episode 27 of the TV series. In 1971, Billy played one of his final roles, Pappy Yokum in a television adaptation of Lil Abner. His Hollywood career spanned nearly 60 years. He died at the age of 84." https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111161895/william-bletcher

He is also listed in U.S. Census records starting in 1900.

posted by Kimberly (Palmer) Wright
edited by Kimberly (Palmer) Wright
Thanks Kimberly, I've added the info.

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posted by David Randall
edited by David Randall

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Categories: Classic Disney Cast Members | Voice Actors | Notables