Allan Melvin, the character actor who brought voice and life to such well known cartoon characters as Popeye’s number one nemesis, Bluto and Magilla Gorilla in the Hanna-Barbera series of the same name has died of cancer at the age of 84.
Melvin was a fixture on television dating back to the industry’s early “Golden Era,” appearing on the old “The Phil Silvers Show,” “Route 66” “The Andy Griffith Show” and Danny Thomas’ family sitcom “Make Room For Daddy.”
In the 1970’s he was a regular on “All In the Family” and played Sam the Butcher on “The Brady Bunch,” but he will most be remembered for his voice work on such cartoon staples as the aforementioned “Popeye,” as well as Sgt. Snorkle in the 1963 animated series “Beetle Baily,” Quartz on “The Flintstones,” ” H. R. Pufnstuf,” “The Smurfs” and “The Gummie Bears.” He even did voices for “The New Animated Adventures of Flash Gordon” in 1979 and 1981’s “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.”
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