"Thurl"y Around Disney

So, now is when the fun begins. I know I have been talking a lot about the Lawrence Welk show and I know you all are thinking, "Come on Rochelle, can you talk about something else!?" Well, it will all tie in and the wait is over! Disney! Bear with me. While watching….you guessed it, the Lawrence Welk show…this is getting somewhere, I promise. He brought a quartet on his show and introduced them as the Mellomen! How fun! I love quartets! As I was enjoying bopping my head around to the singing, I started to slowly realize that one of them looked strangely familiar. I'm not some quartet guru, so it's not as if I knew them really well…hmm…who was he!? Does one of them look familiar to you? Any guesses? As I was oddly eyeballing the TV, I exclaimed "I got it!!" Tell me if you find him!

You guessed it!! Thurl Ravenscroft is from the quartet The Mellomen and he is one of the head busts in Disney's The Haunted Mansion!! No wonder I didn’t recognize him right away…I was used to seeing only his head and not his full body!!

But, this got me interested. Who is this Thurl and how did he get onto one of Disneyland's most popular attractions!? Have you found him yet? Ah, there he is.

  But, to my surprise, he's not just some random guy from a quartet that they decided to use his head. If you have been to Disneyland, I'm sure you are very acquainted with The Enchanted Tiki Room! It's a classic.

Jose: "Awwwahhh…

My siestas are getting 'chorter and 'chorter.

Oh look at all the people!

Welcome to Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room.

Hey Michael mi amigo, pay attention - it's 'cho time."

Michael: "So it is, and what darlin' people I have sittin' under me.

Pierre you rascal you, let's put on the show."

Pierre: "Mon ami, I am always ready, as you say, to put on ze show.

(wolf whistle) Oh, pardon madam, that whistle was for my good friend, Fritz."

Fritz: (Oh yea, you guys know Fritz! That, my friends, is our good ol' Thurl Ravenscroft!)

 "Ach du liebe! I almost fell out of my rubber perch.

Glad to see you all aboard, er, ashow, or hehehe, wherever you are!

Mien goodness, you're all schtaring at us - we better start the show rrrolling."

But, we're just getting started here! One of my favorite Disney attractions as a kid was the Country Bear Jamboree! Everyone applauds the animatronic bears after they would finish singing their song as if they were real talented bears! It just brought a smile to everyone's face! I can't forget the real stars of the show. Remember them? Always making witty comments during the show off to the side? 

Well, here's where Thurl pops up again! He was the voice of Buff the Buffalo! 

He didn't leave his fellow Mellomen to the wayside though. You know that catchy song that goes something like, "Yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me?" The gang is back again in another beloved Disney attraction. 

 It's funny how Thurl just pops up all around Disney, but that's not all he did. Here's a classic for you. "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch". That's right! He's the one that sang that song in the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie! When you listen to the radio during Christmas time and that song pops on, you can tell everyone that is Thurl Ravencroft.

Theyyy'rrreee great!! Oh yea! I almost forgot! He also was the voice of Tony the Tiger!!

Man, this guy's voice is all over the place and most of us had no idea! Well, we can all thank Thurl for lending his voice to so many great characters and for bringing them the life they deserved.