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Lennie Weinrib

(Redirected from Len Weinrib)

Leonard Weinrib (April 29, 1935 – June 28, 2006) was an American actor, comedian and writer.[1] He is best known for playing the title role in the children's television show H.R. Pufnstuf, Grimace in McDonaldland commercials, the title role in Inch High, Private Eye, the original voice of Scrappy-Doo on Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Hunk and Prince Lotor on Voltron, and Bigmouth on The Smurfs. He also was the voice for Timer in the "Time for Timer" ABC public service announcements in the early 1970s.

Lennie Weinrib
Born
Leonard Weinrib

(1935-04-29)April 29, 1935
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 28, 2006(2006-06-28) (aged 71)
Santiago, Chile
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • writer
Years active1958–1992
Known forOriginal Voice actor for Scrappy-Doo in the Scooby-Doo Franchise
Children3

Life and career

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A native of the Bronx, Weinrib got his start in show business working with Spike Jones, then later in The Billy Barnes Revue. He made guest appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Burke's Law, The Munsters, Happy Days and Adam-12. He charted nationally (Music Vendor, #132) with the comedy single "Prez Conference" in 1962. He also guest starred in an Emergency! episode called "Firehouse Four" as Fred Gibson, an overweight, accident-prone man. Woody Allen's character in his 1995 film Mighty Aphrodite was named "Lenny Weinrib".

Voice actor

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He was most notable for his voice acting work. Starting with The Flintstones where he provided the dialogue for Jimmy Darrock, Weinrib provided numerous voices for such animated series as Inch High, Private Eye, The New Adventures of Batman, Tarzan and the Super 7, and Hong Kong Phooey. He was the voice for both Roland and Ratfink in that series of cartoon shorts. He also provided the voice of Timer in the 1970s "Time for Timer" series of educational spots shown on the ABC network. In Voltron: Defender of the Universe, he voiced both Hunk and the villain Prince Lotor in the "Lion Voltron series", as well as Captain Newley and Cliff in the "Vehicle Voltron" series. He also voiced a secretary bird and king Leonidas the lion in the animated sequence of the Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Another Disney role Weinrib voiced was an evil sorcerer named Zorlok for an episode of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears. He also voices the school bully Lenny Warthog on the NBC series Kissyfur.

He also lent his voice to Superman in 1970 for a Sesame Street sketch of a lecture about words beginning with "S" which happened to be the character's favorite letter of the alphabet. Weinrib again voiced the Man of Steel, and his alter-ego Clark Kent, for a 1972 episode of The Brady Kids, "Cindy's Super Friend".

Weinrib voiced Davey Jones' Uncle Sedgwick, Hotel Desk Clerk and Shaggy's Great-Uncle Nathaniel on The New Scooby-Doo Movies. He voiced Cap'n Noah Smitty in Yogi's Ark Lark. He also was the original voice of Scrappy-Doo on the Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo TV series before Don Messick took over the role.

He voiced the title role in H.R. Pufnstuf throughout the show's entire run from 1969 through 1971, and also wrote every episode of the series.[2] He also appeared as H.R. Pufnstuf as a guest on The Dating Game in Christmas 1972 and on one episode of the TV show CHiPs in 1977. On The Krofft Supershow, he played the title character in Magic Mongo.

He did the voices for Moonrock and Sergeant Boulder on The Flintstone Comedy Show. in 1977, he voiced the title character on the CB Bears segment "Heyyy. it's the King". In 1986, he was the original voice of Freddy Flintstone on The Flintstone Kids, before Scott Menville replaced him the following season. In 1991, he voiced Max the Mole on the all-star Hanna-Barbera animated series Yo Yogi!.

Live action

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Weinrib appeared on The Dick Van Dyke Show three times, each time playing a similar character, a loud, over-the-top, insult-type comedian. This character was named "Jackie Brewster" ("Buddy Can You Spare a Job", 1961), "Danny Brewster" ("The Sam Pomerantz Scandals", 1963), and "Phil Franklin" ("The Impractical Joke", 1965). He also appeared in Miniature, a Twilight Zone episode in 1963.

He also appeared on single episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ("Winky Blintz" in "The Off-Broadway Affair", 1966) Happy Days ("Duke" in "Ritchie's Cup Runneth Over", 1974), and on two episodes of Adam-12 in 1973 and 1974 as Tony the police garage mechanic. He also guest starred in the 1974 Emergency! episode called "Firehouse Four" as Fred Gibson.

Directing

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Weinrib's directing career consists of three feature films, all in the beach party genre: Beach Ball for Paramount in 1965, and Wild Wild Winter and Out of Sight, both for Universal in 1966. Weinrib also co-wrote the 1963 joke book The Elephant Book.

Retirement and death

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Weinrib retired from acting in the 1990s and moved to Santiago, Chile.[3]

For the Family Guy episode "Petarded", Seth MacFarlane explained on the Season 4 DVD commentary he wanted to use Weinrib to voice Timer for a cutaway gag, but Weinrib was suffering from failing health when "Petarded" was being produced, and as MacFarlane explained, he "didn't remember doing it" after the recorded audio was played back for him later. In the end, Timer was voiced by Seth himself.

Weinrib died in a hospital near his home on June 28, 2006, after suffering a stroke.[4]

Filmography

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Voices

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Live-action Television

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  • The Red Skelton Show (1959) (Season 8 Episode 20: "Humphrey School of Dramatic Arts") as Ronnie
  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960-1962)
    • (Season 5 Episode 31: "I Can Take Care of Myself") (1960) as Amos
    • (Season 6 Episode 12: "The Baby-Blue Expression") (1960) as Harry
    • (Season 7 Episode 25: "The Last Remains") (1962) as Stanley
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1965)
    • (Season 1 Episode 14: "Buddy, Can You Spare a Job?") (1961) as Jackie Brewster
    • (Season 2 Episode 24: "The Sam Pomerantz Scandals") (1963) as Danny Brewster
    • (Season 4 Episode 16: "The Impractical Joke") (1965) as Phil Franklin
  • Don't Call Me Charlie! (1962) (Season 1 Episode 9: "Who Stole My Boots?") as a Shoemaker
  • The Twilight Zone (1963) (Season 4 Episode 8: "Miniature") - Buddy Russell
  • My Favorite Martian (1964) (Season 1 Episode 37: "Uncle Martin's Wisdom Tooth") as Dentist Dr. Herbie Little
  • The Munsters (1964) (Season 1 Episode 11: "The Midnight Ride of Herman Munster") - Freddie
  • The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1966) (Season 3 Episode 10: "The Off-Broadway Affair") as Winky Blintz
  • Laredo (1966) (Season 2 Episode 8: "The Sweet Gang") as Bud Sweet
  • The Red Skelton Show (1967) (Season 16 Episode 32: "The Nag and I") as CBS Hiring Manager
  • Adam-12 (1973-1974)
    • (Season 5 Episode 17: "The Beast") (1973) as Tony, a Police garage mechanic
    • (Season 6 Episode 14: "The Sweet Smell") (1974) as Tony, a Police garage mechanic
  • Emergency! (1974) (Season 4 Episode 11: "Firehouse Four") as Fred Gibson
  • The Waltons (1974) (Season 3 Episode 10: "The Marathon") as Spanky
  • Happy Days (1974) (Season 1 Episode 3: "Richie's Cup Runneth Over") as Duke
  • The Krofft Supershow (1977) (16 episodes) as Magic Mondo in the "Magic Mongo" segment

Films

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Commercials

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Obituary: Lennie Weinrib / Voice of 'H.R. Pufnstuf,' 'Scrappy Doo'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  2. ^ "Obituaries". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. 2006-07-05. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  3. ^ "Voice Actor Lennie "Pufnstuf" Weinrib Dies at 71". Animation World Network.
  4. ^ McLellan, Dennis (2 July 2006). "Lennie Weinrib, 71; Actor Voiced H.R. Pufnstuf". Los Angeles Times.
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