Stan Freberg



Stan Freberg (b. 1926) is a satirist, voice actor, puppeteer, and advertising man. Freberg began his career as a voice actor for Warner Bros, playing Baby Bear and Pete Puma in Bugs Bunny cartoons. In the early days of television, he puppeteered Cecil the Sea-Sick Sea Serpent and Dishonest John on Bob Clampett's Time for Beany. Freberg hit his stride in the 1950s with a string of successful comedy records spoofing recent music trends and a 1957 radio series The Stan Freberg Show. Freberg has often been cited as an influence on Jim Henson's work, and Sam and Friends frequently used his recordings. Known sketches utilizing Freberg records include "Under My Skin", "C'est Si Bon", and "The Yellow Rose of Texas".

As both Henson and Freberg went into advertising, they occasionally shared clients, most notably Esskay Meats. In a 2006 blog, Freberg's son Donovan recalled meeting Henson at an Emmy Award broadcast, where Freberg was performing his moon man character Orville and Henson puppeteering Kermit. According to Donovan Freberg, Henson "smelled like powedered donuts" As a footnote, assorted websites and television reference books have referred to Stan Freberg's Orville character as "Grover". It is unclear whether the name was actually used in any appearances, however.