Mel Blanc was absolutely my hero. I tried like crazy to get my kids to look in a video camera when they were the right age and say "I'm only three and a half years old".
Mel Blanc was absolutely the best. Did great work on the Jack Benny Show, too—provided the voice for “characters” ranging from Professor LeBlanc (who invariably committed suicide after giving Jack a violin lesson), to Jack’s Maxwell automobile. A key element of the best cast on the greatest comedy show from radio’s Golden Age.
Another interesting fact: Blanc’s contract with Warner Bros stipulated that he was the only voice artist would receive on-screen credit. So a lot of talented folks like June Foray (Tweety Bird) and Arthur Q. Bryan (Elmer Fudd) got paid for their work, but were never acknowledged at the time the cartoons were released.
BTW, Ms. Foray is still with us. She turns 100 later this year.