Posted on 02/27/2007 11:50:58 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Walker Edmiston, an actor who was the voice of many cartoon and puppet characters, including Ernie the Keebler elf in TV commercials, has died. He was 81.
Edmiston died of complications from cancer on Feb. 15 at his home in Woodland Hills, said his daughter, Erin Edmiston.
He worked up until becoming ill in January, she said.
Edmiston was born Feb. 6, 1926, in St. Louis, Mo., and moved to Los Angeles in 1947.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, Edmiston had a children's show on local television. "The Walker Edmiston Show" featured his own puppets, including Kingsley the Lion and Ravenswood the Buzzard.
In the 1960s and 1970s, he voiced many characters on shows created by Sid and Marty Krofft, including Dr. Blinkey and Orson the Vulture on "H.R. Pufnstuf" and Sparky the Firefly on "Bugaloos."
"Walker was one of the most talented voice people in town," Marty Krofft said.
Edmiston also had acting roles in episodes of such TV series as "Gunsmoke," "Mission: Impossible" and "The Dukes of Hazzard," and performed for nearly 20 years on "Adventures in Odyssey," a radio series produced by the nonprofit group Focus on the Family.
He is survived by his daughter.
IIRC the creator of the keebler elves died just last year.
Ernie, R.I.P.
That tree house brings back memories, PBR.
Will he be buried in a hollow tree, or in one of those plastic trays and covered with cellophane?
Oh you never would believe where those Keebler elves go to...
The Keebler Elves
Click the pics for more info about Ernie and the elves and the other characters at TVAcres.com.
The Keebler Elves - Community of elfin creatures living in a hollow tree on a variety of TV spots produced for the United Biscuit Company (No. 2 in the cookies and crackers market). Their chief spokesman is Ernie the Elf, who sported white hair, and a business outfit that included a red hat, white shirt with yellow tie, green jacket, red vest, and yellow pants with red socks. Created in 1968 by the Chicago-based Leo Burnett Co., for the Keebler Company, Ernie and his industrial baker elves espoused the "uncommonly good" products from the Hollow Tree Bakery. Ernie was immortalized in fudge when Keebler created E. L. Fudge, a fudge-coated shortbread cookie in the shape of Ernie the Elf.
Other elves seen include a pudgy Fryer Tuck, who touted the goodness of "Munch 'ems," two teenage elves Zoot and J.J., Zoot's best friend who pushed pizza taste of "Pizzarias," as well as Ma Keebler, Ernie's mother; Elmer Keebler, a baker-in-training; Buckets, who splashes fudge on cookies; Fast Eddie, the cookie and cracker wrapper; Sam, the peanut butter maker; Roger the cookie jeweler, Doc, the doctor and cookie maker; Zack, the fudge shop foreman; Flo the Tree Accountant; Leonardo the artist; and Professor, Edison, Larry, and Art.
Anybody remember when FR was a political forum?
I wonder what characters he played on Adventures in Odyssey?
That is some excellent radio drama for kids. Us old parents like it too?
Anyone remember when you could post almost anything you saw on the web here? Those days are also gone.
I logged on in 2001, it was then and remains decidedly so.
It also embraces many other things associated with being a extended internet community.
FoRtunately, FoR Those who don't tolerate 'cheese' well, they can always try another thread, much of the content here is an acquired taste anyway.
Moose. Cheese. Stuned Beeber.
This is better than the daily poll results for an election 22 months away.
Well, I first "logged in" in 1996.
And it has changed. And it's constantly changing.
Now real "news and activism" posts regularly get shunted off to the "blogger" section for posts like these.
"Anyone remember when you could post almost anything you saw on the web here? Those days are also gone."
Those days never existed.
First JimRob and Bob (last name forgotten) were the only people who posted anything.
After that the members derided anything posted that was not news or activism related. (Which begat the term "vanity.")
Now the mods seem determined to make it a MSM site cum chat room.
Any non-MSM stories are hidden away. And any MSM gets posted in the "news/activism" section without let or hindrance.
Rest in peace.
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