The Genius of Paul Frees

[naimka1]

He could have been the voice on MJ's "Thriller"

[naimka1]

Amazing voice. Sopowerful.

[42Cleve]

The ever loving Ben Grimm! The Thing!

[bennybellfan]

You'd think Paul Frees' son would follow in his dad's footsteps, no? Guess what he's doing: motivational recordings like "Building Success Thru Living." BUT HOLD ON!!! That particular piece includes advice such as, "You're in control of what you control. In other words, you'll never be James Bond." And, "You think of others before you think of yourself, and you think of yourself before 3 p.m." Hysterical stuff! Check out and buy Fred Frees' "Building Success" at iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby.com.

[shaftsbury94]

thhhrrriillllleeeerrrr

[charlyW34]

One of the touchstone voices of 20th century pop culture. A vast amount of his work was uncredited, yet unmistakable. An iconic and essential contributor to science fiction film of the 1950's and beyond. The Hal Blaine of voice. A giant!

[lednew2010]

Paul was among the best of the best, which also included Mel Blank, Daws Butler, and June Foray, whom I had the pleasure of meeting while conducting a concert of Hanna-Barbera music with the San Bernardino Symphony back in 1999. A favorite hobby of mine is trying to pick out his uncredited voice overdubbing bad or foreign actors in films from the 1950's through the 70's. His "major" ON screen appearances are in the movies "Suddenly," "War Of The Worlds," and "The Thing From Another World."

[videozfann]

@lednew2010 Remember the second KARR on Knight Rider?

[longtail4711]

God, I love Paul Frees. He was one of the greats. I smile every time I go to Disneyland and hear his voice.

[videozfann]

"I am the KNIGHT AUTOMATED ROVING ROBOT"

"The first in a bold new experiment"

"You can call me KARR"

[jvilo80]

@videozfann I looked forever tofind out who karr's voice was finally found it. This guys voice was cool, is he still alive?

[videozfann]

@jvilo80 No, Mister Frees passed away in 1986 sadly just 2 years after his KARR role. Of course there were 2 episodes of KARR as you probably know. In season 1 of Knight Rider the first episode, KARR was voiced by Peter Cullen (AKA) Optimus Prime from the Transformers 80's cartoon and the recent movies. In KARRs second appearance on season 3, KARR was voiced by Paul Frees. In my opinion both voices fit for KARR. Knight Rider clips on my channel if you are interested.

[GlobalsoftPirka]

"END OF DEH TOURRR...YEAH."

[dennisconnolly1]

Great!

[MultiVideohelp]

He looks like John Zacherly in this photo.

[FagsLoveCountrymusic]

1:38 "end a da tou, yeah"

[ashtonmadhatter]

I wish I had the voice of Paul Frees. I could have the voice of a sophisticated badass 24/7

=\>:{D

[oluham]

He was also the narrator on "The Impossibles". DAMN.

[Malibucompany]

Is he still alive?



[YodaBannon]

@Malibucompany no he died in November 1986

[dramakittymeow]

His first "When hinges creep" bit... gave me goosebumps.....

[TherealRNO]

Boris Badenov, Bluto, 1960's Ben "Thing" Grimm, many characters from the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials, & of course our Ghost Host (Welcome foolish mortals)...Paul Frees is a genius!

[JAGUART]

His default voice is amazing as is, I had no idea his other characterizations were so good.

[chumbersdee]

2:43- I'm pretty sure he's trying to do Peter Lorre's voice

[Veggieman87]

Fantastic voices. Paul Winchell, Paul Frees, and Mel Blanc are probably the greatest of the golden age voiceover actors. Frank Welker's the only one really left from those days. Rob Paulsen comes up pretty near the top of the list for me too.

[Jcolinsol]

@Veggieman87

*cough*stanfreberg*cough*

[Veggieman87]

@Jcolinsol Good point.

[Velocity9s]

Frees was also the voice of the Thing from the mid sixties Fantastic Four cartoon.

[BullToTheShit]

WoW, it's 1970 for me all over again!

[frstbse1]

What a great archive. Thanks for posting!

[Vesperrault]

His voice is perhaps as familiar and comforting to me as my own father's.

[deetjay1]

Wasn't seen very often. In one of my favorite old scifi movies, 1955's "War of The Worlds", he was an intrepid radio reporter, bringing the reality of an invasion from Mars, to a horrified nation; a obvious tribute and reference to Orson Wells and his terrifying radio production on Halloween night, 1938. What an amazing voice! R I P Paul...

[knumpcy]

Sir Vincent Price voice is more sinister...

[CaptainMandie]

Ooh... :) Man, I've always been in love with the Ghost Host's voice. :3

[sonofjabba]

Holy Crap!!! At one point he sounds just like Peter Lorre!!

[hobbesdream]

his talking voice sounds SO MUCH like Orson Welles

[JEEminn3000]

His best voice acting was "santa claus is comin' to town" as the bergermeister!

[radiootoo]

Be sure to check out this voicemeister's imdb page. he did a LOT of acting too!

[spin103]

Paul Frees=An inspiration...

...If we were somehow looking down at youtube comments, he would be humbled.

Three simple words: We. Love. You.

[searcherboy]

He must have listened to Orson Welles a lot as a young man. There's an uncanny resemblance.

[ANDREWEHUNT]

My God, what an amazing voice. Nobody today has a voice that powerful.

[macemcguire]

He was the voice of Bluto in the Popeye cartoons. Played one of the scientists in The Thing From Another World & a presidential assassin inSuddenly.

[roon41]

@macemcguire Billy Costello and then Jackson Beck were Bluto in the popeye cartoons

[macemcguire]

@roon41 Thank you for your correction. I have been under this misconception for years. I can't even remember where i first heard that Frees was Bluto.Frees was still one of the greats.

[digistudio1]

One of the best. Set the bar quite high.

[chaksheba]

He is my hero for voice actors! Love his stuff!!!!

[TruthSurge]

ghosts is a hard word to say because the sts sounds SO stupid. you have to stop the s make a t then do another s. haha But the real vo for the original one in Florida was not breathy like this take. Full voice one is better.

[mermaidamp]

Happy Birthday Paul! We miss U so much! Your voice as the Ghost Host really sounded like a Transylvanian vampire accent.

[sickkat44]

paul frees appeared in many 50's sci-fi movies also. many bit parts as announcers etc. he announces the broadcast of the bombing of the martians in the original "war of the worlds" movie while appearing on screen

[sheepwolf2004]

from 1:28 to 1:57 paul sounded a lot like dregg from the ninja turtles cartoons

[funkyk]

far out!

[DrCHUD666]

I don't know where you came across this....but this is just COOL!!!! Paul Frees was one of THE BEST voice actors of all time. His voice was recognizable with whatever project he did. For this test tape....this is just one of those rare treats a person comes across.

[shnewsman]

Paul Frees really WAS a "voice actor." He was a real superstar. Long before the days of ISDN and home studios, Frees had a home studio. But if a client wanted him from home; they would have to pay for a 15khz broadcast loop from their studio to his home. In those days, it would take about a week to install, IF you knew someone at Pac Bell. He made a huge amount of money and he's as fresh today--nearly 25 years after he died--as he was then.

[thecopykidofthestarz]

when you ad reverb not too much but a little Reverb the laughs get real Spooky

[LesHut]

A scientist both wise and bold, set out to cure the common cold, instead he found this power pill, which he said most certainly will, "turn a man, into a lion. Like an eagle he'll be flyin, solid steel will be like putty, it will work on any-body"!

A very distinctive voice!

[MrUnidyne]

He was also the uncredited voice of the computer in "Colossus - The Forbin Project".

[yonkel]

The Caruso of comic voices

[locaterobert]

Was he the voice on Rock and Bullwinkle?

[mermaidamp]

@locaterobert Yes! My dad asked me for the fact he wasn't sure if it was Paul Frees' voice or someone else's voice.

[paxpaul]

Does anyone know if Frees every recorded Poe's "The Raven?" His voice is PERFECT for it.

Thanks for this great chance to hear the man at work! What a voice, what a talent. Thanks!

[mermaidamp]

@paxpaul No! James Earl Jones did that ONLY for The Simpsons Treehouse Of Horror.

[RangRing68]

Paul was the voice!

[jzerony]

Does anyone have video of Paul Frees while he's DOING some voices? I don't think I'ver ever seen what he looks like - outside of some still pictures.

[noirdamecom]

@jzerony Try to get ahold of "The Thing From Another World" aka "The Thing", he has a small role in that.

[MrPisster]

I think I got used to doing whatever this guys says to do by going to Disney Land.

[Ozzman500]

Ya know, one of the amazing things about this is that despite the fact that this was recorded decades ago, the sound quality is such that most of it still sounds like Mr. Frees recorded it earlier this week.

[flipwiggins]

It's Burgermeister Meisterburger and Grimsley too!!!! My holidays would not be complete without "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". The 2010 season will be the 40th anniversary of it.

[bassyck]

I hear a variation of his great Boris Badenov voice : )

[bassyck]

One of the very best vo gods.

[Vid12]

He voiced KARR in KITT VS KARR on the original Knight Rider TV series

[MrDukemeister]

His voice has a similar timbre to Orson Welles' voice. It's a shame he didn't do live action.

[spin103]

Paul, if you're looking down reading all of the comments here, I just want to let you know that you are an inspiration to us young voice-over artists! Thank you for beings you and doing your thing all of these years!

[castletriglav]

Kid, the video isn't about you. Piss off.

[1badstud]

Paul Frees and Thurl Ravenscroft are the voices of Disneyland to me.

[RKrysen]

My favorite voice has to be around 2:42 my GOD I always love that voice.

[Drivermatic]

The true man of a thousands voices. Great post

[Ruttie2]

Mirroh mirroh round the world! Who is the most grotezcavol i am your friendly ghost guide :D

[starleet2001]

Thank you so much for this! Paul Frees did many voices in the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, too. Awesome voice.

[MegaCartoon96]

@starleet2001 winterbolt 1776 (RSNY) The three kings in LDB, ETC.

[charlestonchewy]

My goodness! He almost sounds like the late Vincent Price to Micheal Jackson's "Thriller".

[getarrestedtoday]

Priceless pipes. I love it!

[brainburrito]

oh my gosh, before I even read the description I knew it was the voice from The Haunted Mansion lol. That voice is so recognizable. He's so talented. =D

[mermaidamp]

@brainburrito Really? My parents had trouble figuring that out. My mom asked, "Was that Paul Frees"? or "Is that Paul Frees"? I said, "Yes, it is Paul Frees". 

[stokerbramwell]

My favorite voice actor of all time.

[Fluffets]

A national treasure! Thank you for posting!

[napamike25]

The Voice of K.A.R.R Knight Rider the Episode KITT VS KARR First KARR from Trust dont rust was peter Cullen :] nice voice

[russofamerica]

Great resonance and control! Amazing how he manipulates the vibrato in his voice so effortlessly - 1:48.

[JPWesterberg]

... sponsored by Autolite and directed by Anton Leader!

[Bremen25]

HE'S AMAZING!

[JubalCalif]

The late great Paul Frees was truly "one of a kind'. Probably the best male voice over artist ever. With June Foray being the best female one. And what a life....I just finished Ben Ohmart's biography of him. Turns out he was QUITE a character & eccentric. Paul Frees rules! Thanks for sharing this amazing soundtrack with us!

[ACcountryFan]

incredible book...I mentioned it here a few months ago. the title of that book is "Welcome Foolish Mortals" and quite the life...those voice credits and other appearances that are chronicled in the back of the book are mind-blowing...he used the Peter Lorre voice for the character, Morocco Mole, on SECRET SQUIRREL.

[genekeats]

once in a century does a voice like his emerge

[chasoschar212]

Paul Frees was truly a genius.

[transformersvoice]

a legend....

[bonnevillessei]

I can hear K.A.R.R. in his voice...at least he had a chance to do one of the K.I.T.T. vs K.A.R.R. shows.

[fromthesidelines]

Paul's career stretched through radio, movies, and TV for almost 50 years. He started out as an impressionist {his "Boris Badenov" voice is his take on character actor Akim Tamiroff; his "Peter Lorre" was heard as early as Spike Jones' 1947 recording of "My Old Flame"} .

[1spin6644]

Wow, heard this voice so many times growing up in FL going to Disney several times a year. The Haunted Mansion brings back so many memories...and now my kids get to enjoy Paul's voice...thanks for uploading!!!

[missusdavis]

Love the "Boris Badenov" and "Peter Lorre" takes.

[mrgordo13]

The happy haunts are received a ....what?

[SirHatchporch]

A faldrick numditch. LOL

[dresden67]

what a great voice he had..the haunted mansion how cool that was..

[maraflore]

even peter lorre, awesome

[ACcountryFan]

there is an awesome book called "Welcome Foolish Mortals" that gives an in-depth look at Paul Frees career...it's one of the only, if not THEE only biography on Paul Frees i've come across.

[LuvvyDuck]

"Welcome, foolish mortals!" That sent chills up my spine, and I love it! His voice was truly golden and one of a kind. Thanks so much for uploading this! ^__^

[f3hdemon]

The Best Of the Best!

[ARoundOfApplause]

Did you know that Paul frees was a tall midget?? TRUE!

[DaveDrumstick]

Don Lafontaine's teacher

[Bullettube]

Don't forget all the stuff he did for Disney, including the voice of Ludwig Von Drake! I remember finding this out when I looked up who did the voice over for the Tomorrow Land trip to the Moon and the trip to Mars films.

[lawrencetbaker]

I agree, this man was a genius with such an unforgetable voice. He's also the auctioneer in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the voice over of Josephine (Tony Curtis' persona) in Some Like It Hot. Additionally, he could do a great Peter Lorre and Orson Wells voice. A true talent!

[AuronTsubaki85]

He also dubbed Toshiro Mifune in the movie Grand Prix

[RonaldVaughan]

This was the voice behind narration for the

1960 "13 Ghosts" trailer...and "Atlantis,The

Lost Continent"...among MANY others!!

But most people,of course,did not know his

NAME...nor that of "Outer Limits" Vic Perrin...

[StanBennet]

@RonaldVaughan Was he Indio in the "Few Dollars more?"

[StanBennet]

@StanBennet I mean the American voice of Indo?

[RonaldVaughan]

@StanBennet Don't know about that. Didn't see that movie.

[gqblues]

The man truly was a genius. Pop 'N' Fresh (The Pillsbury Doughboy), Boris Badenov, Burgermeister Meisterberger, The Ghost Host, the list goes on and on. Thanks for posting these Haunted Mansion outtakes.

[chaksheba]

My hero. The greates voice over actor of all time!

[stinkpotbaby]

Wonderful! Thanks for posting this. He was great at voice acting and a friend to America.