Thurl Ravenscroft
Biography
Thurl Ravenscroft was an American actor and bass singer whose voice work spanned from 1939 until his death in 2005. Born in Norfolk, Nebraska, he moved to California in 1933 and studied at the Otis Art Institute. He first sang with The Sportsmen, and later he started his own group, The Mellomen, which performed on Disney films including Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Lady and the Tramp (1955). He sang You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) and No Dogs Allowed in Snoopy Come Home (1972). For over five decades he supplied the uncredited voice for Tony the Tiger, the Kellogg's Frosted Flakes mascot. His voice also appeared in Disneyland attractions such as The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Country Bear Jamboree, and Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. In the 1980s and 1990s he narrated the Pageant of the Masters.
91years old at death
- Born Norfolk
- Died Fullerton
- Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
- Also credited as Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft
Movie Career
- Films
- 19
- Career span
- 58 years1940 to 1998
Genres
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A first
Ravenscroft spent over 50 years as the uncredited voice of Tony the Tiger for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. His deep bass provided the tiger mascot's voice, including the catchphrase "They're g-r-r-r-eat!!!!".
A first
Ravenscroft provided the vocals for "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", a song counted among his best-known works. An accidental omission of his credit caused listeners to misattribute it to Boris Karloff and Tennessee Ernie Ford.
First role
In 1939 Ravenscroft joined tenor Bill Days' singing group The Sportsmen, backing Marie Greene on the Okeh label and singing "Honest John" for Disney's Pinocchio, a number cut from the film.
A change of course
After serving in the armed forces, Ravenscroft found bass singer Gurney Bell had taken his place in The Sportsmen and would not give it up, so Ravenscroft formed his own quartet, The Mellomen.
Beyond film
Ravenscroft provided bass vocals on Rosemary Clooney's recording of "This Ole House", a song that hit number one in the United States and Britain in 1954.
A change of course
Ravenscroft spent five years as a navigator under contract to the U.S. Air Transport Command, flying courier missions over the north and south Atlantic. Winston Churchill and Bob Hope were among the notables carried on his flights.
Thurl Ravenscroft movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas!1966 Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasyas Singer of You're A Mean One Mr. Grinchvoice
IMDb rating 8.367K votes
- The AristoCats1970 Adventure, Animation, Comedyas Billy Bass- Russian Catvoice
IMDb rating 7.1127K votes
Most often with
Wilfred Jackson directed four of these films, Clyde Geronimi four and Hamilton Luske three. Mel Blanc appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Mel Blanc's page
Sterling Holloway's page
June Foray's page
James MacDonald's page
Timothy Stack's page
Verna Felton's page
Wilfred JacksonDirector, 4 films, 1940 to 1955
All films by Wilfred Jackson
Clyde GeronimiDirector, 4 films, 1950 to 1963
All films by Clyde Geronimi
Hamilton LuskeDirector, 3 films, 1940 to 1951
All films by Hamilton Luske
Also three films together2 more actors
- Bill ThompsonThe AristoCats (1970), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Alice in Wonderland (1951)
- Deanna OliverThe Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (1998), The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1997) and The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Thurl Ravenscroft's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$737 million
8 of the 19 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 19 films: 8 worldwide figure; 3 us gross only; 3 never in cinemas; 5 figure not found.
- 8Worldwide figure
- 3US gross only
- 3Never in cinemas
- 5Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1Cinderella1950$264M35.8% of the total
- 2$191M25.9% of the total
- 3$164M22.3% of the total
- 4$57M7.8% of the total
- 5$36M4.9% of the total
- 6$22M3.0% of the total
- 7$2.3M0.3% of the total
- 8$4K0.0% of the total
Awards
One award and honor.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 1995 | Disney Legends | Honored | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.