July 24, 1989: Died:Melvin Jerome Blanc TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1989 July 24, 1989 Fateful Voyage:The Exxon Valdez
Time Magazine MILESTONES, Page 49

DIED. Melvin Jerome Blanc, 81, Hollywood's man of a thousand voices who created such beloved radio and cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Road Runner, Daffy Duck and Barney Rubble, many of which he reprised in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit; in Los Angeles. When radio advertisers could not afford extra actors, Blanc's inexhaustible vocal cords and zany humor fashioned a gallery of heroes and villains for Jack Benny, Bob Hope and the George Burns and Gracie Allen show.