April 29: "Ernest T. Bass"

On this date in History ..... April 28, 1963:  

The character of Ernest T. Bass appears for the first time on The Andy Griffith Show.  

Howard Morris played Bass for only five episodes but is best remembered for this role in spite of his many other accomplishments such as being a classically trained Shakespearean actor. 


He was in the U.S. Army Special Service where his commander was Maurice Evans (played the role of father to Samantha on “Bewitched”). Other soldiers in the unit included Carl Reiner ("Alan Brady" of the Dick Van Dyke show) and Werner Klemperer ("Colonel Klink" of the show "Hogan's Heroes").  Morris directed some of the Dick Van Dyke and Hogan’s Heroes episodes.  

He was a talented voice actor and in high demand for cartoons. Some of his voices included Jet Screamer (“The Jetsons”), Mr. Peebles (“Magilla Gorilla”), Jughead (“The Archie Show”), Hamburgler (McDonalds commercials), Flem (“Cow and Chicken”), various voices on “The Flintstones” and many more. 



Many museums and universities host “Ernest T. Bass Day” in which people bring in unidentified rocks for inspection by the science departments.  

Morris died in 2005.

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July 10: Mel Blanc

On this date in History ... July 10, 1989:

Mel Blanc, the voice of numerous cartoon characters, dies at the age of 81.  

He was known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices” and the most influential in the voice-acting industry.  He was the first voice-actor to get screen credit. He dropped out of high school in the ninth grade and became the youngest orchestra leader at the age of 17.

In addition to his more famous voices, he did the voice for Barney Rubble (“The Flintstones”), Mr. Spacely (“The Jetsons”), and was the first voice for Toucan Sam in Fruit Loops commercials. 

He also voiced “Private Snafu”, a character in WWII Army cartoon films.  Snafu was drawn by Theodore Geisel a.k.a. Dr. Seuss (see my post/blog of March 2 .... http://thimblefulsofhistory.blogspot.com/2013/03/march-2-dr-seuss.html ). 

Blanc's tombstone is engraved, at his request, with the words, "That's all folks!"

NOTE: We own a copy of this timeless “no words are needed” commemorative print.  

It was a gift from our dear friends from England, Ken and Shirley.