Bill Turner sent me this…
I know in previous years you have posted about Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. I watched it again this year, for probably the 50th time, and am wondering whether you can tell who sang which singing parts, particularly on the Plunderer's March ("We're despicable"). My family still remembers my high school buddies and me belting that out back around 1968.
Sure. Let's go through all the voices…
As we all know, Jim Backus played Quincy Magoo and Jack Cassidy played Bob Cratchit and they sang for those characters. Les Tremayne played The Ghost of Christmas Present and he didn't sing but Jane Kean, who played Belle did. That's the same Jane Kean who took over as Trixie, wife of Ed Norton, when Jackie Gleason brought The Honeymooners back to television in the sixties.
Laura Olsher played The Laundress, the kid with the turkey, Peter Cratchit, Mrs. Cratchit and she supplied the speaking voice of the daughter in the Cratchit family. Marie Matthews played Scrooge as a young boy. She sang as him and also she did the singing for the Cratchit daughter. John Hart, who was The Lone Ranger for one season on TV, played Mr. Billings and the Stage Manager. He didn't sing in the show.
Royal Dano played Marley's Ghost who had no songs but Dano did do the singing for the Junk Shop Owner. Paul Frees did the speaking voice of the Junk Shop Owner and also voiced The Director, Fezziwig, The Undertaker and the hapless gent who asked Scrooge for a donation.
Joan Gardner played Tiny Tim, The Charwoman and The Ghost of Christmas Past. She is often confused with voice actress Joanie Gerber who was not in this show. Neither was June Foray, who used to be credited all over the place as being in it, including in some TV Guide listings and on the box for the Beta and VHS releases of Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol.
Morey Amsterdam — Buddy Sorrell from The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Human Joke Machine — played two tiny parts as the gents on the street discussing the death of Ebenezer Scrooge. Why only two tiny roles? Because he was hired for a larger part which was recorded and cut out of the finished show.
So the speaking voices of the four Plunderers (as you call them) were Olsher, Gardner and then Frees spoke for both men. Since even the great Paul Frees couldn't sing two parts at the same time and they wanted to record the four characters together, he only sang for the Undertaker. Mr. Dano sang for the Junk Shop Guy.
I verified these credits in Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol: The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special by Darrell Van Citters. This is the only book that focuses on the special and since it's so well-researched and exhaustive, it's the only one you'll ever need. Here's a link to buy the paperback edition. There was a beautiful hardcover edition but it's beastly hard to find and I ain't parting with mine. Hope this helps.
