Back here, I wrote about the uncontrollable, hard-to-get-along-with actor named Mickey Rooney. That inspired my old friend Bruce Reznick — we honest-to-God went to high school together — to send in this…
Who was the kindest actor or actress you ever worked with?
If you asked me this ten times, I might come back with ten different answers but I've decided to go with the name that came immediately to mind when I read Bruce's question: Daws Butler. He was a dear, kindly man, impossible to not love once you'd met him.
Daws was, of course, one of the great cartoon voice artists of all time. Just in case there's anyone reading this who is unaware, he was Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Mr. Jinks, Snagglepuss, Augie Doggie, Quick Draw McGraw, Snooper, Blabber, Cap'n Crunch, Elroy Jetson, Hokey Wolf and many more.
He also taught a wonderful voice-acting class from which many top talents of the generation following his graduated. And here's one of many things that speaks to what kind of man he was. You had to audition to get into his class and if he thought you had talent, he'd tell you, "It's ten bucks a session and if you're tight on money, it's free." And if he found you lacking in talent, no amount of money could get you in.
Because he didn't care about the money. He cared about seeing young talents blossom…and from his class, many did.
Beyond that, I don't know how to tell you how wonderful this man was. If you meet anyone who took his class or worked with him, ask. They'll tell you.
I can think of others but for today, I'll let my answer of Daws Butler stand. You can read more that I've written about him here.
