Remembering Jackson Beck
Being such a big fan of Popeye, it was always my dream to actually speak to the man who provided his voice for so many years. While I later developed a friendship with Jack Mercer’s wife, Virginia, I never did have a chance to speak with Mr. Mercer himself. However, I did have the opportunity to speak to the man who provided the voice for the brute, whose joy in life was to punch the one-eyed sailor, senseless, Bluto (later called Brutus). The man behind that gruff voice was Jackson Beck.
Jackson Beck passed away on July 28th of this year at the age of 92. He was a radio performer beginning in 1930. He was one of the founding members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors with a union card bearing the number 2, said his stepson, Leslie Winter. His radio voice thrilled millions with his stellar introduction to the Superman radio series that went, “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!” He also voiced detective Philo Vance and the western hero, The Cisco Kid for radio.
When Famous Studios took over the Popeye animated cartoon series from Fleischer Studios, a voice for Bluto was needed. Beck began voicing the character beginning in 1944. On occasion, Beck’s singing voice could be heard. He sang in the films Klondike Casanova (1946) and Vacation with Play (1951). During this period, he also provided voices for supporting characters in the Harveytoons animated series which featured Casper the Friendly Ghost, Herman and Katnip, Lil’ Audrey and others.
For TV, Beck could be heard providing the voice for King Leonardo, Biggy Rat and Professor Messer in the 1960 animated series, The King and Odie. He also provided the voice of Brutus, Popeye’s bearded foe in the made for television Popeye cartoons (1960-61) and shared the vocals of other male characters in this series along with Jack Mercer. Beck also stepped on to the television screen in physical form, when he appeared on The Edge of Night. In 1966, he had come a full circle of sorts when he became the narrator (and the voice of Perry White) for the Superman cartoon series which aired on CBS Saturday morning television.
For television commercials his voice could plug everything from GI Joe figures, Sugar Frosted Flakes, Pepsi, paper towels and pizza. Beck said, “I’m an advertising man, and I treat my voice as a business. People who treat it as art don’t make any money.” Beck also performed for two Woody Allen movies, Radio Days and Take the Money and Run. He could also be heard on Saturday Night Live and worked well into the 1990’s.
Beck was also a super human being. In 1994, I was hosting a cable children’s series where I taught the audience how to draw classic cartoon figures. I had decided to draw Brutus and thought it would be great to have the voice of the character provide a little introduction.
To my amazement, Beck’s phone number was listed and I called him to see if he was interested and what the charge would be. He said, “just send me a tape and a script, no charge”. I could actually hear Bluto ‘s voice while I was listening to his…it was amazing! Later, he sent me a brief letter of explanation, which helped put the pieces of the puzzle together as to why the name “Bluto” had to be changed to “Brutus”, helping to solve a mystery in animation. When I sent him $10.00 to autograph a King Leonardo children’s book, he sent me the book with the autograph and my returned my money!
Jackson Beck, both in voice and in physical form, was a class act and a special talent.